How Thrive Chiropractic Studios Created a Touchless Payment Experience

Thrive Studios opened its doors in Santa Barbara, California in 2012. It is a practice that strives to “heal the world one spine at a time.” It is owned by Dr. Brian Johnson, a chiropractor for 21 years, who specializes in Spinal Reflex Analysis, which involves examining the whole body to get to the root cause of any health issues. Dr. Brian’s passion is helping people get the most out of life by assisting them in reaching their full personal potential, which includes having a strong and healthy body.

Thrive has been a customer of PayJunction since 2014, and we recently spoke to Dr. Brian about changes they have made in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis.

Adjusting to COVID-19 Guidelines 

Thrive Studios is deemed an essential business and Dr. Brian feels fortunate that he was able to continue to see patients during California’s Stay-at-Home orders, thereby ensuring that local hospitals and clinics were not responsible for the extra burden of seeing people with physical or biomechanical pain. 

Business practices were adjusted to abide by CDC guidelines of a healthy environment: limit touchpoints on doors and surfaces, allow only one patient in the studio at a time, require masks for everyone, and sanitize all surfaces and areas in between patient appointments.

A Contactless Payment Experience

The Smart Terminal used by Thrive is a customer-facing device, which allows it to be placed on the counter at a safe distance and eliminates the need to pass cards between the customer and the doctor. First-time patients can choose the convenience of having their card details securely stored for future use. New safety features allow for signatures to be disabled, and receipts can be emailed to customers on request.

Thrive’s patients like the convenience of paying using contactless methods, including credit cards and mobile wallets on their smartphones. And since many are athletes, they enjoy making a payment with the simple wave of their smart wearable device. PayJunction recently conducted a customer survey and learned that a majority of business owners are pleased with features that eliminate touchpoints, and 65% plan on continuing with these methods even when the pandemic crisis ends. 

Automated Payments

Many of the patients seen by Dr. Brian opt to purchase individual or family plans that bundle chiropractic services and are more cost effective than one-time appointments. “People realize that one of the best ways to fight COVID-19 and other viruses is to stay as healthy as possible by keeping their nervous system fully functioning, thereby boosting their immune system,” Dr. Brian notes. The monthly packages are a convenient way to ensure patients stick to a schedule and remain healthy.

Payment card details are captured and stored with customer records in PayJunction’s secure cloud-based data center. Automatic recurring payments can be set up to charge patients every month, and receipts are sent via email. Dr. Brian believes that allowing patients to pay for their services on a schedule improves their financial health and builds a trusted doctor-patient relationship. 

Thriving with PayJunction

These are busy times for Thrive Studios, and Dr. Brian appreciates that he can manage his payment activity away from the office. Since PayJunction can be accessed via any browser-connected device, he can send bills, reconcile payment activity with bank statements, and review a patient’s history from the comfort of his home.

Dr. Brian believes that PayJunction is a “fantastic” solution, and he rates the level of support he receives as “an 11, on a scale of 1-10.”  He appreciates how easy we’ve made it for Thrive Studios to eliminate touch points on payment terminals so that customers feel safe. According to Dr. Brian: “PayJunction is so easy and affordable. They have helped me streamline payment practices, which gives me more time to focus on my patients.”

How has your practice adjusted over the past few months? Tell us more below in the comments section!