Seven Things That Must Stop Now

The last few years have produced a lot of tangents – and poverty in chiropractic.

Like most Americans – I’ve been nice – I’ve kept quiet – but it’s got to stop! If the tangents don’t stop – chiropractic will! It’s time to stand up.

No more chiropractic “political correctness”. I’m tired of chiropractors being mislead and lied to by people who pretend to have YOUR benefits in mind and they do NOT! I understand how this can happen - Healing is your business – business is not your business. Business is our business. Let me help you not get hurt in business – please pay attention for your sake and the health of chiropractic.

I will list for you seven things that are bad for business and must stop now for the future of YOUR PROFESSION! There is no way I can explain it all on this list. You must watch the youtube videos above to get it all. These seven things may shock you – they may make you mad – they may make you stand up and cheer. We don’t care which! It won’t change the truth. You NEED to hear this. You need to know this. You need to make a decision.

1. We must stop…Getting by. Student loans. Years of education. Business loans. High risks!  For WHAT?  You deserve a prosperous CHIROPRACTIC (after all, that is what your degree is in – remember?) practice and you can have that!  Chiropractic needs to be the number one healthcare provider.  We CAN be…but we need to promote it and grow it.  Chiropractic boards and leaders do everything they can to restrict the promotion and growth of chiropractic and nothing to stop the growth and promotion of EVERYTHING else that vendors try to get chiropractors to sell. In the last Chiropractic Economics there was a full page ad trying to get you to sell bras. Over 250 styles! No dangerous underwire!  They advertise: “Increase your patient referrals”.  Yeah right, “You need to go see Dr. Smith he has some awesome bras!”  The boards are okay with that, just don’t try to promote a special opportunity to experience chiropractic.  They have all kinds of “laws” against that. That would be terrible.  It isn’t the government that comes up with all these restrictions – it is other chiropractors. The leaders don’t want you to grow chiropractic because THEY are not growing chiropractic.  Misery loves company. It’s a STUPID business decision to not promote your product.  Business isn’t fun when you are not making money.  This must STOP!   

2. We must stop…Being Medical Wannabees. Stop trying to be a watered down version of a medical doctor. Did you ever watch your kids try to imitate – act, talk and pretend to be some other kid they admired? It was disgusting wasn’t it.  You are your OWN health care  – NOBODY else can do the adjustment – NOBODY else can get the body well with their hands!  Be Proud!  EVERYBODY else can do all the other “stuff”. EVERYBODY else can give diets, sell vitamins, sell sandals, do foot scans and give injections.  Stop trying to get on somebody else’s ladder – Be the ladder!  You are the only DRUGLESS healthcare provider and that is what America wants - BE it!  Good business: Promote what makes you DIFFERENT from everybody else – don’t try to imitate everybody else.

3. We must stop…Stupid Recommendations of Care. Unlimited visits? 3 visits? PRN? Thousands of dollars up front? Use your incredible extensive training to diagnose what the body needs and tell that to the patient. Not a visit more and not a visit less. Be ethical!  Do you want an oncologist to say “unlimited chemo”?  “It’s up to you”?  “Unlimited drugs – just let us know when you want more.”  No – they should diagnose and recommend what is needed. So should YOU!  BTW,  a poverty complex recommendation of 3 visits is just as unethical as unlimited.  Dishonesty is ALWAYS a bad business decision.  The public MUST trust our recommendations.  We should be known for our honesty.  We must be credible and ethical.  It isn’t a question of whether or not you can get 8% of the population to accept a stupid recommendation – the question is – would 80% of the population trust this “unlimited” recommendation that doesn’t require a doctor or an exam to make and that you are making only because you are trying to justify them paying thousands upfront?  You can fool some of the people…

4. We must stop…Stupid Billing and Coding Tricks. Our Integrity is ESSENTIAL even in hard times.  Let’s take medicare as an example.  They only pay for the adjustment.  Not therapies. Not exams. Not x-rays. Not even maintenance.  Just the adjustment. This is nothing new – it has ALWAYS been like this. Now, how many codes are there?  Does it really take “a university” or a 3 day seminar to learn those 3 codes? Not unless you are trying to get around it and cheat.  You CANNOT code yourself into prosperity – stop trying to – be honest and let’s be successful with integrity by growing the number of people getting chiropractic care not by trying to trick the insurance companies just because “they’re rich.”  This is bad business which results in continually getting our benefits and reimbursements cut.

5. We must stop…promoting everything BUT the adjustment. Every one is rich…except you. Why? Because you promote THEM and THEIR products not YOU and YOUR product – chiropractic.  You are on a constant search for “lottery equipment”. Something you can buy and put in your practice that you are told will “EXPLODE” new patients and referrals.  Stop it. There is no machine that provides success and riches – period!  I don’t care what they say – they are lying.  Like the “Acres of Diamonds” you are searching for a diamond mine that is already in your back yard – CHIROPRACTIC!  My son and his wife went to a chiropractic open house the other day. The first thing they got was a hand scan – it said they each needed over 50 vitamins a day. Then they got their feet scanned and they both needed custom orthotics and custom sandals (adjustable straps!).  As the staff was holding the door open for them to leave my son asked, “would it be possible for me to get an adjustment?’  A what?  Foot Levelers (they had a rep there doing the scans) and their “Nutrition” company made a bunch that day – the chiropractor – not so much.  This is out of balance and has to stop!  You do realize that ANYBODY can do scans and sell vitamins and sandals and pads for shoes don’t you?  No license or student loans required.  These things are great… but you are leaving out the ONLY thing that makes you unique - only you can do the adjustment – they can’t go to Walmart for that.

6. We must stop…being the “illegal immigrants” of heath care. We have earned our place at the head of the health care table. If you want to be number one in healthcare - Look like it. Talk like it. Act like it. BE it!  Have you ever driven by a chiropractic office and it looked so bad you wished they would take their sign down or at least put a different name on it – like massage parlor.  Have you ever met a chiropractor and wondered if they were palm readers or were in the circus?  This must stop.  It DOES matter!  In business – your IMAGE matters.  We must ALL be professional!

7. We must stop…Eating our young.  Losers want to make sure everyone else loses too! We open about 200 practices a year. That is a LOT! Nobody else does that.  So we KNOW what it takes to open a practice and what happens when they do. The other practices in town will often send threatening letters and make intimidating calls to these new doctors telling them they better not advertise or promote – they will be watching for anything they might do that they can report to the board to get them fined or get their license. That’s the spirit!  They are so scared they can hardly hold their head up – you really encouraged them. You try to grow by making sure everybody else dies!  This must stop. Do the INTEGRITY thing and help them. Loan them a CA (a good one!) for a week or two to help them get started.  Don’t try to drown everybody around you. Get YOUR tail out there and go to work growing chiropractic as if your practice was brand new too – or go to sleep and leave them alone!