Is It Time We Return to Function?
Chiropractic at its root is a wellness-based philosophy. It is about freeing the nervous system to optimize function, not just treat pain. Unfortunately, many of our patients, our staff, and even Chiropractors themselves have forgotten this, focusing instead on pain relief. Now, I think that it is about time we remember where we came from and the true power of Chiropractic and return to function. The healthcare system today is broken. It is based on treating disease or the symptoms of disease rather than on prevention. The healthcare system today is broken. It is based on treating disease or the symptoms of disease rather than on prevention. The problem with that is when a patient presents with migraines, it is not because they don’t have enough migraine medication in their system. The migraine is instead, only a symptom of the root problem. When our patient comes in to be treated for migraines, or back pain, neck tension, and a host of other problems, it is easy to fall into the trap of offering adjustments to relieve their pain. Even more, when a patient does experience relief but is not educated about how Chiropractic works to optimize the function of their body, it is likely that they will assume adjustments are nothing more than a treatment for pain. There is no doubt that the benefit of pain relief derived from an adjustment can be enormous. However, when we neglect to educate our patients and our staff and to demonstrate that the adjustment is eliminating nerve interference that is decreasing body functioning and causing pain, we set our patients and ourselves up for failure. An uneducated patient is one who will only come into our office when they are in pain. They don’t understand the power of regular adjustments to keep their body functioning at optimum levels. They completely miss the true benefit of Chiropractic. Educated patients, on the other hand, are the life-blood of a practice. Patients who understand that disease is not a natural state and that the body has the power to heal itself when nerve interference has been eliminated become patients for life. They are also the patients who refer their friends, family, and someone they just met in line at the grocery store because they want everyone to achieve lasting wellness as they have. In order achieve this level of educated patients in our practice, there are 3 steps we have to take: Remember why we became Chiropractors and immerse ourselves in a chiropractic philosophy Educate our staff on the origin and power of Chiropractic Create a Chiropractic education system in our practice This is an on going process that you should monitor daily to ensure the best results. Add the tasks of patient and staff education to a proactive practice management system, like Genesis Chiropractic Software, to make sure that you never let this all important part of your practice fall to the wayside. Every interaction that you or your staff have with patients that educates them and focuses on returning to wellness instead of treating pain or disease will return huge dividends in the future with loyal patients and many more referrals.
It’s About Time We Made Chiropractic the Dominant Healthcare System
Haven’t you heard ever since Chiropractic school that Chiro should be the dominant healthcare system? I know that I have. Chiropractic allows the body to naturally heal itself, awakening the potential of our own nervous systems. With this power, why isn’t Chiropractic at the forefront of every healthcare journal, study, and the primary choice of care for the majority of patients? It should be. That is why today I want to talk about what it would take to actually make Chiropractic the dominant health care system in our country and what we can do to help because it is about time. Should Chiropractic be the Dominant Health Care System? Studies show that there is a tipping point in any movement. If you can get a certain percentage of the population to embrace an idea, from there it spreads organically. That tipping point is 20%. For us, this means that once 20% of the population embraces Chiro as a first choice for healthcare, the rest of the population will follow. The question is, how do we reach that tipping point? We only have approximately 50,000 licensed Chiropractors in the U.S. and not all of these are even in active practice. In order for this number of doctors to see 20% of the population, each one would have to see more than 1,000 patients every week. Is this possible? Maybe it is for some DC’s in high-volume practices but not all Chiropractors would want to complete that many patient visits each week. This means that we do not have enough Chiropractors in practice in our country to hit that goal of making Chiro the healthcare system that the majority of patients choose first. Without more students choosing to become Doctors of Chiropractic instead of medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc. Chiropractic cannot become the dominant system in this country. That brings us back to the same problem we have talked about in the past, the problem of making a career as a Chiropractor an attractive choice for these students. We have to show them that Chiropractic is not only a vital profession but can also provide them and their families the lifestyle they need and desire. To choose to be a Chiropractor, they can’t live in fear that they won’t be able to run a successful practice, see enough patients, or make enough money. They have to know that the time and money they invest in school will pay off in the future. There is only one way we can do this. Each of us as Chiropractors has to make our own practice successful. We have to use every tool available to us to improve the experience of our patients, bring in more patients, and create a thriving business. Every Doctor out there who is a success, who cares for patients every day, and who is spreading the message of the power of Chiropractic is showing those future students that it can be done, that Chiropractic is great career choice. We need those students, those future Chiropractors. We need more Chiropractors to see more patients. That is the only way we will ever reach that 20% tipping point and it is the way to finally make Chiropractic the dominant healthcare system. It is about time that we all work together to reach that goal.
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