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.
Dr. Chris Burfield Podcast about Instagram
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Shedding Light on the Issue
How will Ben and his practice cope with more changes? Worried about Meaningful Use? Ben was staring at his computer screen, lost in thought, when Carmen arrived. She had sailed past the reception desk with a wave as the staff was closing up for lunch, so she hadn’t been announced. It was only a moment or two before Ben felt her presence and looked up, but it was long enough for her to register the stress Ben was feeling. “Hey, honey,” he greeted her. “Hey,” she said softly. “Is it that ONC HER thing?” “ONC-certified EHR, actually, but yes, that’s what’s on my mind.” “I thought you might be able to have lunch with me. We could talk about it over a sandwich or something,” Carmen suggested. “Why not?” Ben agreed. They left through the back door, heading to the tree-lined parking lot. “I’m not so concerned about our software, but the meaningful use requirement might bite us. We have to look not just at what our systems can do but at what our people actually are doing.” Carmen nodded. “I know just what you mean. At the pizzeria, we know that we have everything the health regulations require set up and in place, but follow-through is something else. People get into a hurry, or get set in their ways, or just don’t see the importance of following the rules, and first thing you know we have a scoop in the ice bin or something.” “The stakes are high enough here that everyone ought to be on board,” Ben said. “Hey, we could just walk over to the sandwich shop.” “Works for me,” Carmen agreed. “High stakes matter a lot as long as you’re thinking about them. But, speaking from my own experience with scoops in the ice bin, I’d say that during a normal day we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about those things. Plus, sometimes the consequences are more immediate for the people in charge than for the rank and file. If the restaurant has health code issues, it will affect everybody eventually if nothing is done, but usually it just means that I have to deal with it. Compared with the immediate convenience of leaving the scoop in the ice bin, that doesn’t seem like much to a kid who’s getting slammed with the lunchtime service.” Ben agreed. “The possible future consequence to the group never seems as pressing as the immediate comfort of the individual.” “Or even,” said Carmen as she added a cookie to her plate, “the possible future consequence to the individual, like what that cookie might do to my energy levels this afternoon, compared with how yummy it looks right now.” “The issue for us is that Medicare will cut payments if we haven’t demonstrated meaningful use by October 1st.” “So the partners with more Medicare patients might feel more motivated than those with more private insurance patients?” “Actually,” Ben said, negotiating his way through the tables with their tray, “Medicare pretty much sets the standards for all insurers and state boards. Where Medicare goes, the rest will follow.” “Is there really a big gap between where you are now and where you should be?” Carmen asked. “We’ll have to figure that out. But I think it’s like your ice scoop example. We’re looking at people’s behavior and choices, not just the systems.” Ben took a bite of his sandwich. “I guess that’s what’s worrying me. People don’t like change. When we switched the light bulbs in the office it bothered people. Changes in the documentation systems bothered people. Now we’re talking about more changes.” How will Ben and his practice cope with more changes? Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.
What does a Caveman, Lizard (Gecko), and Progressive’s Flo have in common?
Why cutesy marketing is costing you money and leaving you exposed. by Garrett Gunderson If you’re like most people, you are overpaying for insurance (and it isn’t because you chose cavemen or lizards or maybe those are geckos). What’s even worse is that in spite of paying too much, you may not even be properly covered if something major happened. How would you like to pay less money for more insurance coverage? The purpose of insurance is to cover the ‘big stuff’ that would be catastrophic or you don’t want to dip into your assets or income for when it happens. You can likely cover the small claims, fender benders, petty theft, wind damage to the house, etc. out of your own pocket – especially if it saved your money each month on your premiums, right? However, could you cover a $500,000 claim? Most people can’t… So it makes sense to consider raising your deductibles to save money, and then using those saved dollars to get the highest limits possible on your coverage. This way you’ll have coverage where you need it (the big claims) without the extra expense of a low deductible taking your money every month. Let me explain more… Small ‘fender bender’ type of things happen the most often, so a low deductible costs a lot. However, the six figure claims are rarer, so higher limits are quite affordable. Often raising your deductible a few hundred dollars offsets the cost of getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional coverage. So consider raising your deductibles to match your comfort levels to save money. Next increase your limits so they will protect you from the claims that could take everything you’ve worked to hard to save. With a little luck it’s likely that you can be paying less for a LOT more coverage. Even though I have to admit, some of the insurance commercials are entertaining, it isn’t a laughing matter to overpay or be over exposed. In the areas of car, home, and liability coverage there are several components: Personal Injury Protection Medical Payments to Others Deductibles Property Damage Uninsured Liability Limits Under-insured Liability Limits Bodily Injury Liability Limits Underlying Limits Replacement Coverage Actual Cash Value Coverage and more with just these three types of policies. Most of the time I find duplicate coverages, unnecessary exposure, lack of coordination or understanding for that matter. If you want to dive in further make sure to check out your own situation for free at www.freedomfasttrack.com/cfw.
