Chiropractic Blog

What I'm Reading

2010-08-31T00:29:23Z

I only subscribe to one magazine. Wire Magazine is the “Popular Science” of the Internet Age (there’s a great magazine title!) and cuts a wide swath between cool gadgets, software, website stuff and cutting edge thinking. Imagine my surprise when the Simon Singh UK drama showed up on page 112. The tipoff was a blurb promoting the article on page 8 or page 008, as they like to number the pages: “Journalist Simon Singh dared to write that chiropractic can’t help childhood asthma. His reward: a libel suit.” If you want, you can probably read the two-page interview at the newsstand. And if you’ve had your head down and don’t know what your UK brethren are facing, you should. But what caught my attention in the Robert Capps article and interview was this statement: “Such is the state of science, where sometimes even stating simple truths (like the fact that there’s no reliable evidence chiropractic can alleviate asthma in children) can bring the wrath of the antiscience crowd.” Didn’t know I was part of the antiscience crowd by trusting the testimonials of countless patients and the firsthand experience of hundreds of chiropractors. That’s not reliable? Gosh, I was hoping that the truth (or Truth) didn’t require a double blind randomized clinical trial published in a peer-reviewed journal!

New Patient Mojo Episode 10

2010-08-30T13:01:45Z

Abstract: This sixth way of being attractive to patients deals with being optimistic. Your optimism conveys hope, an essential ingredient of the healing process. In this Mojo Podcast, Bill explores the seven reasons why you should be optimistic about the future—regardless of what it is! 5:47 Tags: optimistic, baby boomers, organic food, drug recalls, media, health care reform, stress, chiropractic supplies Archives: http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/mojo/index.html

Monday Morning Motivation

2010-08-30T13:00:19Z

"Get the big idea and all else follows." This is probably one of the most profound chiroisms of all, attributed to B.J. Palmer, a collector of aphorisms, epigrams and pithy one-liners. What is the big idea? Some believe it's our self-healing, self-regulating capacity. Others believe it's the universal intelligence that runs the universe and its counterpart, innate intelligence that runs us. Still others believe it's about reductionism versus deductionism. Or how a lack of ease ultimately leads to dis-ease, the precursor of disease. Regardless of which one(s) resonate with you, contrast it with some of these "small" ideas. Like the germ theory. Small germs. Big fear. But small idea. Or symptom-treating. Big expense. But small idea. Once you have a grasp on the significance of chiropractic, and as B.J. put it, "The Bigness of the Fellow Within," fear drops away, practice procedures simplify and patient communications are more direct and powerful. Subscribe to Monday Morning Motivation

Chiropractic Miracles

2010-08-29T16:22:24Z

I just got through watching a video created by my Perfect Patients website business partner Steve Anson that is being used to alert interested chiropractors in a ministry opportunity in India. Steve and his chiropractor spouse Sonya, will be returning to Perth in October and they’re looking for chiropractors interested in serving in Bangalore, South India for a two-week (or longer) stint to help keep the ministry going. I was struck by the types of cases that are being helped with chiropractic care. Things like seizures being reduced, stroke victims having their ability to speak returning, bladder control restored; those sorts of things. Patients used to show up in chiropractic offices in the West with these same types of health challenges, often getting results after traditional methods had failed. In India, where chiropractic is virtually unknown, they’re apparently unaware that chiropractic is just for headaches and back pain! If you could use a reminder of what chiropractic care is capable of doing and would like more information about this service opportunity, I encourage you to visit the BBCM website and share your contact details and learn more.

What I'm Reading

2010-08-27T18:58:59Z

The recommendation of Wild West 2.0, How to Protect and Restore Your Online Reputation on the Untamed Social Frontier in the Denver Post appeared within days of a chiropractor friend commiserating about an irate patient who had left a negative review about his practice on Google. I was curious. How do you protect and restore your reputation on the Internet? Besides attempting to resolve disputes in the real world so a permanent, worldwide record of the incident isn’t created in the first place (not always possible), you’ll want to avoid the Barbara Streisand Effect and know how to build a Google wall. However, since your primary focus isn’t the Internet, you might want to turn to page 234 and browse Chapter 13. In it, the authors describe the appropriate response to a practitioner’s less-than-favorable review. (And by the way, plan to get some.) The authors assert the same thing I have, that a negative review here and there can actually serve to validate the overwhelming preponderance of positive, glowing reviews. You are encouraging patients to write reviews about your practice, aren’t you? That dog-eared copy of “Our Patients Speak” in the reception room might be affirming, but doesn’t help persuade a prospective new patient checking you out online who is thinking about beginning care.

The Two Brains of a Chiropractor

2010-08-25T22:40:18Z

It’s becoming clearer and clearer to me why so many of my overtures during the last 29 years have produced polite head nodding among chiropractors, but have rarely been implemented. And while it’s disappointing to acknowledge the inability to inspire significant change, it’s at least a small comfort to finally understand why. And it’s not just my unique “patient’s point of view” perspective. It goes far deeper than acquainting chiropractors with the beginner’s mind of an anxious, apprehensive new patient encountering a radically different health care paradigm. Instead, what I’ve learned explains why so many of the suggestions I’ve offered chiropractors over the years in my chiropractic seminars and chiropractic books are acknowledged as truthful—even good, but remain unimplemented. It all began with the realization that most chiropractors wanted a practice, but found themselves in a small business.]]> The Practitioner’s Brain This is the limbic system of the practice, with just enough left-brain detail to be proficient in essential diagnostic and clinical matters. The Practitioner’s Brain houses the compassion and empathy that is necessary to be a professional caregiver. This area of the brain is concerned with processing and responding to inputs dealing with patient physiology, biomechanics and the healing process, plus the more difficult tasks of monitoring patient satisfaction, commitment and follow through. Like the right hemisphere, the Practitioner’s Brain solves problems by relying on hunches and looking for patterns and it is the emotional seat of the practice. When patients discontinue care, express frustration with the speed of their recovery or there are few patients in the practice to help, the Practitioner’s Brain is activated.

The Business Brain

This is the detail-oriented, logical side of the equation. The Business Brain is the center for words, language and persuasion. Plus, this is where a sense of time and the ability to perform math are located. The Business Brain is keenly aware of the bills that need to be paid, the consequences of not paying them and how many patients are on the book for the day. Office procedures, marketing systems and other linear processes that bring predictability, security and sustainability to the practice are found in this region of the brain. Where the Practitioner’s Brain tolerates the Business Brain, the Business Brain resents the ignorance, artistic whims and unprofitable indulgences of the Practitioner’s Brain.

Corpus Collosum

Since I’m not a chiropractor, I’ve only recently discovered how it’s the Practitioner’s Brain that hijacks most chiropractic businesses. Since my message over the years has largely been directed to the underdeveloped, vestigial Business Brain, I now have an explanation for the sometimes-quizzical head tilt of the RCA Victor dog I get when speaking to chiropractic audiences! You must feed the Business Brain if you are to nourish the Practitioner’s Brain. Because you have a business first, and a platform for your Practitioner’s Brain, second. You’ll either come to love your Business Brain, develop it, strengthen it and allow it to expand, or you’ll work for someone who already has or is willing to do so.

Good Business Brain = Bad Practitioner Brain

Somewhere along the way, having a mature Business Brain has come to mean that the chiropractor must be a poor adjuster or lack the competency to be a good chiropractor. Perhaps this is based on the lie that having golden hands means you shouldn’t have to market your practice. Or that great results is all it takes to have a great practice. Or that successful businesses run by chiropractors can only be achieved if they cut corners, screw insurance companies, rely on distasteful scripting or more likely, are doing something illegal. The self-righteousness behind these beliefs is the perfect way to justify one’s own incompetence, unfamiliarity or lack of interest in developing their Business Brain. Being on the HMO lists, PPO panels and insurance plans the last 10 years made it easy for many chiropractors to neglect the new customer acquisition issues that virtually all small businesses face. Resolving now to attend to your Business Brain at a time when your numbers are slumping, the economy is strained and you’re living off your savings isn’t the most pleasant way to face this reality, but as we say, what is, is.

What to Do Now

Even though many patients may only think of you as a way to obtain relief from a one-time episode of some neuromuscular-skeletal complaint, you’ve probably built up some goodwill among your inactives. Especially, if you’ve avoided the habit of making patients feel small, stupid or ashamed when they discontinue their care. This may be the time to deploy some time-tested reactivation strategies as you get your bearings and implement a more sustainable marketing plan. Postcards – Sometimes just a postcard letting inactive patients know that you were thinking about them is all it takes. Get some ideas about what to write by checking out our most popular reactivation postcards. Newsletters – Sending a newsletter when you need some new patients is akin to a patient showing up for a pop to help relieve a headache. Our quarterly patient newsletter is a great way to begin the habit. Birthday Cards – Again, a proven strategy for helping create top of mind awareness of your practice on the day each year that aging patients are most likely to be thinking about their health and well-being. New Year’s Resolution – The other time each year patients think about their health is the first of the year. This is when health clubs do a majority of their business. Plan now. Many use our Wellness Wheel with good results. Apologize – Retrieve the file folders of patients you’d like to see again. If you think the circumstances under which they discontinued care might be standing in the way, apologize to their folder and ask for another opportunity to be of service to them or someone they know. Your Business Brain is much like a muscle. If not regularly used, it has atrophied and tires quickly. Or maybe you’ve successfully shunned that aspect of your life. No matter. Business skills are not innate and are completely learnable. Everything you need is available freely on this website and on countless others. But you have to want it. Do you?

Monday Morning Motivation

2010-08-23T13:00:59Z

"If you miss an appointment you'll need to make it up." Really? Can you actually "make up" an appointment? That would suggest that if a patient were on a three-times-a-week schedule and missed one, the following week they would need to be seen four times. Huh? If it's just about the number of visits, why not cram their first 12 visits all into a single week? Or a day! No, this linear, mechanistic notion of how a patient's body uses the energy added to their spine may be more about wielding power. As such, it's parental, emotionally draining and unsustainable. It's a form of bluffing that exposes an insecurity and mistrust of patients. More likely? Missed visits could cause a loss of momentum, delaying or even preventing the recovery process. Instead of the quantity of visits, isn't it actually about their frequency and consistency? Why not explain that to patients? Subscribe to Monday Morning Motivation

Monday Morning Motivation

2010-08-16T13:00:24Z

"Chiropractic works when traditional methods fail." Yes, but with a few important caveats that are often overlooked. 1. Is the original stress still present? If subluxation is the body's attempt at accommodating physical, chemical or emotional stress, and the stressor is still present in the patient's life, the likelihood of chiropractic working is less assured. 2. Limitation of matter. In the same way we can't regrow lost fingers and toes, there are limitations to what is possible based on a patient's age, conditioning and their willingness to follow recommendations and make lifestyle changes. 3. Is the patient invested in their recovery? Some may enjoy secondary gains from their poor health and aren't fully committed to healing. Harnessing the mind/body connection is essential and one reason to employ effective chiropractic patient education. Although not quite as sexy, it might be more accurate to say, "Chiropractic often works when traditional methods fail." Subscribe to Monday Morning Motivation.

New Patient Mojo Episode 9

2010-08-13T23:55:18Z

Abstract: A further exploration of the reality that new patient attractability is a reflection of who you are being. How many times each day do you say “Thank you!” to others (or to yourself) for the way things are? Until you fully accept your practice as it is—good and not so good, and express your appreciation for all your blessings, you’re unlikely to be the recipient of further blessings in the form of more new patients! 5:48 Tags: new patient crack, gratitude, ice cream, no shows, pity party, licensure, jail, appreciation, new patient repellant, chiropractic products, DVD, t-shirt

Monday Morning Motivation

2010-08-09T13:00:17Z

“Chiropractic adds years to life and life to years.” If this were true, it would probably give an incredible boost to the popularity and utilization of chiropractic. Those patients and DCs who are of a more mechanistic bent see this sort of claim as over reaching, bordering on hyperbole—probably the price paid for having reduced chiropractic to a low-tech treatment of headaches and back pain for the last two decades. While you’d think that a better performing nervous system, improved balance and increased flexibility would extend life and enhance vitality, it’s unlikely that the highest levels of proof (RCT) could objectively substantiate it. My experience has been that those who need proof rarely get enough of it, or of high enough quality to be satisfied. As for me, I will continue to receive nonsymptomatic chiropractic care until the end. And without a parallel universe, we’ll never know for sure. Subscribe to Monday Morning Motivation.

New Patient Mojo Episode 8

2010-08-03T13:01:48Z

Abstract: Chiropractors who show up curious have the added benefit of being able to better help patients and avoid the practice-debuilding characteristics of the opposite of curiosity! Careful that you don’t turn curiosity into a “technique.” Discover why patient relationships (and referrals) are more likely to flourish in an environment of curiosity. 5:20 Tags: chiropractic patient education, curiosity, patient beliefs, patient behaviors, continuum, judgment, Yogi Berra-ism, internal chiropractic marketing.

Monday Morning Motivation

2010-08-02T13:00:00Z

"Are you leaving someone at home to develop the same problem you have?" This one, from the how-can-we-guilt-or-shame-patients-into-bringing-their-family-in-for-care department, generally falls on deaf ears. Largely because regardless of what you tell patients, most subscribe to the "if-it's-not-broken-don't-fix-it" school of thought. This reveals that for many patients, taking preventive measures before symptomatic episodes emerge is seen as a needless luxury. This myopic view is echoed by financial institutions who report that most Baby Boomers are not saving for their retirement. So, don't take it personally! Instead, take a more subtle, long-term approach. Make sure that every patient is aware that chiropractic helps with countless other issues than the one that prompted him or her to begin care. And secondly, provide ample clues throughout your practice environment that you see children. These strategies may not be as gratifying, but they avoid the use of guilt or shame and are considerably less manipulative. Subscribe to Monday Morning Motivation.

Dear Bill

2010-07-28T00:37:52Z

Q: I'm in the middle of establishing my Perfect Patients website and preparing to submit my picture. I’m a client of a consulting group that requires, as a result of their "research," that all DC's wear a white coat at the office. Their stance is that it demands respect and says "authority.” I was wondering what your thoughts were... from a patient’s point of view. Do you want your chiropractor in a tie and white coat? Should I take my website picture with my coat? A: Permission to speak freely? Thank you. You can hijack the social authority given medical doctors by dressing like one, but you’re participating in a deception; a manipulation; a lie. Remember that by the time a patient consults a chiropractor, most have tried the medical model and want something different. My suggestion? Be different! Read the long answer in a chapter entitled Lab Coats and Latex, in my ninth book, Connecting the Dots.

What I'm Reading

2010-07-26T14:45:29Z

Now I see why Dr. Dane Donohue recommended Start With Why by Simon Sinek after reading Monday Morning Motivation on July 12th. The author makes the observation that companies, practices and individuals that lose their way (usually after a great deal of success), do so because they’ve forgotten their WHY. He asserts that people become loyal evangelists for Apple, Lexus, Starbucks and others, not because of the WHAT they do, but because of WHY they do it. Simon introduces what he calls the Golden Circle—three concentric circles with WHY in the center, surrounded by HOW and enclosed by WHAT. If you’ve forgotten WHY you became a chiropractor, and instead have settled for adjusting to make money (WHAT) or becoming a technique junkie (HOW), I would highly recommend this one.

Monday Morning Motivation

2010-07-26T12:53:18Z

"If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten." Dream on! In a static-never-changing world, this might be true. However, these days it's a full time job adapting to the turbulent practice environment. This has made practice disorienting for many. Assume that everything you know about what patients want, what motivates them and what constitutes success is obsolete. Because it probably is. Especially if you practiced in the 80s and 90s before the Internet, organic produce and today’s climate of limited insurance reimbursement. The solution? Ask more questions. And then listen as if your livelihood depended on it. Because it does. Rediscover what it's like to be a servant. Rethink the dogmatic "my-way-or-the-highway" that barely worked when there were a seemingly endless supply of new patients (with insurance) waiting in the wings. Become a student again. In times of change, the learning never ends.