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Practice Management
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Practice Management
The Art of Choosing Your Technique
Sometimes it takes a little soul searching to find the technique
that suits you and your practice.
By William N. Willis, D.C.
Three years ago Christine graduated from one of the nation’s leading chiropractic
schools with honors. Filled with enthusiasm for her new profession she talked
to me about some of the things she needed to do to start a practice in her home
town.
We discussed leasing options on office space, malpractice insurance, hiring
staff, purchasing equipment. I was deeply impressed by her clear-eyed foresight
and recognition of the virtue of advance planning. I knew she was going to be
a success.
Several years passed and then one day I ran into her a convention. My first
question, of course, was how is your practice doing? As the smile vanished from
her face and took on a much serious look she confessed that things weren’t
going well at all. She was barely making expenses and was beginning to wonder
if chiropractic was really the great profession that she had once thought it
to be.
“I’m not at all confident about what I’m doing,” she
said. “I really haven’t found a technique that I believe really
works.”
“Well, you know every technique works,” I said. “You have
to believe in yourself and in your own ability to get people well.”
We talked a while longer and then she had to go as a session was about to start—an
introduction to yet another new technique.
I could see she was deeply troubled by her own inability to make a go of chiropractic,
and she was seeking answers. However, like so many other new graduates, the
answer lay not in the technique, but in herself.
Over the years I’ve counseled thousands of doctors young and old on the
fine points of chiropractic. For most of them the advice they need usually is
focused on a business tactic or practice that promotes success. Yet, in recent
years I’ve found that a significant number of new doctors are wandering
through the wilderness of adjusting techniques trying on first one, then another.
They’re searching for the perfect technique that will make them the healer
they imagined themselves to be when they first enrolled in school.
Many doctors have asked me, “What is the best technique for practice?”
The answer of course is all of them. From Thompson to DNFT and beyond, you’re
offered a vast array of approaches involving different forms of analysis and
means for correcting subluxations. Some require only the use of the hands, while
others involve complex mechanical instruments and special tables. We all know
of them even if we haven’t actually tried them all ourselves. I’m
sure many a patient has been confused by all the names and variations—Pierce,
Diversified, Grostic, Gonstead, NET, Activator Methods and the list goes on.
The truth of course is there are probably as many techniques as there are chiropractors.
Only a few doctors practice a “pure” form consistent in every way
with the originator.
And, here, of course is the answer to “which technique is the best.”
The best technique is the one that suits you, your personality and your body
type.
Here are a few simple rules that will make selecting the “right”
technique easy.
First, understand your own personality and the way you think about chiropractic.
Are you a left brain thinker who likes logical conclusions backed up with research
and lots of facts? Are you rational and analytical in your thinking? Do you
see yourself as being objective with a tendency to look at the various parts
that make up any problem?
If so then you’re likely to be attracted to a technique that tends to
be more “scientific” and research oriented. You’ll want to
be able to present your patient with evidence of your findings including X-rays,
surface EMG tests and the like. Many of the strict upper cervical techniques,
such as Orthospinalogy, fall into this category.
If you’re more of the right brain type who tends to be intuitive, imaginative,
and subjective then you’re likely to be attracted to a technique that
relies less on hard analysis and more on feeling. You’ll want to rely
on how the patient feels after an adjustment and you won’t be so interested
in explaining the lines on a graph as an indication of how they’re doing.
A technique that is holistic in approach will be more to your liking. Diversified
is like that as is some of the more esoteric disciplines such as DNFT and NET.
While a student at Life University’s School of Chiropractic more than
25 years ago, I observed firsthand the work of the late Dr. John Grostic, son
of the founder of the technique that bears his name. He was totally left brain
in his approach utilizing an analytical approach to every adjustment. He made
many precise calculations before delivering an upper cervical adjustment with
an impressive looking instrument.
As a young student I was initially quite interested in his work and thought
about putting it into my own practice. I soon realized, however, that all calculations
and pre- and post-measurements weren’t for me. I was more in tune with
the subjective reports of the patient I was adjusting.
While these two approaches might seem radically different they are simply different
paths to getting to the same place—a healthy, vibrant subluxation-free
patient.
Another vital consideration in selecting a technique is the need to receive
relative value for your work. In other words, you have to be able to charge
enough to pay the bills and make a profit. If not then you won’t be in
business for very long and patients will be deprived of what you have to offer
them.
Often doctors will attempt to combine other therapy and products with chiropractic
out of a belief that if they provide more services then the patients will like
them more. While there’s nothing wrong with selling vitamins and using
modalities such as electro-stem, cold lasers and the like, you should never
add them to your mix because you don’t believe the adjustment is enough.
These ancillary products can provide a useful service, but they are not chiropractic.
If you—and your patients—start to believe they are then you’ve
cheapened the real service that you offer.
The value of your time is also a critical part of your business success. As
a general rule of thumb, if you’re spending more than 10 minutes with
each patient then you’re running the risk of slowing down your practice
and inhibiting the number that you can care for in a day. This situation can
be manifested in back ups in the waiting room and ultimately in lost patients
who often aren’t willing to wait or if they are, they won’t for
long.
Even if you’re just beginning and don’t have a full appointment
book each day, its vital that you practice as if you did. Keep the flow moving
and don’t spend a large amount of time with the few patients you do have.
Otherwise, as the numbers increase you won’t be able to handle them.
This slowdown can come as a result of offering too many extra services, or it
can be caused by too much off-topic conversation with each patient. Many doctors
fall into being a counselor for needy individuals who are more than happy to
suck away both your time and energy. By concentrating your full attention on
the adjustment you’re performing and the health of the patient—not
your opinions and feelings about the weather or the election—you can establish
a smooth flow that benefits both you and your patients.
To find out if you’re allocating too much time on each visit, ask a staff
member to record the amount of time you spend with each patient. Make sure they
do it without your knowledge or otherwise you will unconsciously speed up the
visit. You may be surprised by the result.
The great motivational speaker, Brian Tracy noted that the brain is like a great
tuning fork that picks up vibrations of thought and emotion from those around
us. Your patients will pick up on your serious and focused attitude and realize
that they do indeed have your full attention. They know that you’re thinking
about them and not your golf game or stock portfolio.
This vibration can’t be turned on and off throughout the day. It’s
imperative that you start your focus before you walk in the office door and
that you maintain it throughout every patient encounter. When you are able to
devote all your mental concentration and energy to analyzing and adjusting then
you will achieve unbelievable results.
This total laser-like focus will only be possible if you’ve picked the
right technique that’s right for you. If you have, then success will be
yours.
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