Swiss Army Knife of Chiropractic Practice Development

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Ever see a one of those Swiss Army Knives?

I have one. It shows up now and then in one of my drawers.  I always forget how many applications it has and I am always surprised when I keep pulling out more.

Well, there is a particular practice building tool that works like a Swiss Army Knife for your office.Swiss army knife isolated

It is inexpensive, almost free, yet this one tool serves many purposes more effectively than most anything else you can do in your office.

You could call it the Swiss Army Knife of Practice Development.

Once you, and your team, and especially your patients watch Bought, you will understand the power of the Swiss Army Knife of Practice Development.

This one tool can be your most effective marketing procedure. It can be your best therapeutic modality or ancillary service. It can also serve as your best tool to boost team productivity.

But like with my Swiss Army Knife, it can easily get taken for granted and NOT USED.

I can guarantee that IF you energetically use the Swiss Army Knife of Practice Development, your patients will stay with you longer, they will get healthier, your team will be more productive, you will generate more patients, and, yes, you’ll see your collections increase.

What is the Swiss Army Knife of Practice Development?

Education.

Education brings about an increase of awareness and results in a motivation to make a change. It does this for your patients in terms of improving their health, in motivating them to get others to use your services, and in helping to make your team even more purposeful.

You know chiropractic and what it does for people. Each day, miracles occur. It gets almost routine. You know how chiropractic works and you know why it works. Your patients do not. And most of your staff only have a general, and perhaps forgotten understanding.

By educating your patients you are fortifying them with knowledge that makes them aware of the power of your services and the importance of continuing care. It counteracts the propaganda they receive in the form of hundreds of ad impressions we all receive each day for drugs and bad food. It increases their awareness and will motivate them to not only continue with their care, but to benefit more from it.

This will, in turn, encourage them to bring in their family and friends to see you. They may even encourage you to speak to their work place or organizations.

Education can motivate your staff. I have seen numbers go up 25% quickly once the rest of the team was educated more on chiropractic and natural health care.

Lastly, education motivates you.

Education is your least expensive modality or ancillary service, it is the most cost effective marketing tool you have, and costs nothing to educate your staff.

Here are some sample actions to take to improve your educational activities.

  1. Look at your office as an educational facility even more than a care facility. You increase people’s knowledge so that they can take more responsibilty for their health, and for those they care about.
  2. Spend a hour or more each week studying. Read, listen to audios, go to seminars, have lunch with a colleague. Call your coach!
  3. Watch a movie with your staff such as Bought, Doctored, Food Inc., and then have a discussion period afterwards.
  4. Staff Meetings. Go over a case history or two.
  5. Patient Care Class.
  6. Start a Lending Library and position your office as an educational facility.  Even  if you lose a few books or DVD’s each month, it is worth it as your patients will see that you are serious about health and health education. Give each staff member a bonus for a book report presentation at a staff meeting.

There are many ways to educate yourself, your team, and your patients.  Done right, education turns into enlightenment and this will produce a greater return than many other activities you do.

Like a Swiss Army knife, health education serves many purposes. But also like a Swiss Army knife, it has to be kept out, used, not hidden away in the back of a drawer or on a bookcase.

The Most Cost Effective Tool You Have to Build Your Chiropractic Practice and Help Your Patients – and you probably are barely using it!

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what if I told you copy

 Forget about the roller tables, stretching bands, balance boards, traction devises, taping, decompression, protein powder, vibrating platforms, laser, lipo body sculpting, ultrasound, stim, tens, supplements, orthotics, etc.

Any or all of these may or may not be appropriate for your practice, but they should not be your first choice in providing a modality or ancillary service to your patients.

Think about this: what could you do for your patients, in addition to your adjustments, that would help them improve their health the most?

EDUCATE THEM

The more the patient knows about how chiropractic works – and how your services help them – the more motivated they will be in following through with their health care plan.

People don’t know about subluxations just like they really didn’t know about asbestos or cigarettes. It was a while ago but advertising was rampant on television and in print promoting cigarettes. MD’s were often used to legitimize the use of cigarettes.

Today, your patients are also being inundated with propaganda about food, drugs, and basic lifestyle choices that are not healthy, let alone not true. They are told that drugs are safe solutions for headaches, back pain, and other ailments when in many cases they are found to be poisonous. (Vioxx, Accutane, Cylert, Darvon & Darvocet, for example.) Nearly all the food they eat has various toxins, from aspartame in diet food to herbicides that linger (glyphosate, used in “Roundup” and sprayed on your kid’s schools playgrounds).

Educated patients are better equipped to keep to their treatment program and continue improving their health. Isn’t this what you want?

This is your #1 ancillary service.

#1 Marketing Tool
Educated patients are more motivated to refer those they know to you and to help you set up external events. They can become your ambassadors, field representatives and sales force. They know that someone with headaches, low back pain, or other odd symptoms may be helped by chiropractic and your services. They may be able to refer them directly, or you can help them by providing special workshops, special events, and opportunities for external programs at their place of work.

#1 Team Management Tool
All of this also applies to each of your team members as well.

We are all “numbed down” by a conventional lifestyle and a culture that is greatly manufactured by just a few large industries such as Big Pharma and Big Food that use media and government to achieve its ends.

And, frankly, we tend to take what we do for granted. Imagine a patient who had a headache for years and after your care is now pain free and can get a full night’s sleep and her relationships with her family have improved., etc.  Amazing, right?  But for us, pretty routine. We can end up being more concerned about billing her secondary or supplement insurance or keeping her scheduling than in just celebrating with her.

Almost anything you know about health care will be “new news” to your patients and probably many of your staff. Plus, we all tend to forget what we once knew.

What is the big difference with you from when you started chiropractic college and after you graduated (Besides debt) . THE difference was and is that you were motivated. And you were motivated because… you were educated and even more, you were enlightened. You were able to see things in people’s health conditions that you never saw before. And with all this understanding, you were now more motivated.

But in time, awareness can dim and so can motivation. New patients start dropping off, treatment plans get shorter, and the quality of staff performance erodes. The solution is to keep educating patients and team members so that they stay awake and motivated.

In other words, WAKE THE FLOCK UP!

Patient and staff education provide the best ROI of any activity you have. Modalities and extra services have many overlooked costs such as staff time to account and bill for the therapies, extra staff to apply the services, someone to take inventory of the products and to sell them, etc. Patient education is pretty much a no cost proposition. How much does a care class cost? Watching “Doctored” or “Food Inc. ” or “Bought” with your staff and then discussing it afterwards (that is very important), it is much cheaper than flying to Las Vegas.

And if you do it often and effectively, you will be able to afford that next seminar in Hawaii.

As the doctor, you are the CEO, the Chief Evangelizing Officer. I first heard this term from Guy Kawasaki, who was called this when he worked for Apple when the Macintosh was first launched in the early 80’s. Macintosh was trying to win over users from IBM computers to the Apple Macintosh.

You are creating converts to a chiropractic and natural health lifestyle.

Remember that education, both staff, patients, and your own education as well should cover not only what your services do, and how they do it, but WHY you provide these services. In fact, your emotional connection to the reason you do your services communicates the strongest.

WHAT TO DO
1. First, keep yourself aware and amazed at the innate healing power of the body and the great affects your services provide. Provide an hour or two of study for yourself each week. Just like you work IN your office, you have to work ON your office – and that includes yourself.

2.  Let yourself get emotional about what the FLOCK is going on!  Don’t be “correct”, well heeled and a good little domesticated “provider.” It is natural that you become somewhat “riled up” about the injustice that your patients and their family and friends experience in receiving “health care” or at the misinformation “fed” to people about healthy living.

3. Educate your team. Watch a movie with them and then have a discussion period afterwards. (The discussion is very important as it helps get everyone engaged in the process.)

4. Staff Meetings. Go over a case history or two.

5. Patient Care Class. There are many different names for this, but all patients get better, faster, and stay healthier longer if they know more about chiropractic and health. Make it a part of their treatment plan and bribe them with food!

6. Start a Lending Library and position your office as an educational facility.  Even  if you lose a few books or DVD’s each month, it is worth it as your patients will see that you are serious about health and health education. Give each staff member a bonus for a book report presentation at a staff meeting.

There are many ways to educate yourself, your team, and your patients.  Done right, education turns into enlightenment and this will produce a greater return than many other activities you do.

# # #

Bought – The Movie

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The Movie BOUGHT – available now for pre-release viewing.

The Movie BOUGHT is out.  The same people that brought you DOCTORED have now produced one on general health care and how it has been taken over by the pharmaceutical industry, as well as Monsanto.  I have watched it and found it to be very powerful, supported by credible authorities, statistics, as well as personal stories.

It can be a very effective tool in patient and staff education.

It is not actually distributed yet, but you can get a pre-release viewing of it now for the next 30 days or so before it gets shown in movie theaters around the country.

Go to www.boughtmovie.com, or view the trailer here:

Below is a statement from Jeff Hays, the Producer.
Watch it and I get others to do the same.

bought

Best,

Ed

Hi, I’m Jeff Hays, an award winning filmmaker who’s been short-listed for an Academy Award. I’ve been known for making documentaries on controversial topics such as health care, alternative medicine and 9/11.

And over the last 12 months, I’ve been digging into the ugly truth behind vaccines, GMO’s, and our entire health care system.

With our crew, we flew all over the U.S. and got exclusive access to whistleblowers, former drug reps and university scientists…

We were shocked by what we uncovered.

As you probably know already…

For years now, Wall Street has literally “BOUGHT” your health and your family’s health. The food, drug, insurance and health industry is a multi-BILLION dollar enterprise… focused more on profits than human lives.

But I was not prepared to see how deep the rabbit hole went. And I was simply not ready to see things like…

Drug and vaccine companies blatantly falsifying documents…

Whistleblowers getting completely BURIED…

Government looking the other way…

Bribery…

And that’s not even to mention the tragic human cost of families ruined by unsafe drugs, vaccines, and food… endless medical bills… ruined marriages… and a rapid rise in chronic disease (especially in children).

By the end of my travels, We knew we had a controversial documentary that would not only open eyes, but could spark a movement for change across the US and the world.

It took over six more months of care, attention and energy to edit the film. But now it’s finally ready for the world to see.

 

Marketing Plans for Your Chiropractic Office This Fall

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As we move from the summer months into fall, I thought that it might be helpful to preview some marketing ideas for the rest of the year.

Below is a link to several articles on our web site referencing marketing procedures and programs for the autumn and the early winter months.

Marketing is basically physics: for energy to come in, energy has to go out.

Ideally the energy is well directed and of a high quality, but mainly, it has to get out.  Quantity first, then gradually, improve the quality.

But everything is done twice: first in your mind and then in the world. First comes the meta-physics, then comes the physics

This is why the most important and first step starts with you – your faith, confidence, and belief in what you are doing and especially, why you are doing it.

Organizational system failures or personal situations can often get in the way that distract us and cause us to lose sight of our purpose or of the great results we have achieved for others in the past.

And, there will always be the negative few that seem to outweigh the positive many.

Sometimes we focus on the “barking dogs” that come out to chase us for a while rather than concentrating on the fire we are racing towards to put out.

Marketing is about communication. It is an “outflow” that sooner or later, directly or indirectly, generates an “inflow.”  It is your creative voice that is either filled with mission and purpose, or is forced and desperate. Stymied by failures or disappointments, our “voice” can recede to a whimper or a mumble.

But the fear that can grip us is mostly an invention because too often, we take things too seriously.

The fact is, as Ben and Rosa Zander point out in their book, The Art of Possibility, most of life is just “invented.”  I listened to Ben Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, give an inspirational presentation at the chiropractic seminar called the WAVE in San Francisco in August.

He advised that when we slip and make a mistake, we should just throw out our arms, lean back slightly and exuberantly and say: “Fascinating.”   We just can’t take things too seriously and instead we should move on passionately expressing ourselves. Not bad advice from a maestro whose goal is to get musicians to play better.

You could also go out to a field or park and just yell: “I am the greatest and the world loves me and wants to come to my office.”

Don’t be surprised if the universe cooperates.

Marketing your services, like helping people get better, should be enjoyable. It should be fun. You should be smiling and laughing.

And you know, as the song goes:

♪ When you’re smiling, ♫When you’re smiling,♪
♫The whole world smiles with you,♫
♫When you’re laughing, ♫When you’re laughing,♪
♪The sun comes shining through,♫
♫Wishing you plenty of smiles and all the best,♪

Ed

Click Link for more Marketing Articles

Here is a great rendition of the song by Frank Sinatra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=351l62Yx0oI

Fall Marketing for Chiropractic Offices

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Follow these links to some useful articles on what to do this fall to generate more new patients and increase your volume.

Chiropractic Marketing Ideas for Fall Promotions.
General Marketing Procedures and Ideas for Fall Marketing during October, November and December

Chiropractic Never Takes a Holiday.
Health doesn’t take a holiday, your appointment book doesn’t have to either.  Pointers on how to keep your patients on their care plan during the hustle and bustle of the fast approaching holiday season

Fall Marketing Ideas.
An outline of more Fall marketing ideas.

Heat up Winter With Chiropractic Health Promotions
Get a jump start on 2015 with putting good Healthy Promotions  for the New Year in place early.

Chiropractic Holiday Marketing Tips
This article covers effective marketing procedures, internal marketing, community talks, recurring events.

Fall Chiropractic Marketing
Internal promotions and External Community Events

Spinal Health Awareness Week
October is National Spinal Health Month.  This article covers ideas to get the word out.

Sample Poster for Spinal Health Awareness (PDF)

Promoting Kid’s Health 
Save your children the hassle of living with the same spinal problems you suffer from.  This article provides suggestions  to bring about awareness to Kid’s and Chiropractic

Special Event Health Care for Kids 
Detailed outline of how to hold a Kid’s Day or Kid’s Week.

Newsletters
The importance of doing an office newsletter and how to get the job done.

Join us at EPOC for Dr. Billy DeMoss!

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Download the flier Billy D Poster-Aug 2014

Epicenter of Chiropractic “EPOC” of Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin

presents

DeMoss profile

   BILLY DeMOSS, D.C.

Monday, August. 25, Grand Geneva Resort, Lake Geneva, WI 8 pm

You don’t want to miss this event: Get motivated, inspired, and educated. Bring your entire team!

Billy DeMoss is a chiropractor in the Los Angeles area who founded the largest rock health festival in America called CalJam which is held yearly in Costa Mesa, CA. He also regularly hosts speakers at his busy chiropractic office sponsored by the Dead Chiropractic Society (DC/S), a group he also started.

Billy is an educator and a ferocious advocate for health. Learn more about him at these sites: www.californiajam.org ~www.deadchiropracticsociety.com

Monday, August. 25 at the Grand Geneva in Lake Geneva.

There is limited seating so please RSVP soon. Refreshments served.
Let us know if you will be there and you will be entered in a drawing for a DC/S t-shirt* (two will be drawn.)

Please let us know if you plan to come by RSVP’ing to Services@PMAworks.com.
Make checks out to “EPOC” and pay at the door.
Doctor $100/ea   Staff $50/ea check

Questions: Call or email Linda.     Linda@pmaworks.com (262) 749-0221

*this offer is not associated with EPOC.  Please RSVP to Services@PMAworks.com to participate. Include full names of all participants. 

Download the flier now Billy D Poster-Aug 2014

Sage on the Stage or Guide from the Side: Chiropractic Seminars vs. Coaching – Which is Better?

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They both can be expensive, so what service gives the greatest “bang for the buck?”

I go to seminars. I like them. In fact, I hope to see some of you at the WAVE, sponsored by Life West  in San Francisco this weekend (8/1/2014).   (If you are going please contact me by calling the office number below and it will forward to my phone. It would be great to say “hi” in person!)

Seminars provide a good opportunity to get away. B.J. Palmer talks about this, of course, in his Rule Number #9. (1)

Also, by disengaging from your work, you can better re-engage in it when you get back. The science of this is discussed in a book called: The Power of Full Engagement.

Plus, networking. Nothing like meeting new people and hearing how and what they are doing and trading fish stories – even if they are often embellished.  (“Don’t tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.” Attributed to Mark Twain.)

And, they can be entertaining.

Plus, you can learn things. Learning new things that work and unlearning things that don’t work is probably the MOST important skill you can have. And it is getting more important every day. Our world is changing SO fast that in order to keep up, you have to really spend time and money learning.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” ― Alvin Toffler

However, there are drawbacks.

Seminars: the Sage on the Stage

First, there is the expense of the seminar.  Actually, by comparison, most chiropractic seminars are dirt cheap compared to other seminars that run into the thousands. The expense is in the travel. The hidden expenses add up considerably, especially if you take your staff, which you should now and then.

Then, there is the actual content – the information being imparted.  Much of it is motivational and that is nice.  However, the seminar speaker does not know you. He hasn’t been to your office, your home, talked with your staff or know your family. He hasn’t read your town’s newspaper or seen your patients.  He doesn’t know your situation.  He teaches you a procedure that sounds good in theory and may have even worked in his office 15 years ago, for a while.  He may be entertaining, or coercive.  But, often only 10% of what is taught at a seminar is applicable to you and your office.  And of that, very little gets implemented, and in two months, less than 5% of the seminar may be in operation at your office.   The following is an example that shows how much useful information gets reduced down to actual implementation in most offices.

Actual Value of Seminar (approximate percentages)

  • Motivational (can sometimes be excellent, but is very temporary.)
  • Percent of information verifiably valid:  70%
  • Percent of information comprehensible, heard, or understood: Of the 70%, one half is comprehended, heard, or understood, leaving 35%)
  • Percent of information applicable to your particular city, staff, patient base, your style and personality, etc.: Of that 35%, perhaps 15% isn’t applicable, leaving you with 20%.
  • Percent of information that can be implemented in your office: Of the remaining 20%, perhaps only half can get applied, leaving 10%.
  • Percent of information that gets applied:  In two weeks time, only 5% gets applied.
  • Percent of information that stays in application: After two months, only 1-5% percent of the original information is still applied.
  • If you had spent $2,000 on a seminar program, using the rough example above, you would have wasted all but 5%, or $1,900.

This example is a little harsh, I‘ll admit, but I wanted to make a point. But you know what? Even this small percent may still be worth attending the seminar.

Coaching – The Guide from the Side

Our company grew because doctors did not or could not adequately apply what they heard at the seminars.  Starting out many years ago, I remember seeing doctor’s shelves full of binders, VHS cassettes, and manuals that were barely touched since they were brought home from the seminar.

So, back in the late 1980’s, we came up with our niche and our identity, encapsulated in our tag line:

When Seminars Aren’t Enough sm

Good coaching, helps you and helps your team discover what systems work best for you, and then helps you make them better – over and over until your TEAM becomes expert.

A good coach, like a competent doctor, has the experience to quickly identify what needs to be worked on that can bring about the quickest improvements.  This is what we do.  We have become skilled at spotting the key leverage points (3) in an office and have developed new and effective methods to make the changes necessary for faster improvements.

But, we do this as your guide. We don’t impose a particular patient system into your office.  You are unique and what works for a doctor in Nebraska may not work for the same one in San Diego.  We help you discover what works best for you and help your team get better at supporting you.

A good coach trains, advises, nudges, listens, counsels, teaches, and when possible, even does some of the work.  And is this effective? You sure as hell bet it is! We have been doing this for nearly 30 years and those doctors that have worked with us know this to be true.

But the real reason for coaching is economics: bottom line, baby! Return on Invest. ROI.  Studies show a pay back of 5 to 7 times on your investment. We have certainly seen this occur. (3)

Like chiropractic, good care doesn’t cost, IT PAYS. Health IS wealth.  The same applies to education – and in particular – coaching. It doesn’t cost – it pays.

Seminars? Yes. Coaching? Hell yes!  But books and webinars and mentors as well.  A weekend of reading a book is a great investment.

In the end, you have to constantly study and learn to stay in the game. Success is, now more than ever, dependent upon constant never ending improvement.  You have to do this just to keep up, let alone to get ahead.

And if you don’t – well, your community and patients will be seeking a healthcare office that is.

References
(1)    Rule #9:  Every man owes it to himself, his people and his service to go away about every so often. The more detail he has, the oftener he should go. The more worries, the more he needs to go. The bigger his work, the longer his vacation should be. – B.J. Palmer    https://pmaworks.com/observations/2008/08/18/getting-away-rule-9/

(2)    Leverage Points  http://www.donellameadows.org/wp-content/userfiles/Leverage_Points.pdf , also: Eli Goldratt, The Goal

(3)    BUSINESS IMPACT STUDIES

  • Research conducted by MetrixGlobal on coaching at a Fortune 500 company showed that coaching produced a 529% return on investment and significant intangible benefits to the business. Including the financial benefits from employee retention boosted the overall ROI to 788%.
  • A landmark study commissioned by Right Management Consultants found a return-on-investment of dollars spent on executive coaching of nearly 600%. Executives engaged in coaching reported increases in productivity, improvement in relationships with direct reports and colleagues and greater job satisfaction.
  • According to a study by the Manchester Consulting Group, organizational benefits from executive coaching include:

Improved Relationships 77%
Improved Teamwork 67%
Improved Job Satisfaction 61%
Improved Productivity 53%

  • An International Personnel Management Association survey found that productivity increased by 88 percent when coaching was combined with training (compared to a 22 percent increase with training alone).
  • Studies completed by the American Society for Training and Development showed a ROI of 5 times the cost of coaching.

BUSINESS PRESS EXCERPTS

  “Many of the world’s most admired corporations, from GE to Goldman Sachs, invest in coaching. Annual spending on coaching in the United States in estimated at roughly $1 billion.”   Harvard Business Review

  “Coaches are not for the meek. They’re for people who value unambiguous feedback. All coaches have one thing in common. It’s that they are ruthlessly results-oriented.”          Fast Company Magazine

  “Business coaching is attracting America’s top CEO’s because, put simply, business coaching works. In fact, when asked for a conservative estimate of monetary payoff from the coaching they got….managers described an average return of more than $100,000 or about six times what coaching had cost their companies.”                                   Fortune Magazine

   “[A Coach] is part advisor, part sounding board, part cheerleader, part manager and part strategist.”    The Business Journal

   “Between 25 percent and 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies use executive coaches.”      The Hay Group International

  “Once used to bolster troubled staffers, coaching now is part of the standard leadership development training for elite executives and talented up-and-comers at IBM, Motorola, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and Hewlett Packard. These companies are discreetly giving their best prospects what star athletes have long had: a trusted adviser to help reach their goals.”                     CNN.com

  “In a 2004 survey by Right Management consultants, 86% of companies said they used coaching to sharpen skills of individuals who have been identified as future organizational leaders.”         Harvard Management Update

  “A coach may be the guardian angel you need to rev up your career.”          Money Magazine

http://transverseleadership.com/roi.html

Patient Retention in Chiropractic and Delivering Happiness

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In our webinar on chiropractic patient retention, we reviewed some basic procedures that can be used to decrease patient drop outs.

More significantly, we looked at a new paradigm for patient retention that many businesses are using successfully.

If your visit average is less than 60, then you can benefit from the material we covered.

The webinar also included a short presentation on an effective patient recall system used many years by Linda Skiles, former Chiropractic Assistant of the year in WI. The forms discussed in the webinar are located on our PM&A members site.

We discussed why patients drop out of care – the basic reasons, and ten strategies you can put into place to improve your visit average .

One of the last strategies examined a company called Zappos. This is an online shoe selling company that began in 1999 and ten years later was selling a billion dollars worth of shoes.  We looked at a couple of key features on how it did this.

Under the strategy of “Take Care of Each Other”, we reviewed their ten core principles.  According to the founder and CEO ,Tony Hsieh, employees are hired in part based upon these core values. He discusses this in his book, Delivering Happiness.

These are the ten core values that Zappos employees live by:

  1. Deliver WOW Through Service
  2. Embrace and Drive Change
  3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
  4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
  5. Pursue Growth and Learning
  6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
  7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
  8. Do More With Less
  9. Be Passionate and Determined
  10. Be Humble

What are the core values of your office? Have you defined them? Should you? Does each team member live by them?

Below are two links to two short videos that illustrate how Zappos applies these core values. The first is a music video put together by Zappos and their employees. Just fun – and maybe even inspirational.

Then, watch as Rachel Ray anonymously calls in to place an order on Zappos and see how she is treated.

Zappos illustrates the strategy we call: “Taking Care of Each Other” and “Creating a Community.”  Both of these are effective strategies that can help increase patient retention.

You can use these videos at a staff training meeting and discuss how it could apply to your team.

If you are an active client, you can also watch the webinar on our members site.

Your patients may come to you for health and relief, but they stay because of friendship and how you make them feel as people. By hiring the right team members and helping each other stay true to patient centered core values as exemplified by Zappos, your patients will want to come back and see you again and again.

If you are having trouble viewing the video above, please click this link:

http://youtu.be/4gHlEBU_NSg

If you are having trouble viewing the video above, please click this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td-nVat6cLY&feature=colike

Independence and Dr. Jim Sigafoose

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Dr. Jim Sigafoose, 1985

Dr. Jim Sigafoose in San Francisco, 1985

What makes chiropractic so remarkable is that it works so effectively.  If you work in the chiropractic profession or receive chiropractic adjustments, you have witnessed this first hand.

But there is another factor that makes chiropractic even more remarkable – something that makes it truly unique above most if not all professions.

It hasn’t sold out. For the most part, since its inception in 1895, it has maintained its integrity. It has remained relatively independent and free from mega corporations that have otherwise hijacked our so called “health care” system.

It has stood up to the medical-industrial complex, and though coerced and bribed and enticed to go away or give up, chiropractors and their supporters have prevailed. With your help, it has stood strong and unbowed.

Certainly, there are odd roads that segments of the profession have tried to go down every now and then, not the worst of which has been catering to the “health” cartel. And the chiropractic profession will need to find its way to work more inter-dependently with all legitimate medical and health disciplines.

But most of all — it needs to continue to be itself.

Jim Sigafoose reminded us what chiropractic is and who we are in the chiropractic profession.

Yesterday, I was informed that he passed on.

I have to get personal here. Years ago I worked with Siggy, as did my business partner, Dave Michel. In the 80’s we hung out and worked with him in certain management seminars, or would work with him in the field with our clients. We recommended our clients attend his seminars, his “Gatherings”, and buy his educational material.

Siggy was my own Bob Dylan of chiropractic. He was a troubadour that didn’t play for any king nor cater to any earthly lord. He couldn’t be bought. I am not a doctor of chiropractic, but your profession appealed to me because it was so helpful and revolutionary – and even respected the spiritual aspect mankind. Dr. Sigafoose represented chiropractic to me in this way and were it not for him, I am sure I would be working in other endeavors than chiropractic.

At a WAVE seminar sponsored by Life West a couple of few years ago, Siggy went on the stage and challenged the audience why they felt they needed all the products sold by the vendors lining the hallways of the seminar. He said that he didn’t think saying this was going to be appreciated by the sponsors of the event, but I am sure Siggy felt the principles were more important than the profits.
After his talk, he walked down and sat down by himself. I went over and sat beside him and we listened to Bruce Lipton give a great presentation – full of science and slides.

People like science and slides. But science and slides should simply prove the principles – which was actually Dr. Lipton’s whole point. D.D. Palmer had it correct back in the 19th Century.

As did Siggy.

When he talked, the complexity of what we do in chiropractic fell way, like rust falling off of a hinge. Like crusted ice breaking apart on a car windshield here on a Midwest winter, when Siggy talked, you could see the truth better. And it was a truth that you already knew but was obscured by mental and physical clutter.

Siggy’s message seemed to motivate you not be a warrior, but to be a more loving servant.

I guess mostly I always felt Siggy was my friend and that he genuinely liked me. But I only say this because it seemed to me that he made everyone he touched feel like they were his personal friend.

He was passionate, he cared, and he suffered. He was tireless. He did not retire. He kept going. He was courageous. And I think he did all this because, most of all… because of love. I think he loved chiropractic, God, his family, his patients and all patients, and those of us who work in chiropractic.

Today in America, we celebrate our independence. But with independence comes responsibility and the need for integrity. Forfeit your personal and professional responsibility, care less, comprise more, and you will gradually slip into the state of dependence.

This is the tide that is rushing at your patients – to become more dependent upon drugs and vaccinations, entertainment, and big business masquerading as government.

For those of us in the chiropractic profession, we owe so much to those who have come before us, like Dr. Jim Sigafoose. For, like America, we have been given the hard won gift of independence. Through Dr. Sigafoose’s work, and others like him, we are reminded that we have to work to stay independent and help our patients to do the same.

(same article in PDF form for download)

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Here is a short clip with Siggy.  4 minutes

SiggySummer

The Ladies Are On the Road Again!

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Phyllis Frase and Dana Pittner, in addition to consulting chiropractic offices on a daily basis, spend some of their time speaking across the country at various seminars and colleges.  Their passion for chiropractic and the success of chiropractic teams drives their motivation to share their expertise of running a successful office.

Upcoming Events include:

May 3 Sherman Lyceum 2014-South Carolina-Dana Pittner
May 15 Morraine Park Technical College, West Bend, WI-Phyllis Frase
June 12-14  Parker Seminar-Charleston, SC-Phyllis Frase  $25.00 discount code :  CHSSPKRDISC11

Will they be heading to your town next?
Stayed tuned to other events as they are posted by following our calendar at:  PMA Works Observations-Calendar

If you’re interested in one of their programs please contact us at (414) 332-4511.

Anthem Chiropractic Network Reductions

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(Wisconsin, April 4) Chiropractors in WI received certified letters from Anthem BCBS announcing that they are initiating a sweeping reduction of their chiropractic provider network to supposedly “right size their provider network as a result of the ACA”.

According to Mr. Dave Michel of Petty, Michel & Associates, if you have one of these letters, you’ll be removed from the BX network on Sept 30 “without cause”, as allowed under your provider agreement.

He says that it looks like they may be targeting larger clinics in each city with higher utilization and also possibly those with a focus towards wellness,and that this doesn’t bode well for their customer base.

Dave mentioned that a similar tactic was used by insurance companies in Massachusetts with the introduction of “Romney-Care” in 2006 and after the hue and cry, chiropractic offices continued to grow. This has also been the case with offices that we have worked with when the doctor was booted from a network – stats go up!

In many cases, the out of network benefits are close to those in network.

Dave has written a letter that you can customize and send to your patients should you get hit by an insurance company claiming they need to “right size.” You can download a copy of this letter as a Word file with the link provided below.

A key to survival is patient education, not only on chiropractic, but also on chiropractic benefits. This is why we stress the Patient Financial Consultation, or the Post Report of Findings.

Lastly,  Dave recommended working together as a group with your state associations and respectfully confronting any insurance company that discriminates against chiropractic services with the facts.  And the facts are that chiropractic care doesn’t cost… it pays.

While you may not practice in Wisconsin, there may be a time when you receive such a letter and if you  do,  these suggestions  can help.

For PM&A clients, if you have received a letter like this, let us know and we’ll work with you on your options.

Sincerely,

Ed

Dave Michel’s Letter to patients: Anthem Termination Letter

Tent Poster – “Life is a Torch” – George Bernard Shaw

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This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

—-  George Bernard Shaw Preface in book called: “Man and Superman: a Comedy and Philosophy.”

Shaw

Printable Tent Poster

ICD-10 Implementation Delayed until 2015 – Chiropractors Breathe a Sigh of Relief

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Good Grief!

After all the pressure to get compliant and ready for the new ICD-10, it looks like it will be delayed for another  year.  Again.

According to a report issued by the AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association):

“On behalf of our more than 72,000 members who have prepared for ICD-10 in good faith, AHIMA will seek immediate clarification on a number of technical issues such as the exact length of the delay,” said AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA

Please note the number of capital letters behind Thomas Gordon’s name. This should give us all an idea of how convoluted this process is and will continue to be.

The same article, issued on March  31, 2014 states:

CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid)  has estimated that another one-year delay of ICD-10 would likely cost the industry an additional $1 billion to $6.6 billion on top of the costs already incurred from the previous one-year delay.  This does not include the lost opportunity costs of failing to move to a more effective code set, AHIMA said.

Many coding education programs had switched to teaching only ICD-10 codes to students, hospitals and physician offices had begun moving into the final stages of costly and comprehensive transitions to the new code set—even the CMS and NCHS committee responsible for officially updating the current code set changed the group’s name to the ICD-10-CM/PCS Coordination and Maintenance Committee.

The delay directly impacts at least 25,000 students who have learned to code exclusively in ICD-10 in health information management (HIM) associate and baccalaureate educational programs, AHIMA said in a statement.

The United States remains one of the only developed countries that has not made the transition to ICD-10 or a clinical modification. ICD-10 proponents have called the new code set a more modern, robust, and precise coding system that is essential to fully realizing the benefits of recent investments in electronic health records and maximizing health information exchange. (AHIMA article)

 ICD-10 is not going away. But for those of you who felt that you weren’t going to be ready by the deadline… looks like you have more time to get everyone trained and the systems worked out.

Which is nice!

Stay tuned for more info from your state associations, carriers, and CMS. We will do our best as well to keep you up to date.

Disruptive Technologies: Why Cal Jam Is the Future – and You are Too

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Petty Michel Following the Force to Cal Jam

 Next week, a few thousand chiropractic professionals will attend a chiropractic seminar called Cal Jam sponsored by the Dead Chiropractic Society.  (Some of us from PM&A will be attending as well as a number of the offices with whom we work.)

Cal Jam is what could be called a disruptive event.

I take this from a term used in technology called “disruptive technology” or “disruptive innovation.” It refers to a product or discovery that forever changes the future. It creates a true paradigm shift. For example, the automobile, telephone, and of course, the Internet. We see this happening with FaceBook and soon, perhaps with Bitcoin, drone home deliveries, and other culture shifting technologies.

Cal Jam is a seminar that is unlike all past seminars I have attended or know about.  It is, in itself, a paradigm shift.  I have been traveling off to chiropractic seminars for few years now. The first one I attended was back in 84 or 85 when Dr. Parker (Dr. James Parker) had it in Reno one year. Had the chance to talk to him then up in his suite.  Since then, I have been to maybe a 100 or more over the years. Cal Jam is dif-er-ent.

Petty Michel & Associates is not really a seminar company, but we encourage them. Seminars can be useful for teaching, motivating, selling, and networking, but we find that the real work begins and ends in the office, where you work on the office. Like the old phrase: “Education Begins at Home.”

But Cal Jam is unique.

  • As a whole, Cal Jam is not about itself.  There may be speakers or vendors that have invested a great deal and need to promote themselves, but the theme is not about Cal Jam or any one management company or product.  It is really about the bigger issues of Chiropractic and Health.  So, there is kind of a lack of self-importance which is very refreshing.  It genuinely puts chiropractic and the health of your family, friends and community first.
  • Cal Jam starts with chiropractic and then takes off to vital issues affecting health.  It takes on critical – and controversial — health subjects that go way beyond the conventional and challenges you to learn how they affect your patients and what you can do about these issues.
  • Principles and history. It has presenters that deeply discuss chiropractic principles and history, the foundation for your profession which is often overlooked and, in our years of on-site work,  a major reason for many floundering practices.
  • Totally classy. In fact, the digs are luxurious. The venue is in a modern performing arts center that is nothing short of first class.
  • All done by just one practicing Doc. It is championed by just one person, Billy DeMoss (supported by Mary Jane), a practicing chiropractor who lives and works in an office just like all the tens of thousands of other chiropractors. Chiropractors like you. He is not school president, he is not a practice management seminar speaker, and he is not selling supplements or equipment.  So, in many ways, he is just like you.
  • Purpose. Except for this: he is authentically driven by a greater purpose to promote chiropractic and good health to such an extent that is is creating this thing called Cal Jam.  And by his actions, he sets an example for you. You have to ask yourself: “Besides growing my own business, what could I also be doing to significantly help others?”
  • Rock and Roll.  Lastly, I have never attended a rock concert that was also a seminar.  This is my 4th Cal Jam. It is fun!

It is not too late to hop on a plane and attend Cal Jam. The seminar is modestly priced. Go to Cal Jam.

But if you can’t, you can apply its spirit – the spirit of honestly helping others improve their health.  And being disruptive.  This may go beyond your comfort zone, but it will be worth it.  It is no news that chiropractic is, and always has been, a disruptive health system. Imagine, adjusting someone rather than having them receive back surgery! Back surgery brings in a lot of money to hospitals yet at least one study cited estimates as much as 90% are unnecessary. I am you as doctors see this first hand. But chiropractic has frightened and upset the medical monopoly for years, as evidenced in the 1988 Wilk vs AMA case.

Be just a bit disruptive. Have fun and be friendly and don’t take yourself too seriously. But be something new and fresh in your office and in your town. Get people off the couch, off their drugs, get them adjusted, educated and moving. This is what people, more and more, know they need.  For that IS the spirit of chiropractic, in my opinion.

And if you want, turn up the jute box – or Internet radio. Get your patients dancing to some rock and roll music*… and you can have the spirit of Cal Jam every day.

*“Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music, anyway you choose it,
It’s got a back beat, you can’t lose it, Any old time you use it.” (Chuck Berry)

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