Developing consensus is possible


	Enter your search termsSubmit search formWeb ChiroEco.com

Developing consensus is possible
By Richard J. Davis, DC

The public’s perception of chiropractic varies widely from considering us “valued physicians” to “quacks.” We share only 8 percent of the healthcare market. And enrollment in our colleges is down 30 percent from a few years ago.

At the same time, major studies have demonstrated the powerful clinical and economic benefits chiropractic offers the American healthcare system.

It is time we take ownership of the problem and fix it!

Though our profession embraces more than one philosophy, we can develop a shared vision, one that we can all support and carry forward to create a positive perception and image of who we are and what we offer.

Once we know who we are, our next step is to decide where we want to take the profession, and how we plan to do that.

In my “previous life” as a corporate executive, I was involved in facilitating strategic planning to help people with varied interests and goals plan their business future. To show how this type of planning applies to chiropractic, I recently worked with three different sets of people to develop consensus and plans: eight department heads at Logan College, 75 tri-seven students at Logan, and 20 chiropractors from the St. Louis chapter of the Missouri State Chiropractors Association.

Each set developed consensus and plans within a 45-minute time frame, on several key topics:

Our product (chiropractic);
The market need;
Our customers;
Our competition;
Our business objective;
Key issues; and
Strategy.

The final step in any strategic planning exercise is developing an action plan that details who has to do what by when to get where we want to be. This final step was beyond the scope of the three pilot studies.

The accompanying table summarizes key points of the three studies.

If these groups, including future chiropractors of America — who have different chiropractic philosophies — can join together in consensus, cannot the rest of us? I urge that we all support an effort to plan our future. If we go in many directions we will fail, and some other group, perhaps doctors of physical therapy, will take over. If we all reach for the same shared vision and plan our future, we will succeed.

Consensus of the 3 pilot groups Three groups of students and chiropractors who hold diverse chiropractic philosophies came to essentially the same conclusions during their strategic planning sessions:
Strategic question	Consensus
How do you want the public to view chiropractors?	Well educated, doctorate-level, primary-care career professionals, who provide safe, cost-effective, research-based, patient-centered healthcare and wellness care (promoting health).
What does the public perceive it needs?	A safe, cost-effective alternative to drugs and surgery that is an accepted part of the healthcare system, covered by insurance and offering comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for all family members.
Who decides whether our services will be used?	Prospective patients, employers, legislators, health insurance companies, and ourselves.
Who does the public perceive can fulfill their needs?	Chiropractors, medical doctors, and pharmacies.
Where do you want chiropractors to be in the future?	Healthcare gatekeepers operating in parity with medical doctors; doctors of choice who are unified under one identity, understood by the public and supported with government funded, evidence-based research.
What can prevent us from getting there?	Our own lack of unity, misinformation from competitors, lack of good research, and acts of legislators.
How can we get around those roadblocks?	Good leadership, unified goal, self-motivation, research and patient education, public relations, advertising, lobbying, and financial support.

Richard J. Davis, DC, practices in St. Louis, Mo. He graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic after a successful career with Monsanto Co. In practice for more than 10 years now, he has a full-time practice and spends his “spare” time working on his passion, the unification and growth of chiropractic.

How are we doing?