Are you prepared to open a practice?

The business of chiropractic colleges is to teach chiropractic, not practice management. But business education is important for business success, so practitioners need to get that education in other ways, other than relying on chiropractic colleges to provide it.

Those are the conclusions you can draw from the results of the baseline survey concerning business education Chiropractic Economics took earlier this year. In a single invitation extended through e-mail, 214 readers responded to our questions.

The most senior of respondents graduated from chiropractic college in 1950, and the most recent respondents graduated in 2006. The year which claimed the most respondents was 2001. They also represented all of the chiropractic colleges except D’Youville, Canadian Memorial, and Palmer Chiropractic College – Florida.

Highlights include:

• 74.6 percent of respondents were solo practitioners, 18.1 percent in group practice, and 7.3 percent associates;

• 77.1 percent were male; 22.9 percent, female;

• 93 percent said that they did not receive adequate business training while in college; and

• 58 percent reported that their college did require them to write a business plan.

SPECIFIC BUSINESS NEEDS

What kind of practical business education do new practitioners need? According to comments made by our respondents, upon graduation new practitioners need to acquire skills and knowledge in how to run a small business, including:

• Writing a viable business plan;

• Insurance billing, including coding as well as processing claims and appealing denials;

• Accounting systems;

• Staffing and personnel management;

• Marketing;

• Patient management, including acquiring and retaining patients and patient education; and

• Communication, including making presentations and putting on seminars and educational events.

BUSINESS SKILL ACQUISITION

Since only about 7 percent of respondents believe they were adequately trained in business skills in chiropractic college, how did the overwhelming majority acquire their business skills? We provided respondents with choices, and indicated they could choose all that applied. They said:

• Trial and error (77.1 percent),

• Associate experience (50.9 percent),

• Mentor (47.2 percent),

• Practice-management consultant (40.7 percent),

• Seminars (31.3 percent),

• Other methods (9.8 percent, with most commenting on having business experience, prior to becoming a chiropractor), and

• Business degree (3.7 percent).

SIDEBARS:
How to get your business savvy
Are MDs prepared to run a practice?