Perceived honesty and ethics of chiropractors
By Bob Levoy

In a CNN/USA Today Gallup poll, 1,004 adults, aged 18 and older, were asked to rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in 23 different professions, as very high, high, average, low, or very low.

In addition to the core professions Gallup tests each year, this study focused on the medical professions.

As has been the case in four of the five times they have been included in the poll, nurses rank higher than any other profession, with 83 percent of respondents saying the honesty and ethical standards of nurses are “very high” or “high.”

In this study, medical doctors (with 68 percent of Americans saying they have “very high” or “high” honesty and ethical standards), veterinarians (68 percent), pharmacists (67 percent), and dentists (61 percent) are the next-highest rated professions after nurses.

The 68 percent rating for medical doctors is the highest Gallup has ever measured for that profession.

How did chiropractors fare in this survey? Unfortunately, not too well.

The percentage of respondents who rated them “very high” or “high” on honesty and ethical standards was only 31 percent.

This lack of credibility and respect makes it difficult for some patients to accept a chiropractor’s recommendations for ongoing treatment. It accounts for the reluctance that some patients, physicians, or attorneys have to refer others with confidence to a chiropractor.

These image problems also make it more difficult to recruit top-notch employees who will be proud of the profession and the work they do.

Reality check: There are two separate and distinct aspects of such issues as honesty and ethics. One is the “perceptions” that people have about such matters (revealed in the survey results).

The other is the “reality” of the situation — which may, in fact, be very different. Obviously, many chiropractors are held in the highest regard by their patients, referring physicians, and attorneys. Others are less so.

There’s no quick cure for these image problems if they have impacted your practice. Good reputations take time to develop — not weeks or months, but years. Here are a couple of guidelines:

• Put patients’ interests first. Trust is the rock-bottom principle on which your reputation and ultimately, patient acceptance is based.

“Trust starts with authenticity,” says Chip R. Bell and Bilijack R. Bell in their book, Magnetic Service (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, 2003). “We trust one another when we perceive his or her motives are genuine or credible. Trust emanates from communication that contains crystal clear content as well as empathetic ‘I care about you’ consideration.

“Trust comes from a track record of promises made, paralleled with promises kept. Trust emerges as a result of demonstrated competence that leaves people assured they are dealing with someone with the capacity to perform.”

• Recognize your limits. Among all the reasons to put patients’ interests first, none is more clinically significant (and ethical) than referring cases beyond your competence and comfort levels to appropriate providers, at an appropriate time.

• Market as a professional. Another guideline that bears repeating: Avoid the use of advertising that makes outrageous claims, direct mail, billboards, door hangers, telemarketing, e-mail blitzes, indiscriminate use of business cards, promotional “gimmicks” and giveaways, MD bashing, discounted fees, free exams, and other forms of blatant self-promotion to get new patients into your practice.

They do nothing to instill credibility or confidence in your honesty and ethical standards. There are, instead, countless alternatives to achieving visibility in your community that will over time, change the misperceptions that many people have about chiropractors.

Bob Levoy is a seminar speaker and writer who focuses on the healthcare industry. His most recent book is 201 Secrets of a High Performance Dental Practice, Elsevier/Mosby (January 2005). He can be reached by e-mail at b.levoy@att.net