A tale of two practices: Building a custom approach

As a chiropractic graduate, you doubtless have many dreams. Will you share the chiropractic miracle of spinal adjustment through a high-volume practice or one offering more personalized care?

The time a DC spends interacting with patients is a significant difference between these two clinical approaches.

The high volume doctor

Every DC dreams of a healthier world through chiropractic. Since there are only so many minutes available per patient interaction, the high-volume- practice doctor believes the most beneficial contribution is adjusting and releasing the spine from subluxation. This chiropractor is motivated by the instant gratification felt after delivering a successful spinal adjustment.

Chiropractic delivers what it promises: healthier living. That instant feeling can become addictive to high- volume-practice chiropractors.The treadmill this doctor creates allows him or her to quickly master the adjusting technique and be rewarded with patients who, having experienced amazing results, share their delight with others. As the office becomes busier, staff and patients alike feel the rising level of positive energy.

But beware: Overconfidence and a false sense of importance can cause a doctor to drift from excellence. And straying from the clinical art can cause patient satisfaction (and income) to drop. For the focus is now on what chiropractic can do for the doctor and not for the patient.

Focusing on the number of treatments given and money collected each day can become another trap. It is tempting to consider patient volume and fee totals as the hallmarks of a good practitioner. This doctor has forgotten that every chiropractor is only as good as his or her last adjustment.

The high volume doctor is now focused on how much can be done to a patient instead of how much can be done for a patient. Longer hours mean more time away from family””another drawback.The question is, do you want to sprint through life and can you control the treadmill a high volume practice creates?

The personalized practitioner

This chiropractor is equally addicted to the chiropractic clinical interaction.

Chiropractic, after all, universally benefits those receiving adjustments. This doctor’s calling is fueled by patients who don’t want to feel like a number. This doctor’s detailed clinical approach addresses:

• patient expectations,
• patient questions,
• a treatment plan, and
• patient acceptance of their responsibilities.

This doctor is addressing the patient’s mind, body, and spirit. Patients understand their daily choices about healthcare can have positive or negative consequences.

Doctors can only offer so much advice on diet, exercise, work, and sleep mechanics. All chiropractors are limited by the level of decay each patient brings into their office.

Stopping or even reversing a patient’s health issues through chiropractic adjusting is a chiropractor’s dream. But the doctor focused on personalized care is susceptible to the danger of becoming too involved with patients and crossing from being their doctor to their friend.

For example: Because these patients are now friends rather than patients, they might ask, “Do the office hours available and pricing really apply to me?” Once you cross the patient-friend line, you can’t go back.

Whether you lean toward a high-volume practice or a more personalized mode of care, consistent results are what builds both the high-volume and personalized-care practice.

Gary A. Boring, DC, BCOA, LCP (Hon.), is a board member of the Sweat Foundation, practiced for 42 years at Boring Chiropractic, and is the author of Driven Towards Excellence 2014. He is also an extension faculty member at Cleveland Chiropractic College. He can be contacted at gboring@everestkc.net.