Can your chiropractic clinic run itself?

Important for now, and for the future of your practice

MANY CLINIC OWNERS THINK building a stable and successful business comes at the cost of work-life balance. I’m here to tell you that’s not true — in fact, it’s the opposite.

Here are strategies that will help you set up your clinic to run without you, walking you through exactly what that means, why it’s important and how you can get there.  

Why is clinic autonomy important?

Some doctors prefer a hands-on approach, and many are reluctant to put in the work necessary for a clinic to run itself. To some extent, that’s understandable — if it ain’t broke, as they say. 

But those owners are missing out on an opportunity. Putting in extra work on the front end can yield substantial benefits not only in your quality of life, but in the value of your clinic. A clinic that runs itself doesn’t rely on the owner’s presence for day-to-day operations. Most directly, this makes the clinic more resilient. If the owner needs to step away from operations for some reason, the clinic keeps humming along. 

When it comes time to sell, a “turnkey” clinic is highly desirable to buyers. New doctors, staff and owners are able to step into existing roles with minimal disturbance. That decreases risk for the buyer, which adds value and increases the likelihood of a quick and smooth sale. 

To be clear: A clinic that runs itself is not a clinic without people. While technology plays an important role in modern practices, trained employees are one of your clinic’s most valuable assets. 

When you’re ready to make your clinic self-sufficient, what are the best ways to do it? Over my time working with hundreds of clinic owners, I’ve noticed the following successful strategies. 

Strategies for Clinic Autonomy

Create Structured Treatment Programs — One of the greatest opportunities for clinic stabilization is in patient care. The more your team can systematically predict and provide patient support, the smoother and more reliable your operation becomes. In addition to streamlining treatment, structured programs help make your clinic’s financials clearer and more predictable. They help you understand what a patient is worth to your practice, stabilizing revenue and improving projections. Note that structured patient care is also an opportunity to add value for your clients. Effective and repeatable patient education programs improve retention and referrals, which means happier clients and more growth. 

Generate Beneficial Recurring Revenue — Stability is a prized attribute in any business. Consistent monthly revenue stabilizes income for the owner and adds value for a future buyer. 

The most common way to generate recurring revenue is through long-term wellness clients. A patient’s card is run automatically and applied toward services to be used that month. In addition to stabilizing revenue, this method helps avoid hefty prepaid service balances, which create liability for the doctor and make selling a practice more difficult down the road. 

Streamline Clinic Supplies — If supplies aren’t purchased in an organized and systematic manner, it’s likely your clinic isn’t running as smoothly as it should. Create a list of vendors and reorder points, and make sure to keep records of your supply spending. That way, your clinic won’t run out of supplies or resale items, and your expenses become more predictable. Are you sensing a pattern? The more predictable and stable your clinic is, the easier (and more lucrative) your business becomes. 

Marketing — This is unsurprisingly a critical component of long-term clinic success. In addition to bringing new patients in the door, effective marketing generates a pipeline of prospective clients who will convert to patients over time. This pipeline protects your clinic from the ups and downs of economic cycles. Owners often shoulder the greatest responsibility for marketing. As much as you can, create systems to put regular marketing on autopilot. Consistent marketing means a consistent pipeline of patients. For marketing systems that cannot be automated, train team members to take on responsibility. That way, your marketing can continue even if you’re out of the office. Remember that marketing should be both external and internal — it should reach new patients as well as prospective or inactive patients in your database. Create systems around these practices to ensure you don’t miss out on any sources of new business. 

Stay on Top of Maintenance — Practice maintenance is another element that tends to fall by the wayside. Deferred maintenance piles up in a hurry, and small projects can turn into expensive and time-consuming headaches. Create a plan for staying up to date on maintenance needs. Keep your equipment in good working order and clean it regularly. Declutter your space to improve quality of life for staff and patients. Don’t neglect cosmetic upkeep like cleaning or painting, either — a fresh and modern look makes a clinic more attractive to patients — and someday, to practice buyers. 

Make Your Operations Transferable — Running a practice means finding workarounds, whether they’re related to software, billing or logistics. Solving problems is part of ownership, but make sure your operational procedures aren’t so complex that new team members can’t step into existing roles. Wherever possible, simplify operations. The easier your systems are to understand and implement, the more stable and transferable your clinic becomes. If there’s a problem with something like practice management software, take the time to get it working correctly. Set up a decision-making hierarchy that empowers staff to make decisions without the doctor’s involvement. Make sure your staff members understand how and why things are done, and establish guideposts and protocols for day-to-day decisions. This helps your clinic run on its own, and it allows the doctor to focus on patient care.  

A few additional tips: If you haven’t already, set up a group NPI (National Provider Identifier) and use it for all billing. It expands your options for adding doctors and selling in the future. If your spouse or family members work in the clinic, cross-train employees so they can cover those roles if necessary. Create repeatable systems for building referral networks, and get your staff involved so these networks can also be transferable. 

Keep Squeaky-clean Records — Poor recordkeeping is like a small leak in a boat. It may not seem threatening at first, but over time, it can sink you. Effective recordkeeping will make your clinic more stable, more sustainable, more profitable and more transferable. Employ professionals for your bookkeeping, tax and legal needs. Get monthly P&L statements and make sure to read them. Understanding why your numbers change is the only way to create effective systems and address any issues that arise. Stay on top of patient credits and refunds, and keep your accounts receivable clean. Whenever possible, write down short summaries of monthly or yearly operations and financials. That way, you don’t have to go digging for what happened, and any solutions you implemented, when questions arise on a problem you encountered in prior years.

Do the dirty work

The above practices aren’t always the most rewarding aspects of business ownership. Most doctors care first and foremost about patient care, and there’s nothing wrong with that. 

But do you know what is rewarding? Having a stable, successful and effective clinic that can run without you. A clinic that runs itself frees you up to focus on patient care and your own life. And when the time comes to sell, a self-sufficient and transferable clinic will have buyers knocking on your door. Think long-term — and if you’re in doubt about your exit strategy, consult a professional. 

When in doubt, go back to the fundamental principles laid out above. Simplify, stabilize and systematize. Put in the work now, and enjoy the freedom that follows.

CRYSTAL MISENHEIMER is a leading industry expert in chiropractic practice sales. She is an award-winning business intermediary, and the first and only chiropractic broker to be named a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) by the IBBA as well as an Industry Expert by Business Brokerage Press. She has helped hundreds of chiropractors sell their practices and transition into the next stage of their careers. Her brokerage firm, Progressive Practice Sales, has a unique and proven approach to valuation, marketing, prospectus creation and client service. Learn more at progressivepracticesales.com.