Chiropractic Business Tips

Marketing Matters Every chiropractor needs a predictable and scalable way to increase their new patient load. Predictability means it will work every month and scalability means not trading precious time for “new patient leads” by doing screenings or attending business mixers. Many chiropractors have a promotional calendar of internal events such as Patient Appreciation Day, an in- office food drive, and even sweepstakes for those who refer.

Coding Keys If you ask most chiropractors how confident they are in their coding practices, you will hear a variety of responses depending on how many services a doctor provides. Even then, it can be a guess. This is a big problem, considering that how you are coding claims can make or break your compliance efforts. In addition, if all the required elements of Evaluation & Management (E/M), Chiropractic Manipulative Treatment (CMT), therapies, and documentation are not met, it may raise a red flag for audits and result in the payer recouping funds from your office. Who needs that?

Feature Coding compliance is an important issue for chiropractors today, with Medicare and other payers cracking down on fraudulent and non-compliant coding practices. As a result, chiropractic offices are facing increased scrutiny as many practices struggle to stay compliant and avoid violations. The environment that chiropractors practice in has certainly changed. More than a few doctors have committed fraudulent billing, bringing negative attention to chiropractic care.

Student DC One of the first successful actions I took when I got in my first office was to get out of it. I had everything arranged inside—the phone system, the appointment book, and the X-ray equipment. So I waited with anticipation and—crickets. Nobody was calling or stopping in. Looking at my quickly dwindling business checkbook balance, I had to take action to attract patients and do it at low expense.