Before chiropractic received equality in insurance coverage, including payment for the treatment of diagnosed medical conditions, volume practices were very popular. Of Course, I’m not sure they were all popping up for what I would call the right reasons, (i.e., to see more people receiving the life-enhancing benefits of chiropractic care). Some developed because the more people you saw the more money you made. That was in a day when chiropractic was forced to be consumer oriented, when chiropractors were competing with each other for the chiropractic dollar. With the advent of insurance coverage, there really was no competition and with the high fees that could be charged, there was no need for volume practices. It was not a matter of how many people you could see but how much you could get from the ones you did see.
While the insurance dollar is shrinking, the potential to make the most money still lies with the insurance practice. That said, there are advantages and benefits that exist in a volume practice that do not with an insurance practice. (Don’t think you can have a volume insurance practice, see Building a Referral Practice). Do those benefits and advantages outweigh the increased income of an insurance practice? Well, you have to decide that for yourself. It is a simpler way to practice. Oddly enough, most people think that the more people you see, the more complicated your practice. That is only because they see volume practice in light of their “high-maintenance practice.” A volume practice, actually, is a low-maintenance practice. Many high-volume practices have the ability to see well over a hundred people a day without any support staff. That increases their bottom line because payroll is usually the most expensive line item in the budget. There is no need for an insurance person in the practice. Most volume practices do not work by appointment, no need for a person to schedule visits. Record keeping is kept to a minimum. So how much could you reduce your overhead if you gave up the need for the extra staff? Other than a little more headrest paper and some extra wear and tear on your adjusting table and carpet, seeing a large number of people is no more expensive than seeing a small number of people.
The second issue is the advantage to the chiropractor. A volume practice is less stress. Sure you may have a front room full of people but the few minutes you take with a practice member enables you to empty that reception area very quickly. I have never found seeing great numbers to be a stress, physical work yes, but that is not stress to me. Stress to me involves having to write reports for attorneys and dealing with insurance companies who are trying to reduce your fees. Having to make diagnoses, refer people out and face the risk-management issue associated with an insurance practice, that would be stress for me.
But the greatest benefit is the knowledge that you are serving more people with your care. You can make a good living and retire comfortably regardless of the type of practice you have if you use wise financial strategies. Do you want to have a substantial nest egg and the satisfaction that you have truly served your community to the best of your ability or do you want just the knowledge that you got all the money out of chiropractic that you possibly could?
The choice is yours.