Greg Stanley maintains that everything relative to the practice of chiropractic changes about every five years. That’s a pretty sobering thought that has some major ramifications. First, those who use practice management consultants who have been out of practice for more than five years have to wonder whether the consultant’s advice is still relevant. Especially if he or she is suggesting that you do the same things they did in order to build your practice. There is one consultant out there who advertises that he had a practice in which he saw 100 new patients a month. Unfortunately, he has been out of practice for 25 years. Things are different now.
Even if you do not use a consultant, there are many changes to consider. Third party pay changes seem to occur every five weeks rather than every five years. Thankfully some of us do not have to worry about those changes. Still what about the way you explain chiropractic? The very fact that we are dealing with a more informed public, that continues to become more informed all the time should impact our presentation of chiropractic. How about the literature we use in our office, or even the look of our office? If it has a 1960’s medical doctor office look, you should probably think about some renovation. Even the medical doctors are getting away from looking like a medical office, but some of us still want to hold onto an image that they no longer want. The trend is toward a friendly, relaxed, informal atmosphere.
All of that being said, there is a place for consistency and for presenting the same message. After all, our message of what chiropractic can do (and cannot do) is as timeless as our philosophy. In that case, it is not what you say but the manner in which you present it. The interesting thing about our philosophy, the fact that the body heals itself and has an inborn ability to run itself, is driven by a metaphysical principle that is more accepted today than it was five years ago. We need to take advantage of that change in society and make sure that our presentation of chiropractic reflects that.
It’s easy to do the same things that you did five, ten, or fifteen years ago especially when they were successful, but practice is changing and we need to be prepared to change along with it. That does not mean we have to give up our philosophy or our principles, we just need to make sure that we are still making the way we communicate them relevant to the people who come in our office. For example, we need to rely more on media like video that we did years ago but without giving up the personal contact that has been a hallmark of our profession.