Category: Health & Wellness

Whether you personally manage the operations of your chiropractic office or delegate this responsibility to an office manager, as an owner you are ultimately responsible for how well your chiropractic office is managed.

Here are 5 tips to help you effectively manage your chiropractic office.

Put Systems in Place

In chiropractic school, you learned about systems in the human body. Well, businesses need systems too. In your chiropractic office, you’ll need to put into place people management systems and practice management systems. Many of these systems offer a cloud-based option so there is no need to maintain an on-site server. 

People management systems

Your success will depend on how well you can attract and retain people that align with your practice philosophy and approach to care. People management systems make this easier and provide the structure necessary for human resource management. 

You’ll need software for tracking hours, benefits, and payroll. Often payroll and time tracking services are offered by your bank or accounting software vendor. In addition, you’ll need a system for creating and maintaining job descriptions, processing job applicants, onboarding new employees, and performing regular performance reviews. 

Practice management systems

Practice management systems handle the patient workflow and can either integrate with medical claim billing systems or perform your claims and billing function.

These systems handle patient scheduling, check-in, treatment documentation, and follow-up appointments. Select a system that was specifically designed for use in chiropractic offices to ensure compliance with patient data safety regulations. 

Develop Key Performance Indicators

Your business success depends on the health of key aspects of the practice. While each practice is different, most chiropractic offices measure common key indicators of performance. Feel free to develop your own key performance indicators (KPI).  Just make sure the KPI is specific, measurable, relevant, and tracked regularly. Here are a few KPIs to get you started:

• Profit in dollars
• Profit margin (as a percentage)
• Cash on hand
• Net promoter score
• Average charge per visit
• Average collection per visit
• Patient retention
• Patient churn

These KPIs give you an understanding of the financial health of your practice, whether your practice is growing or declining, and how well you are serving your patients. 

As important as it is to develop KPIs, it’s important to take regular measurements. Not all KPIs should be measured for the same time frame. While you might look at cash on hand on a weekly or monthly basis, your net promoter score may be calculated quarterly, and churn might be measured twice a year. 

When results fall short of KPI benchmarks, it is important to include your team in the analysis as well as the development of action plans. 

Develop Routines

If you don’t have a routine, you may find yourself lurching from crisis to crisis. Establish regular routines that keep you fresh and provide predictability to your office staff.

For example, after a morning of osseous adjustments and patient consultations, do you need some quiet to re-center, or does a trip to the gym sound better? Develop a daily routine that leaves you refreshed in the afternoons, so all patients receive equal care, no matter the hour of their visit. 

Your weekly routine should include team meetings that look at the hits and misses of the prior week. You can also use team meetings as an educational opportunity to introduce new services or products. 

A monthly routine should include a review of KPIs and a comparison of billables to collectibles. Review the number of patients served and the number of unique visitors to your website. 

Practice Transparency

Bring transparency to your practice when allowed by law. Transparency is a hallmark of a trusted and respected manager. 

Transparency is important to running an effective, efficient, and productive alternative health care practice. Be honest and open in communications with team members and encourage them to reciprocate. 

Use team meetings to break down silos between the front and back offices. Avoid hierarchies and invite questions. Major changes in the organization should never be a surprise. 

Establish Procedures and Protocols

In addition to your own routine, create routines for other team members. Determine in advance how staff should handle certain situations. 

For example, do you require payment in 30 days? If so, how does the front office handle scheduling for a patient that is 45 days past due?

Does each team member have an opening and closing procedure? Establish how each employee should start and end their day to ensure all tasks are performed.

It’s not enough to establish your practice policies and procedures. Document them and share them with all team members. Review policies regularly in team meetings and determine if changes need to be made. As data privacy regulations change, make sure your patient data procedures are in compliance.

Managing a Chiropractic Office is Managing a Business

Remember, you may have entered alternative health care practice because you have the heart to serve and heal others. But every successful chiropractor needs to also have a head for business.

Take advantage of opportunities provided by your local Chamber of Commerce or professional associations to learn how to be a more successful business owner.

Few chiropractors have the financial resources to purchase an existing practice or make a major expansion to their practice. Fairly or not, many lending institutions treat chiropractic business loans differently than loans to other businesses. A recent graduate of chiropractic school generally has much in the way of student debt and little in the way of assets. 

Whether you are looking to expand your practice, buy a new location, or purchase an existing chiropractic practice here is what you need to know about chiropractic business loans. 

Reasons for Borrowing

The reason for borrowing has an impact on the type of loan you’ll take out and the sources of funding available to you. 

In general, the purchase of real estate (whether it’s to buy land or a building) may allow you to borrow more money, but the process can take longer. That’s because the lender will want to use the purchased land or building as collateral, and that means inspections and appraisals of the property. 

A chiropractic business loan to purchase an existing practice will also take time. 

On the other hand, financing the purchase of digital radiography equipment, cold laser treatment equipment, or an EMG machine to upgrade and modernize your office can be approved and funded in just a few days. Same for purchase of computers and monitors for office use. 

In general, the lower the amount borrowed and the lower the risk, the faster you can get your hands on the funding. 

Types of Loans

The type of loan you need for your chiropractic business depends on the amount of money you need to access and the length of time you need to use it.  The type of loan you need is a key factor in determining where you should apply for financing.

The most common types of chiropractic business loans are long-term loans, short-term loans, and loans to fund the purchase of equipment. 

Long-term financing

This is the most difficult financing to obtain but they also carry some of the lowest rates. These loans can be for 10 years or more. They are used to purchase land, buildings, or even the acquisition of an existing chiropractic practice.

Expect the paperwork and length of time for the approval to be the longest for this type of loan. 

Short-term financing

Short-term loans are generally used as a means to help you through a cash flow crunch. The term of the loan is usually one year or less and the interest rates are higher than the rate on a long-term loan. 

Use short-term financing to help when cash is short but payroll and other expenses are due. Often, a short-term loan can be set up as a line of credit that’s accessed when necessary. Before using short-term financing, consider how long you will need the money and compare the rate to your lowest credit card cash advance rate. 

Equipment purchases

Equipment loans are made for the express purpose of purchasing equipment. Often your medical equipment dealer will offer to finance directly or help you arrange for financing with a lender with which they already have a business relationship. 

These loans use the purchased equipment as collateral and can offer lower interest rates than other short-term financing options. 

Sources of Financing

Depending on the amount of money you need to borrow, you may turn to several sources for a business loan.

It’s important to remember that Small Business Association (SBA) loans aren’t issued by the SBA. The loan is made by the bank or credit union and the SBA guarantees a portion of the loan. This generally results in a lower interest rate on the loan. However, the SBA sets limits on the amount you can borrow and the amount the SBA will guarantee. 

Local bank/community bank

The best source of financing for your chiropractic business loan may be your local community bank. These smaller, independent banks focus on lending in their community. It helps if you have already established a relationship with the bank with either a business checking or payroll checking account. 

Commercial banks

These banks are large, nationwide banks. When borrowing here, be prepared for the tightest lending standards and the highest rates. You’ll probably also encounter the most red tape. 

Online lenders

Many online business lenders have popped up over the years. If you need a quick loan for a small amount of money, this might be your best option.

If you are an established chiropractic business, you may find you can get a loan in just a few days at most. You’ll also find the highest interest rates. 

Preparing to Apply for a Chiropractic Business Loan

Before you head off to the local community bank or credit union or start that online application, there are a few things you’ll want to do to prepare.

Brush off your chiropractic practice business plan. Unless you are applying for equipment financing or a short-term, online loan, the lender will want to take a look at your business plan. Use the loan application process as an impetus to update your business plan. 

Pull together industry information. The lender will want to know what’s happening in the industry. By having this information at your fingertips, you’ll be prepared to answer any questions. 

Update your financial statements. If you only prepare quarterly financial statements, you’ll want to create an interim quarter-to-date set of financial statements.  

File any outstanding taxes. When applying for long-term loans or loans from commercial or local banks, the lender will want to see a copy of your most recent tax returns as a means of verifying your financial statements. 

Growing Your Chiropractic Business

Not all business expansions require a large capital investment. If you would like to know how to grow your chiropractic business by growing your cash flow, schedule a consultation with Nutri-West of New York.

Graduating from chiropractic college is expensive. In addition to paying for undergraduate studies, it’s not uncommon to graduate with an additional 6-figure debt just for chiropractic college. According to LendEDU, chiropractic school debt can range from $40,000 to $120,000, but it can sometimes be far more. Recent graduates that are considering purchasing a chiropractic franchise or existing practice, or opening an independent practice are even harder strapped for cash. You’ll never feel financially free until you say good-bye to that school debt. Here are strategies to consider.

Income-Driven Chiropractic School Debt Repayment Plans

If you have federal student loan plans (this strategy doesn’t apply to private student loans) you may be able to reduce the amount of your monthly payments based on your income. 

New graduates make less money, and under these programs, they pay less in debt. As your income increases, your ability to pay increases, and your monthly payment amount increases too. 

There are currently four income-based repayment plans available.

• Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE Plan)
• Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan)
• Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan)
• Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR Plan)

You don’t need to pay a financial advisor or a loan consolidator to apply for these programs. You can apply for free online. 

With these income-based plans, you pay from 10% to 20% of your income (which must be recertified annually) for a fixed number of years. The repayment term runs from 20 to 25 years depending on the plan in which you are enrolled. At the end of the repayment term, the balance of the loan is forgiven.

However, this loan forgiveness comes at a price. The amount forgiven will be considered income for your federal and state income tax purposes. So, while you don’t pay the balance, you do pay federal income tax on this amount. If you use this strategy to pay off your student debt, it is wise to set aside money monthly to pay that tax bill when it becomes due. The American Rescue Plan makes student debt forgiveness tax-free through December 21, 2025. But chances are if you are reading this article that forgiveness won’t apply to you. There’s simply not enough time for you to qualify. It’s also important to note that these federal programs have been beset by problems which are only now beginning to be addressed. The most common issue has been payments not being properly credited towards forgiveness by the private contractors that are servicing the federal loan program. There are many horror stories out there but there is certainly hope for an end to these issues in the near term as there has been renewed attention to this problem and promises made to correct it and make everyone affected by it whole. 

Make Additional Payments When Possible

In the long run, you pay less money in interest when you pay down the principal as soon as possible. However, paying additional towards principal may sound easier than it is, especially if you have multiple student loans handled by one servicer.

Many loans allow for additional payments to be applied first to accrued interest and then principal. Check with your servicer to make sure your additional funds go towards the principal balance. 

If you have multiple loans, decide if you want extra payments to go towards the loan with the highest interest rate or the lowest balance. Paying towards the loan with the lowest balance, often called the debt snowball, provides a positive feedback loop that keeps you motivated as you see the loan balance decrease. It creates a “win” when one loan is paid off. Then you would apply the same payments to the loan with the next lowest balance until it is paid off and continue this process. Paying towards the loan with the highest interest rate, called the debt avalanche,  may not result in a quick reduction in the balance of a loan if it is one of your higher balance loans, but you will save more money in interest. In the long run you will be able to pay off your loans faster if you are able to stick with the debt avalanche, but if you are the type of person that needs positive feedback to keep you on track, then the debt snowball might be best for you. 

This method only works if your budget consistently allows you to make extra payments. 

Increase Your Income

The best way to dig yourself out of a deep student debt hole is to use the biggest shovel you can find. To pay more money towards your chiropractor school debt, you need to make more money. Here are a few ways to increase the income your practice generates and apply that additional income to your student loan. 

Offer patient financing

If a patient’s medical insurance doesn’t cover your services, they will be more reluctant to use them. However, by offering patient financing, your care becomes more affordable than ever. While you may give up a portion of your fees to the financing company, you don’t spend time and money filing for insurance reimbursement and billing patients. Also, the ability to finance increases the amount a person is willing to spend on treatment. 

Write a book

Have great insights into improving health? People love self-help books. Books and eBooks on the topics of health, fitness, diet, and weight loss are always in demand. Make a commitment to write an hour a day and you’ll be surprised how quickly your book will take shape. 

If you’ve built a following on social media, capitalize on that fan base by offering eBooks. Getting published is easier than ever today and self-publishing means you can get your book printed quickly. 

You can even skip the printed edition of your book and make your books available through Kindle and Amazon in digital form only. 

Operate an online marketplace

Online marketplaces sold $3.23 trillion in goods in 2021. You don’t have to be the next Alibaba or Amazon to make money with a marketplace.

Bring together sellers of health and fitness-related items with people who want to buy those items. From organic toothpaste to all-natural skincare and beeswax candles, people are looking for items that help them live a more natural and healthier life.

As a digital marketplace operator, you can charge each vendor a set amount to join or take a percentage of each sale. This option will require an investment in software and the services of a developer to help you get up and running. But if you are tech-savvy, it is worth exploring. 

Supplement your income with supplements

One of the best ways to increase your income is to offer supplements through your practice. People want to take supplements, but they aren’t sure what they need or what brands are reputable.

By offering a full range of dietary supplements, you can personalize the supplementation regime for the needs of each patient. You better serve your patients, expand your practice, and make an additional income to pay off that chiropractic school debt.Contact us here to learn more about the best supplements for your practice!

Do you know your patient acquisition costs? If you look at the amount of money you spend on marketing each week and divide that by the number of new patients you see, you’ll have a rough estimate of your customer acquisition costs.

Chiropractic care is competitive and pay-per-click advertising can run from $8 to $10 per click for a popular keyword. With an industry conversion rate of 2.4%, it’s clear to see that acquiring new patients is costly. Once you’ve obtained a new patient, you want to get the most out of your patient acquisition cost by retaining the patient. 

The longer you retain a patient, the higher the patient’s lifetime value. Here are six reliable ways to improve your chiropractic patient retention rates. 

Create a Comfortable Environment

The total patient experience starts in the reception and waiting area and carries through hallways to treatment rooms. Nobody wants to wait in a boring room staring at beige walls while flipping through magazines that are months or years old.

Instead, offer public wi-fi and post the password prominently so patients don’t have to ask for the information.

Throughout the public areas, use soothing colors, relaxing images, and artwork to reduce stress and anxiety. Blue tones, soft greens, and grays promote a feeling of serenity. Artwork with green and yellow adds life to a room. 

Create an environment that isn’t dreaded, but warm and inviting. Pay attention to details such as the odors from disinfecting and cleaning supplies. When your patient is less anxious and more relaxed, they are more likely to return and increase patient retention rates. 

Minimize Wait Times

No matter how comfortable you make the environment, nobody wants to be kept waiting. Perception and expectations influence the amount of time people are willing to wait. 

Show patients you respect their time by keeping wait times to a minimum. They will perceive the wait time to be short. Consistently keeping patients waiting for long periods of time conditions them to expect long waits. Once this happens, they won’t worry about arriving promptly. An analysis of 21 million outpatient office visits found that almost one-fifth of wait times were over 20 minutes while the median wait time for Medicaid patients was just 4.6 minutes. According to Vitals research, the average wait time to see a primary care physician is 18 minutes. Clearly, some providers are keeping patients waiting far too long. Athenahealth studies show that 20% of patients change doctors because of long wait times. Long wait times kill chiropractic patient retention rates. 

If something throws a wrench in the day’s schedule, contact patients and let them know about the extended wait before they arrive. 

Clearly Communicate Treatment Plans

Let your patients know exactly what their treatment entails. Be prepared with specific information about the treatment and give them an idea of it’s a short-term or long-term plan. 

Using vague wording such as, “plan on coming in a couple of times a week for a few weeks” sounds more like a suggestion for care instead of a firm treatment schedule.

Create a schedule for treatments and have the patient schedule appointments for the next few office visits. This proven chiropractic patient retention method can be further enhanced with automated follow-up calls, texts, or email messages two days before the scheduled appointment. The schedule of treatments can be updated during any visit if a change is necessary. 

Connect Consistently

Keep the name of your practice at top of mind by connecting with your patients on a consistent basis. Send personalized birthday cards to show you care. When you send Valentine’s Day, Independence Day, or Thanksgiving cards they will be received as an unexpected surprise. Be respectful of the religious or social inclinations of your patient base.

To make your chiropractic business stand out, send greeting cards on an occasion other than the Christmas holiday. Make sure to use a hand signature on your cards to make the message even more personal. For a double whammy, get all members of the office staff to sign the card. 

In addition, send electronic newsletters regularly and use social media to keep your patients up to date on the very latest in chiropractic care and overall health and nutrition. While these communications aren’t specifically focused on promoting your services, they do increase retention. 

Solicit Feedback

Find out what your patients are thinking. Use surveys to calculate your Net Promoter Score and track patient satisfaction with your services. Patients that are unhappy with their lack of results will place less value on your service and certainly won’t return in the future. Follow-up with patients that cancel their appointments.

If a patient opts to discontinue their care plan, talk to them and find out why. If there are obstacles in the way, work with them to overcome these obstacles.  

Offer Financing Options

Help patients meet their financial obligations for the treatment plan and you’ll increase your patient retention. 

Healthcare financing options abound, so find the vendor that provides the level of service that will meet the needs of your patients and your practice. 

Discuss financing at the same time as you discuss treatment plans. Patients who understand what to expect from the treatment, how long treatment will take, the total cost of treatment, and their options for payment are assured they can afford to complete treatment. You are assured of patient retention.

Need to Increase Revenue or Chiropractic Patient Retention?

Are you exploring ways to increase the revenue from your chiropractic practice or improve your patient retention rates? Talk to the Chiropractors at Nutri-West of New York and schedule a free consultation.

Are you looking for ways to build your brand as a chiropractor? Do you need to add leads to the top of your funnel? Running a chiropractic practice requires more than earning your doctorate. It requires you to think like a business owner and understand marketing as well as osseous adjusting. If you aren’t sure where to start, here are four marketing ideas for chiropractors to create leads and build patient retention. 

Monthly Newsletters

Pull your patient email addresses together, create a mailing list and start sending a monthly newsletter. This isn’t the place to push a hard sales message.  Your newsletter is all about sharing information, keeping your name in front of patients, and letting them know you care about their well-being.

Sending a newsletter is a pretty standard marketing idea used by chiropractors. What will you’re your newsletter more effective is strategic scheduling. Schedule your newsletters to arrive on a Monday mid-day or midafternoon. You’ll find your patients calling and saying, “This weekend I was feeling pain…..”. When you send on a Monday, chances are you’ll catch patients recovering from their weekend activity and a visit to your office will sound very appealing. Make sure to use an email program that allows you to track who opens your newsletter email. The following Monday, send the newsletter again to the people that didn’t open your mail the previous week. 

Fill your newsletters with information about boosting the immune system, maintaining a healthy gut biome, exercises you can do while sitting at your desk, and how to avoid seasonal issues such as hay fever or polymorphic light eruption. 

Close with a friendly reminder to call your office if you can help them achieve their health goals. 

Targeted Free Offers

Let’s say you want to target male athletes. Everyone from weekend warriors to elite athletes push their bodies and suffer from sore muscles and stiffness. Their jumping, squatting, running, and lifting take a toll and a free massage is very appealing.

So, offer a free 15-minute massage. This offer is so enticing it can’t be passed up. Athletes will beat a path to your door.  Once in your office, you’ve got an excellent opportunity to offer your services tailored exactly to the athlete’s needs. This chiropractic marketing idea puts leads at the top of your funnel that you can personally nurture.

Use geotargeted Facebook ads to target male athletes in your immediate neighborhood for even better results. The beauty of Facebook marketing is that you have access to so much user data, it makes delivering highly targeted free offers very effective. 

Simply create your targeted free offer Facebook ad, build a website landing page for people to register for the offer, create an automated follow-up and thank you email, and schedule your free offer appointments. 

Run a Branded Google Campaign for Your Practice Name

Use this strategy to grab as much real estate as possible when Google returns search results for your practice name.

Now, if you have made any inroads with SEO optimization for local search, your practice name should show up at the top of the organic search engine results when someone searches for the name of your practice.  The idea of a paid branding campaign is to grab the paid results spot, so the search page is literally covered in your practice name. 

Chances are your competitors aren’t paying for search on your name, so the results will be inexpensive on a per click basis. And even if your competitors are paying for clicks for searches on your practice name, because it is your practice you will have higher relevancy and thus display higher on the page. 

These paid search ads target people that are looking for you right now. They might have previously seen one of your social media ads, heard your name from a friend or family member, or passed by your office when driving through the neighborhood. 

No Matter the Marketing Idea Always Be A/B Testing

Savvy marketers know that honing a message takes time and iteration. Always A/B test or split test your email subject lines and landing page calls to action. 

If you aren’t familiar with the concept of A/B testing, skim through this Hubspot guide to split testing.  In a nutshell, split testing or A/B testing is a powerful marketing tool to run experiments to determine which messages people find most appealing. 

The idea is to present two different versions of a message to determine which one generates the reaction you want. The key to effective A/B testing is to test only one variable at a time. 

So, for example, if you are A/B testing the headline on your landing page, make sure that is the only text you change. The other elements on the page (images, forms, etc.) must stay the exact same for an accurate test. Then divide your traffic evenly between the two pages. In a day or two, compare the results. Which headline resulted in the most form completions? Now that you know your best headline, you can A/B test other elements on the page.

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a gradual change in the attitude of M.D.s and D.O.s towards complementary medicine. It’s not concentrated in one part of the country or even the globe. Worldwide, traditional physicians are incorporating natural medicine as part of their daily practice. Here are just a few examples of practitioners and clinics improving the lives of their patients in non-traditional ways.

#1 Functional Medicine Growing at the Cleveland Clinic

Since first opening its doors, the Cleveland Clinic has been at the forefront of modern medicine. That tradition continues today in their commitment to caring for life and researching for health. They aren’t afraid to follow where their research takes them either. 

In 2014, Cleveland Clinic celebrated another first as they became the first academic medical center in the country to establish a dedicated functional medicine program. The next year, the Center for Functional Medicine doubled its number of practitioners when they hired a second Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.

Today, the staff includes 7 M.D.s, 2 D.O.s, and 2 Certified Nurse Practitioners in addition to health coaches and dieticians. Their patient-centered approach takes a multi-disciplinary approach and utilizes innovative care models. Not only do they offer treatment, but they continue research into functional medicine for the treatment of a range of conditions, from diabetes to musculoskeletal pain.

#2 Detroit, Michigan Plastic Surgeon Embraces Alternative Medicine

Dr. Anthony Youn is an MD and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons living in Detroit, Michigan.  He is also a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. He serves as an instructor and Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

That’s a very traditional pedigree for a surgeon whose treatment philosophy is grounded in optimizing the patient’s environment, habits, dietary choices, and skincare to offer a whole-body approach to slowing down the signs of aging. 

Youn turned to holistic and naturopathic medicine to help him determine the root causes of chronic illness. He also felt that food and nutrition could be useful in treatment plans that are what he calls “a refreshing, drug-free, and effective option”. Youn recognizes that the body’s microbiome plays a key part in more than just digestive health, but also systems and organs, including the skin, the brain, and the immune system. 

By incorporating these facets of natural and alternative medicine into his practice he created the Center for Holistic Plastic Surgery. Today, Dr. Youn performs surgery, develops holistic nutritional supplement protocols, and offers holistic anti-aging treatments.

#3 Physician Heal Thyself

Dr. Terry Wahls is a medical doctor, professor of medicine at the University of Iowa, and conducts clinical research on the use of diet and lifestyle to treat brain-related problems. Her interest in alternative medicine is highly personal. 

Dr. Wahls has progressive multiple sclerosis. Even though she took the newest and most modern drugs, including potent biologics, she continued to decline steadily for seven years. She spent four years in a tilt-recline wheelchair. Even as her health declined, she continued to study the latest in brain science. Once she created and enacted a diet and lifestyle program to support her brain cells, she was able to reverse the decline and recover.  

Today, Dr. Wahls helps others reclaim their health through her research, ancestral health principles, functional and anti-aging restorative approach to medicine. As research into autoimmune disorders advances, Dr. Wahls puts science into action. For example, by addressing cell membrane health with the appropriate fats and oils to combat inflammation, she helps patients establish healthy cell function. 

#4 SoCal Family Practice

Paracelsus Natural Family Health Center was established by Dr. Daniel Brousseau in 2003 to bring together the best of modern and alternative medicine. Staffed by Dr. Brousseau, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and three Naturopathic doctors, they provide a full range of family health services. In addition, they offer specialized treatment in women’s health, pediatrics, heart health, cancer, and thyroid conditions. 

With a focus that goes beyond treating disease to creating overall health and wellness, the Paracelsus Natural Family Health Center is responding to the demand for more holistic health care. The team’s naturopathic approach combined with their expertise in modern medicine supports the health of everyone from infants to seniors. 

Dr. Brousseau’s philosophy is centered on supporting the body’s natural tendency towards health. The community’s positive response to this philosophy has allowed Paracelsus to expand to operate in two locations. 

#5 Integrative Cancer Treatment Center

Early in her medical career, Dr. Leigh Connealy, M.D. noticed that while she would prescribe medication to her patients, they weren’t getting better. Some even got sicker. Dr. Connealy investigated integrative and complementary therapies, seeking ways to merge traditional medicine with nutritional and lifestyle approaches to treating disease

She founded the Center for New Medicine and the Cancer Center for Healing in Irvine, California. The combined facilities occupy 30,000 square feet and have treated over 47,000 patients from around the world. The Cancer Center for Healing has grown to be the largest multidisciplinary, integrative cancer center in North America.

Dr. Connealy and her colleagues aim to restore health and balance to the entire body, not just the areas affected by cancer. They do this with cutting-edge technology, patient education on the role of nutrition and integrative medicine, and whole-being treatments. 

By combining the best of traditional and complementary medicine, patients receive world-class care without leaving home.

Whether you are expanding your existing chiropractic business or planning to venture out on your own, you need a detailed business plan. A chiropractic business plan contains many of the same elements as other business plans, but some are unique to the profession.

Elements of a Chiropractic Business Plan

Your business plan should contain everything a person needs to know to understand your services and how you monetize your services. It answers the basic questions any individual or company wants to know before lending or investing in your company. 

In developing your business plan, you must identify your goals and create strategies to support these goals. Once complete, your business plan can also be a tool for measuring your progress.

The standard sections of a chiropractic business plan include:

• Executive Summary
• Practice Description
• Services and Products Offered
• Marketing Plan
• Operational Plan
• Practice Management and Organization
• Startup Expenses and Capitalization
• Financial Plan
• Appendices

The more thought and planning you put into your business plan, the better the chances of you obtaining the funding you need. Through the development process, you’ll discover and fill gaps, create milestones, and visualize your success.

Executive Summary

This is a high-level summary of your chiropractic practice. It should be no more than two pages, and one page is optimal. It’s the last part of the business plan you will write, as it summarizes the contents. The summary should include:

• A one or two-sentence overview of your chiropractic practice.  
• How your services and products will solve problems or improve the life of your target market.  
• Goals that your practice will achieve in one year, three years, and five years. 
• The market you will target. 
• The unique selling proposition that sets you apart from other chiropractors already serving the market.
• Your experience and the experience of your team. 
• Financial projections. 

Practice Description

This section defines your practice. It should include your mission statement, the philosophy of your practice, and the competitive aspects of the chiropractic market you will serve.

You’ll also include information about the market you are targeting. You’ll want to include the rationale behind selecting this market and why you think their needs aren’t currently served.

Introduce your short-term and long-term goals and identify benchmarks for success. For example, how many patients will you treat each year?

Finally, conclude with a description of the legal organization of your practice. Will you form a limited liability corporation, a sole practice, or a sub-S corporation? This decision should be made in conjunction with consultation with your legal and tax advisors. 

Services and Products Offered

This is where you get down to the meat and potatoes of what your practice will do on a daily basis. While all chiropractors offer osseous adjustments, will that be the extent of your practice?

If you plan on offering nutritional counseling, massage therapy, medical-grade nutritional supplements, or even yoga in the park include those services here. Even if the services won’t initially be offered, you want to include them, as well as the timeframe for implementation of supplements to your practice, and the amount of revenue you believe the additional services will generate. 

When writing this section, focus on the problems your services and products will solve for the target market. Be sure to include any competitive advantage you might have, such as an exclusive agreement to sell certain supplements or a license to use technology that is in short supply. This is also the spot to share your pricing philosophy. 

Marketing Plan

In this section of your chiropractic business plan, you’ll describe the chiropractic industry as a whole, the competitive landscape in your area, the market you will target, and your plans for marketing your services and products to these patients. 

This section will include your SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). This analysis is crucial to identifying barriers to market entry, brand recognition issues, industry trends, potential changes to government regulation, and a host of other factors that impact your success. 

You will also use this section to build your target persona. This is the demographic and infographic information about your potential patients. It includes information such as:

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Income
• Occupation
• Education level
• Hobbies/Personal Interests
• Publications Read/Sources of Information

This section also includes data on your direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors are other practices offering similar services (such as other chiropractors) indirect competitors are companies and practices that are competing for the same dollars, by offering similar or complementary services (such as acupuncturists).

As a chiropractor, you are uniquely qualified to offer lay lectures and serve as a speaker at community gatherings. Use these opportunities as marketing opportunities and include them in your marketing plan. If you have already developed patient handouts, provide samples in the appendices and include how they will be used as part of your overall marketing plan. 

Finally, the marketing section wouldn’t be complete if it didn’t contain your marketing budget, the marketing channels you will use, the design elements of your campaigns, and your marketing image. This should include an assessment of each channel used as well as income generated from each channel.

Operational Plan

This section describes how you will operate your practice. It includes the staff you need, the location you use, the equipment and supplies necessary for operations, vendors you will rely upon, and billing practices. Here’s where we can help! At Nutri West NY we can show you how you can grow your practice into a cash practice. 

For a new business or an expanding practice, if you need capital for building out your location this is where you will describe your capital needs and how funds will be used. Maybe you have an existing location with accessibility issues and need funding to relocate your practice or to modify the existing structure to make it more accessible. You include that information in this section.

When it comes to staff information, remember to include job descriptions, pay structure, the legal relationship (employee or independent contractor), and any training that may be necessary.

Don’t forget to cover your technology needs for patient information management, billing, and scheduling. 

Practice Management and Organization

This section should provide background on the principal and the advisors. Its purpose is to reassure the lender or investor that you have a qualified team leading the business.

Start by including your education and work history. Explain your strengths and identify your weaknesses. Since each weakness is a potential gap, you’ll want to identify how you plan to close the gap.  For example, if finance is your weak point, are you hiring a CFO, business manager, or relying upon the financial acumen of others? 

Do you have a trusted group of advisors, such as your attorney or CPA? If so, be sure to include their information and the role they play as well.

Startup Expenses and Capitalization

This section includes the initial financial information for the chiropractic business. It should include all initial expenses, reserve for contingencies (20% to 25%), and the initial balance sheet.

Be sure to include all assumptions and initial sources of financing. Even if the financing is a personal credit card, it’s important to disclose the repayment terms and interest rate. 

You will need to include your personal financial statement here as well. 

Financial Plan

As you create your financial plan, you’ll set financial goals and identify your financing needs. Most investors and lenders will want to see the following:

• 12-month projected income statement providing your projected sales, cost of goods, and loss or profit on sales. 
• Cash flow projection showing how money will flow in and out of the practice. Remember, if you rely on Medicaid Part B or Medicare Advantage for income, payment will come well after services are rendered.
• Projected balance sheet showing the financial health of the practice at the end of one year. 
• Break-even calculation shows how much revenue you must generate to cover expenses and break even. 
• Capital utilization explaining how capital will be expended and the results of the expenditures. 

Appendices

This section includes all the material you need to back up the details of the business plan. For example, you can include marketing channel analysis, competitor analysis, physician biographies, and organization charts in this section. 

Getting Help With Your Chiropractic Business Plan

Does the process of developing your chiropractic business plan seem overwhelming? There are resources available to help.

The seasoned professionals at Nutri-West of New York are here to help you in the development of your chiropractic business plan. Contact us to schedule a consultation.  We’ll be happy to help you develop your business plan or review your existing plan.

1. A systematic review of 51 studies involving 260,000 children age 6 to 23 months found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than a placebo in that group (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006;1:C0004879).
2. A JAMA study showed the incidence of clinical influenza in the vaccinated group was 2%, but in the un-vaccinated group it was only 3% (JAMA 1994;272:1661-5). This means that out of 100 people, one person was attributed with avoiding the flu because of the vaccine.
3. Officials’ select three strains of flu virus for the vaccine that they think are most likely to be circulating during the next winter season (they failed to pick the swine flu last year).
4. According to the CDC, common substances found in flu vaccines include: Antibiotics, MSG, Formaldehyde, mercury-containing Thimerosal, and Polysorbate 80 (PS 80 can cause severe anaphylactoid reactions – Ann Asthma Immunol 2005 Dec 95(6)393-9.).
5. There are 1 to 2 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome per 1 million vaccinated persons. Taking a flu shot is essentially the same as buying a lottery ticket for acquiring GBS, an inflammatory demyelinating condition of the nervous system.
6. >70 age group accounts for 3/4 of all flu deaths (mostly from bacterial pneumonia).
7. In the largest case-control study of flu vaccine in the elderly, the Group Health study (The Lancet, August 2, 2008) found the “flu vaccine doesn’t protect seniors as much as has been thought,” as it does not protect from pneumonia.

Sunburn

Let me begin this discussion by being a myth buster! The myth states, “avoid the sun and use sunblock or sunscreen to avoid skin cancer”.

Summer should be called “SUNmer”. That is because it is the season when most of us are outdoors much of the time and exposed to the sun repeatedly.

Like everything else in the world there are multiple versions and many aspects to consider when learning about the potential harmful effects of sun exposure. So, we will also discuss the perspective of the many positive, even vital factors to it.

The BIG question??  Does being outside in the sun give me vitamin D? By the time you have read this article you will be able to answer that question.

What Is Good Sun?

The sun exposure that would be beneficial for us is 8:30 am to 10:30 am. This is because the rays that are emitted during these hours are primarily ultra-violet rays. Ultra-violet rays stimulate the deep cells of the dermal (skin) layers where the cells known as melanocytes reside. When melanocytes are stimulated, they release a substance known as melanin that is brown in color (pigment) and naturally makes its way toward the more superficial layers of the dermis. This is what is referred to as a SUNTAN.

When the clock approaches 11:00 am most of the sun rays are infrared (BAD SUN) until dusk. Infrared rays have potential to harm because they burn the surface layers of the dermis (skin), depleting the skin of water (hydration) and depleting the body of vitamin D and vitamin A. The skin takes on a red appearance not a brown. This is what is referred to as a SUNBURN. These are the hours when sunscreen/block should be used.

So, it is a mistake to be “hiding” from the sun as so many are advised; even a person with recessive genes (blond & blue) can obtain a fresh summer glow with no skin damage and nice vitamin replenishment.

REMEMBER: Being outdoors when covered in clothes does not increase vitamin D levels. The ‘free’ vitamin D we get from sunshine must shine on skin.

PROTECTION: Sunscreen can be used between 8:30-10:30 am, the sunscreen strength should be less allowing for the penetration of the ultraviolet rays and giving you the vitamins crucial for your body’s health. A company that we recommend is www.kinesysactive.com They have a great variety of strengths and various applications as well as catering to age group preferences.

People with darker skin do not need to apply any sunscreen at all in the morning (except in tropical locations). During the afternoon you need to make sure you are fully covered in lotion and protection from the infrared rays.

If you do get a sunburn or feel a negative affect from the sun, you can apply ALOE with lidocaine. This is available in local stores. Spray is best and can be applied several times each day for symptomatic relief. Sleep and lots of rest is essential for the healing process.

FYI: SUNBURN is one of the most painful conditions, and the subsequent debridement required for the injury to heal properly (no infection with minimal scar tissue) is often more painful than the burn.

There are studies being conducted that have found emotional stresses such as, anxiety, fatigue, helplessness, and acute stress disorder associated with the pain.

From the National Cancer Institute, In 2015, 35.3% of adults aged 18 years and older were sunburned.

Conclusion

Nurture yourself every morning with the warmth of Hashems gift, LIGHT!