March 2005

Compromise

by Dr. Dennis Nikitow

Over the years I have had the opportunity to observe and talk to many DCs at my seminars whom used to have highly successful, profitable practices they enjoyed being in, but destroyed those wonderful practices due to compromise.

Their story is quite common. They used to have the practice I teach in the Certainty Seminar High Volume, High retention subluxation based, maintenance, family wellness practices. Yet somehow they become low volume, high maintenance, paperwork, low retention, musculoskeletal, stressful, pain relief, paper chasing practices.

How did this happen they ask? The answer is always the same. It's invisible, silent, and almost evil. It's called "COMPROMISE." Compromise sneaks up on us like a wolf in the night ready to devour our principles and destroy our success. The little compromises here and there lead to our ruin in the long run. Most DCs got into chiropractic for the right reason. Worldwide surveys demonstrated the majority of DCs embraced the chiropractic philosophy. Yet because of different pressures they begin to compromise their principles and sold out the basic subluxation based philosophy to musculoskeletal symptom / correction treatment. These pressures include but are not limited to personal, social, financial, and professional.

Interesting enough their root comes from the same place. The lack of education and understanding of how to communicate the chiropractic message to the public.

I've always said that DCs all practice in the same place. The six inches between their patients' ears. If a doctor knows how to communicate the message of chiropractic with impact they will have CERTAINTY in their practice and there will be no drift to compromise. Doctors who are certain about chiropractic, its potential and ability to change peoples' lives won't compromise. It's important we all build certainty in our practices by leaving the major communication systems to reposition the public perception of chiropractic so they put a DC on their health care team. Due to the fact that most DCs have never been taught communication with certainty, they begin to compromise their practices and slowly transform their beliefs and their practices to back pain, insurance‑ dependant clinics. The pressures rise for them to have successful practices, financial success and lead the "doctor's lifestyle," yet they don't know how to retain patients so they have to maximize profitability for each patient they get.

Out the window with principles and philosophy and in with short term, high billables like therapies that have nothing to do with correcting subluxations, but compromise both the doctor's principles and his or her practice. Pretty soon the practice is focusing on how much can be billed to the insurance company based on the musculoskeletal correction. The patient education alters along with this and the practice makes its shift to a musculoskeletal, back pain practice focused more on payment than patient.

The solution for every DC wanting to be a traditional DC rather than a back pain doctor is to learn how to communicate subluxation based chiropractic to their patients with certainty.

Once you know how to communicate chiropractic, people will bring their families, and put you in their health care team. Your practice and income will go up and you'll increase patient retention and minimize paperwork and stress. There will be no need to compromise because you'll be practicing with certainty!

(To learn about the Certainty System, Certainty Practice Products and Dr. Dennis Nikitow's upcoming seminar schedule, call 800‑544‑3884. Outside the U.S., 303‑721‑6202.)