February 2008

Communicating financial policies

by Dr. Eric Plasker

Do you ever have patients who come into your practice but tell you that they can't afford your services? How often have you heard them say, "My insurance isn't going to cover this, so I can't come in today"? When people put money before their health care, it can be frustrating and discouraging for you and your staff, but it doesn't have to be this way.

Unfortunately, many chiropractors miss the mark when it comes to communicating the value of their services in a way that will motivate people to pay regardless of their insurance coverage. Often this happens because the DC is either uncomfortable or lacks the confidence to confront money issues in a constructive way. However, the reality of the situation is that there is never such a thing as a money problem. For example, have you ever thought that you couldn't afford something but gone ahead and purchased it anyway because it had so much value for you? Investing in chiropractic is the same way!

Implementing a marketable financial system can help chiropractors communicate the value of chiropractic. Imagine what this kind of system would do for your practice! The key to marketing any service, including chiropractic, is to stand out as a service that offers something different and better to the consumer.

Ask yourself why people should commit to paying for chiropractic if they could just as easily go to their primary care physician and pay a $10 co‑pay to ease their back pain. Distinguish in your mind what makes your chiropractic service more valuable than their traditional provider. Then, through a very specific system, market this difference, educate your community and create value for chiropractic with everyone you come into contact with.

You will immediately begin to see the difference in your practice with perhaps as many as nine out of ten of your patients becoming lifetime chiropractic families and paying you very well for those services regardless of their insurance contribution.

In the movie "Erin Brockovich," there is a scene where Julia Roberts confronts an attorney who is defending a power company that has been pouring toxins into the environment and causing deadly illnesses in the community. In this tension‑filled scene, Ms. Roberts offers the defense lawyer a glass of water that is purportedly contaminated with the exact same chemicals that the company has been leaking into the city's ground and drinking water. Needless to say, the attorney declines the complimentary beverage!

You can take this analogy one step further and ask your patients this question: If you were offered a less than desirable glass of water for free or a clean, contaminant‑free one for five dollars, which would you choose? We all know what the answer would be.

While chiropractic care may cost your patients more out‑of‑pocket on the front end, its value as a high‑quality, holistic, drug‑free alternative is undeniable. If you present your practice to your patients in this light, they will never choose "managed" (or what I like to call "damaged") care providers over the human‑potential, "highest possibility" services that chiropractors provide.

Become a "value‑creating" machine for lifetime‑oriented chiropractic family care by implementing a marketable financial system ‑‑ and build the family practice of your dreams.

(Dr. Eric Plasker, author of "The 100 Year Lifestyle" [www.100yearlifestyle.com] is the founder of The Family Practice ‑‑ a coaching and training organization providing all the systems, tools and support needed to build a highly successful and profitable family practice and dedicated to helping DCs unite to lead family health care. An internationally known speaker and chiropractic educator, he is best known for rallying the chiropractic profession around the Lifetime Care for Everyone and Family Practice visions. For seminar, coaching, training, or product information, call The Family Practice toll‑free at 866‑LEAD‑DCS (532‑3327), ext. 118 or visit the Family Practice website at www.thefamilypractice.net .)