June 2008

Chiropractic lifestyle for a lifetime

by Dr. Mark Kimes

When patients enter a chiropractic office for the first time, they rarely start with a chiropractic mindset. The great majority enter our offices with an allopathic outlook because this is what society currently has. Therefore, a transition must occur in the attitude of our patients if they are to value the chiropractic lifestyle and ultimately choose it for themselves and their families.

Changes a patient's mindset takes a focused effort specifically directed towards this goal. It begins on the first visit and is continuously reinforced on every subsequent visit. No where else can the value of the chiropractic lifestyle be continuously conveyed other than our own chiropractic offices. In my current chiropractic practice of 23 years, we view our office as the fountainhead of chiropractic lifestyle for our community.

Having patients choose a chiropractic lifestyle begins with the doctor realizing that dictating findings is only marginally effective. Instead, it is far more effective to employ the Socrates teaching method: ask patients specific questions designed to assist in arriving at their own conclusions, answers, and decisions involving their health. The Socrates method allows the patient to have ownership, desire, and true value for chiropractic. Patients effectively sell themselves on choosing your chiropractic care.

An example of a Socrates-style question is: "John, earlier you shared with us that you have been concerned about your problem (pain, condition, etc…) affecting your ability to work. How do you think your subluxations will affect your work in the future if they remain uncorrected?" Likely, the patient will answer, "I could lose my job or have trouble providing for my family." The patients' own conclusions, based upon their emotions, connects them to the impact health is having on their life and ability to function.

Next, doctors of chiropractic need to invest in every reinforcement tool possible to continuously educate and involve the patient in making their best chiropractic care choices.

The single best tool for stand-alone-continuous-patient education that I have ever experienced in my practice is the Brican Media Doc System. The reason for Brican System's effectiveness is its ability to completely captivate the patient with superb, continuously changing graphics and chiropractic lifestyle messages in an audiovisual (television monitor) delivery system.

From the moment patients enter your office, they are visually involved with reinforcing messages supporting chiropractic care in an easy-to-understand format.

Research shows that audiovisual technology utilized by the Brican System is more than 90% effective in memory penetration.

In my clinic, we have experienced first hand a 22 percent increase in new patients, retention, and referrals since installing the Brican System. The very first day we activated our Brican System we had two non-patients in our reception area ask to be scheduled for a new patient appointment. The Brican System has been so effective we have just added six more television monitors including in our restrooms! The Brican System has paid for itself over and over again. We recommend Brican System to all our practice growth clients.

Patient involvement with a Socrates method of posing questions at the first office visit, report of findings, and thereafter plus highly effective tools such as the Brican System are major keys for the patient to transition themselves to choose a chiropractic lifestyle for a lifetime.

(Dr. Mark Kimes, DC is a full time practicing chiropractor, CEO of Advanced Chiropractic, and CEO of Rapid Growth Training Program where only successful DCs and CAs will train you. The first seven callers to inquire will receive their next practice growth program free (a $799.00 value). Brican patient media education system may be reached at 800-644-1055.)