May 2008

Learning from the flu shot report of findings

by Dr. Eric Plasker

Have you ever thought about what the flu shot report of findings looks like? To save you a lot of time, I'll share with you right now… there is none.

Here's how the process works. The drug companies manufacture the flu shots and along with the medical industry share their pseudoscientific beliefs with the media, packaged as research. Together, they scare the public into thinking that they should all rush out, lineup, and receive their flu shots. The information is distributed to all of the morning, afternoon and evening shows on all of the major networks and then reported to the public.

In addition, this information is sent in press releases to every newspaper in the country. The "news" is also placed on all the Internet-based news services so that people have access to the information online as well. Doctors from every specialty receive e-mail blasts informing them of this important "research" so they're prepared to handle the volume of people that come to their offices for flu shots and in turn stock up on the vaccine, which they purchase from the drug companies.

The companies in the media create the demand, the doctors order the product from the drug companies, and the people calling for their appointments, line up with their sleeves rolled up (or their pants pulled down) and accept their injection without explanation or exploring the potential side effects and consequences of their actions.

Since the demand was created through the media, people walk in asking for the shot and require no consultation but want a report of findings. They demand the service and if the doctors are not willing to supply it to them, they will immediately go seek this service from another physician. We see this type of demand, and then supply, with many other drugs as well.

From the "viva Viagra" commercials to the cholesterol and pain- relieving drug ads we see over and over again on the tube, this system is doing its job to deliver as many shots and drugs as possible.

A recent article in Reader's Digest that questions this practice along with the integrity of the FDA, which polices the drug industry, should have us all questioning a drug culture even more than we already do.

We should absolutely learn from the delivery system, however, in our attempt to get chiropractic care to as many people as possible. We know that chiropractic is good for you. We also know that people under regular care have healthier spines, heal quicker from injuries, save companies money by getting people back to work more quickly, and function better. What we need is to be able to figure out is a way to use this to create the demand and deliver the supply type of strategy.

"The 100 Year Lifestyle" has been doing just that for chiropractors who are using it in their practices. Chiropractors around the country are reporting that people are seeing the book in bookstores, articles about the book in magazines such as Life Extension, Family Circle and Health, and newspapers including The Arizona Republic, Atlanta Journal Constitution and The Buffalo News. They're also seeing me or many of the other doctors studying with The Family Practice on television, and they're walking into offices demanding lifetime chiropractic care.

People faced with the reality of their extended life spans may also be dealing with an aging parent or grandparent who is deteriorating as they age, or are seeing a new assisted living center pop up right around the corner from their home. To ensure that they age in a healthy way, they turn to "The 100 Year Lifestyle" and then choose lifetime chiropractic care upon reading the book.

The paradigm that "The 100 Year Lifestyle" creates hits people right between the eyes and confronts them head-on with the reality of the longevity crisis we're now facing with nearly 80,000 centenarians in the United States alone.

Here are the new consultation and report findings in a post-100 year lifestyle world for a chiropractor.

Patient: "Doctor, I just read this book and realize that I'm probably going to live longer than I ever thought, and it's important that I take care of my spine. Would you mind checking me and telling me how often I need to come to keep my spinal system healthy for a lifetime?"

Doctor: "Sure, it would be my pleasure. Here's what we found, here's what you need, and this is what it costs."

Patient: "Great!"

This may sound like a radical oversimplification, but it's not. Doctors using these types of strategies are finding that practices are growing more than ever before. By creating a demand in the marketplace for what we do and showing people how chiropractic helps them to live a long healthy active life, we will fill up all of our practices with a supply of people we only dream about.

Give it a try. Plug yourself into this strategy that's working for doctors all over the world.

(Dr. Eric Plasker, an internationally known speaker and chiropractic educator, is the author of "The 100 Year Lifestyle" [www.100yearlifestyle.com] and 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. 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.)