Doctors of chiropractic across the country are already reporting seeing new patients as a result of practicing during the COVID-19 pandemic. These new patients are coming to them under several scenarios:
- Patients first seek medical care, only to discover their medical provider is not able to care for them because their health issues are not considered essential). Some DCs also report they are enjoying indirect referrals from hospitals and MDs who've reportedly told patients to "find a chiropractor who is open."
- Patients are concerned about seeing a medical provider or entering a hospital due to the potential increased exposure to the COVID-19 virus, and prefer to see a doctor of chiropractic as a safer alternative.
- Patients are finding that their medical provider is no longer open and seek a DC in their area who is still seeing patients.
The dynamics of the current situation were revealed in the latest jobs report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, released on Friday, May 8, 2020. The report reveals that 1.4 million health care jobs were lost in the month of April. This is in addition to the 43,000 lost in the month of March. The losses for April included 503,300 dentists, 243,300 medical physicians, 205,100 other health care practitioners and 134,900 hospital jobs.
According to a recent survey conducted by Dynamic Chiropractic, approximately 80 percent of U.S. chiropractors have remained in practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their willingness to adapt to the needs of their communities during this time has reportedly resulted in an expansion of their patient bases in many cases.
While the loss of jobs in any health care profession is truly unfortunate, it does open the door for many people to experience chiropractic care for the first time. As states relax their protective orders, many patients may still be more comfortable resuming their chiropractic care – or trying it for the first time – than visiting their medical provider.
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