Dear Editor:
After reading the article in the May 4th issue of DC regarding the AHCPR's report Chiropractic in the United States, I downloaded and printed the release.
I would like to recommend that all chiropractors, practicing or not, as well as students and would-be students of this profession download a copy and read it cover to cover. We also owe Dynamic Chiropractic a well-deserved thank you for providing access to such an important document.
Gary Pirnat, DC
Specialty Chairman for Chiropractic Services
MedPartners -- Southern California
Gary.Pirnat-mdmnetwork.com
Editor's note: You can download a copy of the AHCPR's report on ChiroWeb, Dynamic Chiropractic's website: http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/ahcpr/uschiros.htm.
You can also order the report from the National Technical Informatoin Service for $31 by calling 1-800-553-6847.
"Generous Outpouring of Support"
Dear Editor
I want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for the tremendous coverage of the tragedy of the shooting of Dr. Kniegge in Honduras. I also want to thank the entire chirorpactaic profession for the generous outpouring of support, help and response to his need.
I had been with him for almost two weeks, coming back just the week prior to the shooting. I saw first hand the tremendous work he is doing providing chiropractic,a nd the general humanitarian helpa dn relief to the poorest of the poor in the mountains and desloate areas he goes to. He is certainly deserving of the helpa nd support that was extended to him in this crisis.
Again, thank you, editor and profession.
Frederick Vlietstra, DC
President
Christian Chiropractors Association
230 E. Main St.
Middletown, NY 10940
Dr. Silvesti's letter in the May 4 Dynamic Chiropractic, "Chiropractaic Needs a Sppokesperson," succinctly and eloquently expressed some of our challenges.
I've been in practice for 19 years in L.A. and consider myself very fortunate to have a fairly solid, well-established practice and patient base, and went to school in the 70's when tuition was low. After all these years I still have to work at my practice to keep it going strong. My volume of patients begins to slide down whenever I "let up" for too long and don't stay focused on providing the most excellent service to my patients and promoting the practice (done mostly through encouraging word-of-mouth referrals, sending our newsletters, and periodic internal marketing like patient appreciation days where patients donate food or money to charity in return for no-charge services).
I agree that the profession hasn't made a huge amount of headway in reaching more than a small percentage of the public. And dealing with managed care is challenging, although I feel fortunate again to be a participant in a couple of major chiropractic managed care groups and to be able to serve those patients who otherwise would not come to see me. Chiropractic has fantastic potential to help millions of folks who desperately need what we have to offer and aren't yet getting our help. Although this can be frustrating, it's also exciting to think about ways of tapping that great mass of unadjusted spines out there.
A good friend of mine has an all cash practice, sees 60-80 patients a day, and always has all his new patients slots filled for days in advance. He doesn't advertise and he doesn't have an aggressive personality. He does it by serving and loving his patients, and by a strong "chiropractic philosophy" belief in the healing power of the body/nervous system/innate, whatever you want to call it, and talking to his patients about it all the time. Not everyone (not me) can do that, but its very instructive to see that it is possible and that it has a lot to do with one's belief system.
Stephen Covey in his great book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People talks about being "proactive" which means not focusing on your "circle of concern" (things you can't do much about) but focusing on your "circle of influence" (what you cand do something about). He says the more you focus on your circle of influence, the larger it gets, and the more you affect your world. I have complained a lot about MDs who should be sending tons of their patients to DCs instead of warning them not to come to us. I mostly have to depend on my patients' uneven abilities to talk their family and friends into coming to see me. Only a fraction of the time do they succeed. If those people's doctors told them to come see me, they would come nearly every time! But of course most MDs don't know much about what we do, and don't think of referring to us. But instead of complaining about all the needless suffering caused by MDs not referring folks that would benefit from chiropractic, you have to connect with MDs and teach them when and how to refer.
There's a DC in Ohio that has developed a very successful approach doing just that. He gets 25-30 new patients from MDs every month, and now is being invited to lecture at local medical schools. In a long telephone conversation with him he explained exactly how he does it. He charge me a couple hundred dollars for the consultation, including sending me the forms he uses, but it was worth it. I haven't implemented the program yet. It will be a stretch for me, but I know it will work. Clearly this is a more proactive approach.
I've spent some time and money over the years studying how to make my practice successful, to help more people, and to pay bills of course. I've been to various seminars and lectures, and listened to audio tape series with lots of good ideas. It's important to learn various methods of overcoming the ignorance and resistance that people have that prevents them from seeking chiropractic care. There are many good ideas (and some really bad ones) about how to build and maintain a thriving chiropractic practice. The bottom line for me is that any ethical means of reaching people will help me help more people experience the benefits of chiropractic, which will make their lives and my life better.
In the last two years I decided to go out on the street and do some spinal screenings outside a couple of large local health food stores. It was a humbling, difficult, and rewarding experience. I felt like I shouldn't have to be there and shouldn't need to be there, and actually I didn't really need patients that badly, but I did it so that I could have a different experience of talking to people about chiropractic. I didn't cajole anyone into begrudgingly becoming patients. I just talked to folks who were interested, motion palpated their spines, and offered them an opportunity to come to my office if they felt that what I was telling them made sense. I have some patients now who have been helped tremendously by chiropractic and who are great patients, that never would have come to see me had I not stood out there making a fool out of myself. No doubt there are more efficient ways of getting new patients, but if your heart and head are in the right place (a true desire to serve and heal) you can do a lot of things and they will come across as you intend them to.
Mha Atma S. Khalsa, DC
Los Angeles, California
MhaAtma-aol.com
A Moment of Silence
Dr. Eugene Fields Allison, 84, of Northrideg, California, passed away March 28 after a short illness. Dr. Allison graduated from LACC in 1960 and began practice in Glendale, California. He spent years studying with Dr. Gonstead in Mt. Horeb, and was one of the field doctors who broght the Gonstead technique to Southern California. Dr. Allison taught the technique for years at the Pasadena College of Chiropracatic, and was instrumental in the development of the full-spine radiograph.
Dr. Paul Van Wyk, of Littleton, Colorado, passed away March 14 after a long battle with cancer. A 1953 graduate of Logan College, he practiced in Reinbeck, Iowa for 20 years, was active in the Iowa Chiropractic Society, and was a member of the President's Council of Logan College.
After moving to Colorado, Dr. Van Wyk became active in the Colorado Chiropractic Association (CCA). The CCA has honored his memory by naming its seminar room after him. Dr. Van Wyk will also be named to the CCA Hall of Fame.