It Is Essential & It Is Right! - 1/3/2009
In his classic, “A Tale of Two Cities,” Dickens wrote:
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.
It was the age of wisdom and it was the age of foolishness.
It was the epic of belief and it was the epic of incredulity.
It was the season of light, it was the season of darkness.
It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
We had everything before us, we had nothing before us.
We were all going direct to heaven or we were all going
the other way.
That was in 1789. In 1895, one hundred and thirteen years ago, it was the story of the chiropractors who first began to put forth our chiropractic principles. No less, in 2008, it is the same. Nothing changes, yet everything is changing.
The nation is clamoring for change in just about everything, but particularly in America’s health care delivery system…and I have learned over the years, what grass roots America wants, they eventually get.
My purpose is to attempt to place in perspective the tremendous metamorphosis that is happening, how our profession is positioned now, and how this relentless evolution in health care will be affecting our entire future.
Is this the age of great opportunity that we so loosely speak about or is it the age of great fear? Is it the age to capitulate or is it the age to stand and fight for this precious principle of ours?
If our goal is to earn the public’s trust and respect, and to insure our role in the future, we must all must make some “essential” corrections in this great profession.
For example:
It is essential that all of our Chiropractic Colleges teach chiropractic principle as part of their core curriculum. From my point of view - indeed from every point of view – it is this very philosophy that makes us unique and so vital and necessary in an era when other health care disciplines are no longer trusted.
It is essential that our doctors have the ability to use mass media to articulate our principles and our purpose to the public at large…and do so in a way that Mr. & Mrs. America can clearly understand and comprehend what we are really all about.
It is essential that we as a profession develop a sensible and sane procedural protocol so our image can change and we can start to flourish rather than be held back by being labeled as a fragmented profession.
It is essential to make a unified and concerted effort for UNITY within our political organizations, especially with regard to a massive effort at educating the public to the short and long-term benefits derived from having a nervous system that works properly, thanks to the talent and skill of a qualified and competent chiropractor.
It is essential that our practitioners have fundamental practice management skills so they can gracefully transfer from student to practitioner.
It is essential that low self-esteem DC’s be prevented from hurting all of us by using immoral, unethical and/or dishonest methods of practice, just because they believe that’s the only way they can survive.
It is essential that we begin to police our own profession to monitor and end true over- utilization of visits, fraudulent billing practices, bait and switch techniques, insurance fraud, low class advertising, give it away free schemes and/or any other procedure or tactic that causes us to lose in the long run.
We MUST have integrity that comes from within. It is not enough to be well behaved just because regulatory agencies threaten censure of penalty and legislatures threaten us with restrictions.
It is essential to discourage DC’s from becoming the shills of unscrupulous attorneys, the lackeys of insurance companies and the servants of the almighty buck! This is a time for Chiropractic to grow and glow…not a time for sleaze!
Let’s Reinforce and Respond To Those Things
That Make Chiropractic A True Beacon
For Outstanding Health Care
As personal and practice development coach I am calling for a central core of Chiropractic strength that emphasizes what is RIGHT about Chiropractic.
For example:
It is right that DC’s and their offices provide a first class, state-of-the-art, healing art option to the people of their communities…and
It is right that DC’s have offices that project professionalism and that they are constructed in such a manner as to send notice that this is a place of natural and holistic healing, representative of the finest in health care delivery…and
It is right that DC’s have professional expertise, procedural efficiency, business acumen and personality traits geared for success…and
It is right…yes…very right…that DC’s and CA’s are constantly trained to do empowering daily affirmations, set and achieve worthy goals and strive for high standards of excellence…and
It is right that DC’s learn to have a compassion to serve vs. just a compulsion to survive and that they have honest fees, ethical procedures, respect for themselves and love for our profession…and
It is right that DC’s protect their families against catastrophe by securing malpractice and other essential insurance…and
It is right that Chiropractic Assistants are trained to paraprofessional status and encouraged to keep learning more so they can better contribute to a patient’s health care…and
It is right that DC’s learn to build strong and positive self-images and to become leaders in their offices and in their communities, as well.
All of the above is right and essential if you want to build the practices of your dreams while you enjoy the happiest, healthiest and most prosperous lifestyles you can imagine.
Chiropractic In A Changing Health Care Environment
In my opinion, one single factor is going to reshape health care in the next few years. Unfortunately, it will not be the quality of care…it will not be universal access…and it will have nothing to do with high technology. That one driving factor will be economics!
Government and the marketplace will continuously try to reduce the cost of health care. However, despite your initial negative reaction, this will eventually create a tremendous opportunity for the Chiropractic profession.
Here’s why. All the research of the past decade proves that medicine is ponderous, uncaring and costly, and this same research shows chiropractic to be not only clinically effective, but cost effective and the home run hitter in patient satisfaction. We ARE the natural choice when the policy makers look for ways to solve the health care disaster.
But, nothing will happen unless this profession has a strong, coherent strategy to make sure that it happens. That strategy must come from a united front and from one unified approach! The time has come to stop circling the wagons and shooting in at ourselves. The target is outside and the victory comes from us singing one song to the legislative bodies and one patient education song to every man, woman and child…around the world. Then we will see the greatness of this profession!!
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