The Evidence Based Chiropractor Blog

Hundreds of chiropractic marketing and research articles to help you grow.

Jeff Langmaid 9/30/14 Jeff Langmaid 9/30/14

Medical Attitudes Towards Chiropractic- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

A new study in the Journal of Chiropractic Education examines the attitudes, knowledge, and perception of medical students towards chiropractic care. Not surprisingly, many of the medical students have had limited exposure to chiropractic. Their views and perceptions were based on hearsay and speculation as opposed to research and experience. A few of the key quotes include:

‘‘Just a lack of understanding of what a chiropractor does and the safety associated with it, are barriers to me, you know, when I’m practicing or referring someone to a chiropractor.’’

‘‘Showed us journal articles . . . this is the kind of evidence we were looking for, and she had presented this to us about safety and about patient satisfaction. I think those are 2 big topics for me that. . .maybe I can take this seriously, rather than just brushing it off, you know, as a service.’’

I am sure these quotes resonate with many of the members of The Evidence Based Chiropractor. My estimation is that roughly 50% of the physicians my members interact with have never met a chiropractor before. Unfortunately, chiropractic seems to be the best-kept health care secret of the last 200 years. However, we can built referral relationships with other physicians and drive increased utilization of chiropractic. By presenting research, answering questions, building rapport, and reaching out we can build the referral relationships which will not only grow our individual practices', but the profession as whole. In my opinion chiropractic needs nothing added to it; we simply need to highlight the wonderful safety and efficacy of the chiropractic adjustment.

-The Evidence Based Chiropractor is the leading DC/MD marketing and outreach group in the world. Our service is dedicated to increasing chiropractic utilization by showcasing research. Marketing to medical doctors through research is efficient, cost effective, and can dramatically improve your incoming referrals. Join us. Lets grow chiropractic together.

Jeff Langmaid 9/9/14 Jeff Langmaid 9/9/14

Highlighting the Adjustment- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Highlighting the adjustment is a foundational aspect of The Evidence Based Chiropractor. Journals such as SPINE, the British Medical Journal, JMPT, the Annals of Internal Medicine, etc. have all produced research in support of the chiropractic adjustment. Chiropractic is a distinct and unique health care profession which, in my opinion, needs nothing "added" to it. However, we are in dire need of increasing our market utilization by highlighting our primary advantage... the chiropractic adjustment.

Chiropractors in the past could not actively promote the adjustment due to a lack of research. Throughout the years this may have contributed to our desire to include other modalities in our offices'. However, now we have a deep and vast base of research which we can draw from and promote. In a previous post I broke down the numbers and estimated that implementation of a interdisciplinary outreach system should be able to be accomplished with roughly a hour of staff time per month. The Evidence Based Chiropractor was founded to help facilitate this process, increasing our market utilization and ultimately creating more opportunities for chiropractors to practice worldwide. And, it is all done in an effort to honor the act of the chiropractic adjustment.

-The Evidence Based Chiropractor is the fastest growing chiropractic marketing group in the profession. We are dedicated to increasing chiropractic utilization by showcasing research. Marketing to medical doctors through research is proven, cost effective, and can dramatically improve your incoming referrals. Join us. Lets grow chiropractic together.

Jeff Langmaid 9/8/14 Jeff Langmaid 9/8/14

Honoring Chiropractors of the Past- by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

You may not know that my great-grandfather was a Chiropractor in the early 1920's. He went to Palmer and no doubt studied directly with B.J. at the Fountainhead. At the time, Chiropractors were fighting to stay out of jail and probably could only dream of a time when they would be able to practice without the direct threat of imprisonment. They risked everything on a little more than anecdote and belief in a better healthcare system. Medical doctors were still blood letting and penicillin had not yet been invented. Certainly, they could not have imagined how much the practice and economy of healthcare would change over the next 100 years.

Since that time Medical Doctors have consistently consolidated their resources to become a true behemoth on our nationwide economy. Meanwhile, chiropractors have bickered and splintered the profession to a point where growth (utilization) has remained stagnant for decades and we have virtually no political power aside from crisis aversion.

In my opinion, Chiropractic is perhaps the most safe and effective healthcare profession in history. Furthermore, we now have a plethora of research which substantiates our role in the healthcare arena. I am sure my great-grandfather would not be able to fathom a day when medical journals would support the use of chiropractic care. Frankly, I feel as though they would be aghast if they knew thousands of chiropractors were practicing and not actively promoting chiropractic research to the public and to other physicians. While I will never know my great-grandfathers thoughts on The Evidence Based Chiropractor, I am steadfast in my belief that the promotion of chiropractic research, and the ability to highlight the unbelievable power of the chiropractic adjustment, is a foundational component of how we can secure the future of chiropractic for the next 100 years.

Jeff Langmaid 9/4/14 Jeff Langmaid 9/4/14

Lessons from a Team - by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Many chiropractors look at a cabinet of files (electronic or paper) and consider "their" patients. Not surprisingly, many medical doctors also look at a stack of files and consider the individuals as "their" patients. While semantically there is nothing wrong with this; I suggest that by altering our perspective we can achieve far greater success and influence. What happens when the MD and DC begin to consider "our" patients. By emphasizing co-management (which is the truth) we are able to sublety change perspectives and serve far more friends and neighbors.

Jeff Langmaid 8/28/14 Jeff Langmaid 8/28/14

Marketing to MD's: Is it worth it? - by The Evidence Based Chiropractor

Marketing a Chiropractic practice can be an interesting adventure. Every day it seems as though a new marketing "breakthrough" has occurred which promises success beyond our wildest dreams. Unfortunately, as many chiropractors can attest, these schemes are usually short lived at best, and stretch the boundaries of legality at worst.

Building interdisciplinary referral relationships is perhaps one of the most fiscally responsible forms of outreach which also has the ability to produce seriously long term results. Once a local physician begins referring to your office (as long as you provide quality care), they should continue to refer for many years to come with little additional marketing expense.

For physicians new to interdisciplinary outreach, lets take a look at a sample ROI using The Evidence Based Chiropractor membership model-

Yearly Costs-

$357.00 - Membership to The Evidence Based Chiropractor

$294.00 - Postage to reach out to 50 Physicians Per Month for the Year

$150.00- Miscellaneous expense (envelopes, paper, ink)

$180.00- One Hour of Staff Time Per Month at $15.00 per hour

$981.00 Per Year All Included

Most Chiropractors have a case or patient value set at somewhere between $750-$1500 each. Using our current numbers, you would need to receive 1 MD Referral PER YEAR to break even using our system. Even just a single MD Referral each month would potentially generate between $8,019-$17,019 in additional income.

Perhaps more than numbers on a spreadsheet, providing chiropractic care for patients who would not have normally entered your office is the best reward of all.