Eighty percent of you reading this article have already scrolled down to see what the 5 questions* are. Did you? You won’t be able to find the 5 questions in this article because for now the 5 questions are not important. What is important is understanding the “WHY” of the 5 questions.*
As a successful 34 yr. practitioner, having owned multiple clinics, and now helping chiropractors protect their future for over 26 years, I see hugely successful doctors, many struggling doctors, and way too many doctors failing. Too many doctors believe that the key to success is to memorize, mimic and repeat what it is that a successful doctor does or says in their practice that will make them successful. Unfortunately, rarely does that work.
It is never as simple as I’ll do what they do, say what they say. Most successful doctors do and say what they do based on their “why” and if you don’t have the same why or understand the why, just memorizing what they say will never be as effective as having your own why. Let’s get back to the why of our 5 questions.
If you were going to answer 5 questions that could mean the difference between success and failure of your practice where would the questions come from? The questions of course would come from your patients and potential patients. In business, you must answer the questions that your customers (patients) ask otherwise they go to someone that can.
When you can answer their questions satisfactorily they become patients and better yet stay as patients. All too often we give patients answers to questions we want them to ask rather than the questions they have.
My favorite question chiropractors seem to always answer is, why should you see a chiropractor? Of course, your answer to this question varies based on how you are chiropractically aligned, but for most of you reading this article, words like subluxation, nerve interference, and innate are usually part of the answer. Being a subluxation based chiropractor I understand all too well the desire to share that message.
So how many people are asking that question?
Per the 2016 Gallup-Palmer Report on Chiropractic, the first-ever nationally representative annual survey measuring perceptions of, and experiences with, chiropractic among U.S. adults, pretty much nobody except chiropractors.
So why would we want to answer a question nobody is asking? Our desire to share chiropractic with the world, but ultimately, poor communication!
Now here’s the kicker. The most successful chiropractors educate their patients and, according to the Gallup-Palmer Report on Chiropractic, 8 out of 10 people found that chiropractors that took the time to educate their patients were very appealing, showed they cared and as a result these patients would refer their friends and family.
Good communication, according to the same report is that patients want to be educated on options and management plans (their questions). Once you do that, you earn the right to educate/share with them the questions you want to answer.
This next point is going to surprise most of you. It is on the top of the list of the 5 questions* patients want to have answered. Ironically, it is on the bottom of the list of things you want to discuss. Informed Consent.
A good Informed Consent, without a doubt, will do more to cement a good relationship with a patient than almost anything else you can do. As I have said many times, and if you have been to any of the presentations I do all over the country, you have heard me say it. “Informed Consent is a living breathing entity.” One that we at ChiroSecure are constantly evaluating, changing, improving and updating. It is not just a list of statistics for you to spout out. It is an opportunity, a give and take and share what you do and just how safe chiropractic is.
How good is your Informed Consent? How good do you feel about sharing it? Next time I’ll share with you a little more about the Chirosecure Informed Consent Packet, as well as the 5 questions that the 2016 Gallup-Palmer Report on Chiropractic revealed. The best part is the opportunity this presents for all of us.
*(If you simply cannot wait to learn the 5 question until Part 2 of this article then you can text the word QUESTIONS to (480) 500-6574 and we will send them to you.)
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Dr. Stuart Hoffman
Honored as ICA’s Chiropractor of the Year for 2015, previously awarded Chiropractor of the year from the Michigan Council and recognized by Life University President Dr. Guy Reickman for his success, leadership and vision through his contributions supporting the mission of the President’s Circle.
Dr. Hoffman has and continues to labor tirelessly for chiropractors and chiropractic, making extraordinarily positive and significant contributions to the profession in many vital dimensions. He is currently active with – The Chiropractic Summit – The DaVinci Group – Foundation for Chiropractic Progress and FHC. In conjunction with his chiropractic malpractice insurance company, ChiroSecure, he has created scholarships for pediatric research and supports several Chiropractic Colleges, State Associations and Chiropractic Research programs.
He is a successful 34 yr. practitioner who owned and operated 14 Chiropractic offices and employed many associate DCs. For the past 26 yrs. he has served as founder as well as owner and operator of ChiroSecure, a malpractice insurance company that he personally spearheaded to become the 2nd largest program in that market. His expertise and love for Chiropractic allow him to stay on the cutting edge of Risk Management and continue to be one of the most sort after speakers in the chiropractic profession by state associations throughout the country as well as a favorite at the chiropractic college campuses.
Please direct any questions to (866) 802-4476 or visit our website at https://chirosecure.com.