model, the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) would mandate all chiropractic colleges to participate. For one year, chiropractic schools will not accept any incoming classes. Half of the schools would do this for one year and the other half would do this the next year. This way any students desiring to enter chiropractic can access it by choosing a school that is accepting new classes. This practice is very common among teachers. In part because of the great oversaturation of teachers in Ontario, the Ministry of Education has extended teachers’ college from one to two years. An act such as this would defer the number of graduating chiropractors which would help new and struggling graduates build their own practices without having to compete with a continual influx of DCs. Differentiate yourself. There is no such thing as a bad economy, but merely a redistribution of funds within the econ-omy. It’s like a poker game: there are ten players and each player begins with $10,000 each, growing the economy to a net worth of $100,000. After 15 hands, there is still $100,000 in the econ-omy, only the amount of dollars each player has may vary – some would have more than the amount they started with and many would have less. The total amount is still all there, only this time a small per-centage of people control most of it. In general, regardless of the economy, the same amount of money exists for us to reach the goals we set for ourselves. When only a small percentage of the population own the majority of the wealth (like in a depression or recession), you need to be different in order to attract those who can afford and are willing to pay for your services. Differ-entiation is key. You will not attract a niche population by giving patients low quality visits. Increase utilization rate. A simple rule of business is that if you are not meeting your financial obligations or goals, you need to do at least one of two things: reduce your expenses or increase your revenue. For chiropractic, they need to reduce the number of chiropractors graduating or increase the amount of patients who see chiropractors. Doing nothing cannot be a via-ble option. Over the last 25 years chiropractic associations, councils, ad-visory boards and chiropractic societies have brainstormed ideas to stimulate more chiropractic utilization. They have not been very successful, however. Typically, if something isn’t working you instinctively try something different – but as a profession we have continued to follow the same path. For this, I don’t claim to have the answers. The truth is I am very fortunate to have been born when I was. Had I been born 10 or 12 years later, I would have been one of the chiropractors caught in this parade of new DCs. I would like to hear what you have to say on this matter. I would like to write an article on this topic in the future and I need your help. If you have some ideas on how we, as a profes-sion, can increase our utilization rate, then I would love to hear them. Kindly, send me your thoughts at [email protected]. Take care of your patients . Submit their insurance claims quickly and efficiently . With the TELUS Health eClaims solution, you can now benefit from direct billing capabilities to various insurers. This means your patients will be able to enjoy a service similar to the one they receive at the pharmacy or the dentist. It’s quick to register, it’s easy to use and it’s free . Is it any wonder so many healthcare providers rely on it? Register now telushealth.com/eclaimsChiro Available with: www.canadianchiropractor.ca September 2015 Canadian Chiropractor 13
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor September 2015: Page 13
