COVER STORY PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT SURVEY SAYS Results of first annual Canadian Chiropractor market and practice survey I BY MARI-LEN DE GUZMAN INCOME AND SPENDING f results of a recent national survey are any indication, things may be looking up for chiropractors in Canada. Close to 51 per cent of DCs sur-veyed across Canada report an in-crease in their income in 2015 compared to the previous year. About one-third (33 per cent) say their incomes have remained the same in 2015, while nearly 16 per cent say their income de-creased. About 53 per cent of respondents re-port a gross income of $100,000 or more in 2015, of which 23.89 per cent earned upwards of $200,000. Less than 15 per cent of respondents, however, declined to disclose their income. The first annual chiropractic market and practice survey was conducted by Canadian Chiropractor magazine between March and April 2016, and included 632 qualified respondents. The survey was limited to full-time and part-time chiro-practors in active practice only, and ex-cluded retired and student DCs. Ontario DCs comprised most of the survey re-spondents (319), followed by British Columbia (123) and Alberta (81). For-ty-nine of the respondents are from the Maritimes, 28 from Quebec, 18 from Manitoba, 13 from Saskatchewan, and one from the Northwest Territories. Nearly half (44 per cent) of respond-ents have been in practice more than 20 years. Chiropractors 40 years old and above comprise 69 per cent of respond-ents, and one-third of respondents (33.39 per cent) are female. How much, if any, would you be spending on marketing and promotional efforts over the next 12 months? 1% 1% 1% 3% 9% 38% 42% 5% Prefer not to answer Less than $1,000 $1,000 -$5,000 $6,000 -$10,000 $11,000 -$15,000 $16,000 -$20,000 $21,000 -$50,000 More than $50,000 MARI-LEN DE GUZMAN is the editor of Canadian Chiropractor magazine. She has been a journalist for 20 years and has been editor of several business and professional publications. You can contact her at [email protected]. 14 Canadian Chiropractor July/August 2016 On average, 48.7 per cent of DCs across Canada reported an increase in their income in 2015. The majority – at least 47 per cent – of chiropractors in every province, except Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Is-land, reported higher incomes in 2015 compared to the previous year. Alberta reported the highest gross annual incomes, with 41.98 per cent earning at least $200,000 in 2015. New Brunswick and British Columbia are not far behind, with 31.81 per cent and 30.89 per cent, respectively, earning a mini-mum of $200,000 last year. In Ontario, where half of the total survey respondents are located, only 17 per cent earned more than $200,000 in gross income last year. Almost 12 per cent of Ontario chiropractors earned between $50,000 and $75,000. Respondents also reported other in-come sources that form part of their gross annual income, aside from clinical practice. Nearly 36 per cent of respond-ents derive supplemental income from product sales at the clinic. Earning a percentage from associates (25.47 per cent) and rental income (24.53 per cent) also rank high among chiropractors’ other sources of income. Forty-one per cent report no other income outside of clinical practice. Meanwhile, 51 per cent of chiroprac-tors are not planning to make any major purchase this year. Of those planning for expenditures, new x-ray machines and other digital imaging equipment top the list of planned purchases this year. www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor July August 2016: Page 14
