PRACTICE INSIGHT COLLABORATION ONE FOR ALL Taking a holistic approach to multidisciplinary practice BY CHAD MORTON A fter a few years of toiling in the trenches of prac-tice development, own-ing an integrative prac-tice can seem like a logical next step. But the decision to expand your practice to include other health-care practitioners can be fraught with hesita-tion and overwhelm. When I was a chiropractic student more than 15 years ago, it was my dream to be my own boss. My road to entre-preneurship has been paved with expe-rience working in various settings – from a strip mall rehab clinic in the inner city to a bustling multidisciplinary wellness clinic in the posh pocket of town. I’ve been an employee, a boss and a land-lord. Biggest lesson learned: In order to grow, you’ve got to approach business from a holistic perspective. That is, each practitioner represents an organ within the business, and the health of the overall business depends on each system func-tioning optimally. With this collaborative care approach, ideally, you want to see each practitioner doing well. Here are a few of my strategies. DON’T BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE DR. CHAD MORTON graduated from CMCC and has been running a multidisciplinary clinic in Mount Albert, Ont., for the past 15 years. His team includes a naturopathic doctor, two registered massage therapists and a holistic nutritionist. 12 Canadian Chiropractor June 2017 www.canadianchiropractor.ca Photo credit: Fotolia Taking on additional skill sets, such as acupuncture or nutritional supplemen-tation, to expand one’s market reach may work well for some. Personally, however, this broader scope does not resonate with how I feel I can maximally help my pa-tients. Working in a multidisciplinary environment allows me to focus on chi-ropractic and do it to the best of my ability. In practice I actively pass on educa-tional and health recommendations to guide my patients toward achieving their health goals, whether it be pain relief to overall wellness or anywhere in between. I also understand that I am not an expert in all fields. Actively managing a patient’s wellbeing through multiple disciplines can be daunting and exhausting. I like to focus my time with my patients on chi-ropractic adjusting and education, as my primary treatment modality, and refer to allied health professionals who can help the patient attain their health goals, too. For instance, if your patients are inter-ested in supplementation for more or-ganic issues, you can refer confidently to your naturopath associate. Perhaps diet is the missing link in your patient’s care. Instead of giving a blanket recommenda-tion on nutrition, you would be able to refer them to your registered nutritionist, who can design a tailored diet plan for them – in effect, enhancing their level of care in a way that complements your efforts as a chiropractor. Although I don’t shy away from doing targeted soft tissue therapy when needed for my patients, utilizing a combination of chiropractic and massage therapy, I find, is a natural, powerful and seamless combo. When utilized appropriately, it helps improve the patient’s overall out-comes and clinical experience. When you eliminate the need to be a jack-of-all-trades, you can focus on being the master of your domain. Keep in mind that not every patient will need or want every service offered under one roof, but having the option to ethically inter-refer patients is convenient for everyone. CROSS PROMOTE YOUR TEAM Maintaining a healthy working relation-ship with other health practitioners is not always an easy feat. Anyone who has ever been on a team knows the trials and tribulations of dealing with multiple personalities and differing opinions, all while treading the fine line between being competitive yet cooperative. When working for yourself with others on board with complementary skill sets, you need to juggle two things: your bot-tom line and their bottom line. I have always been a believer that in business, if you help others succeed, you too will succeed. In practice, this is all about constant communication and regular check-ins with your team members. It can be as simple as parlaying to each team member the importance and value to the patient of adopting an integrative approach to their health and wellness. For example, when a massage client is seeking relief for a chronic pain in his legs, there should be no hesitation on the part of the massage therapist to let that client know that there is a chiropractor in-house who can help. For a woman receiving weekly acupuncture for fertility, the naturopath should feel comfortable
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