Deciding to expand to a multidisciplinary practice requires careful planning and contemplation on what the real goals are. It is a great idea, but you should first ask yourself a very important question: “Am I a builder or am I a joiner?” Be honest, because not every hard-working, independent chiropractor is a builder. In fact, I now understand that the builders are a rare and special few. Putting together a multidisciplinary/ wellness centre could be the best decision you ever make – or not. If you fail to examine and discern your motives behind wanting to start something big, if you are not perfectly frank with yourself about who you are and what you really need in life, living by the ‘go big or go home’ mantra will not protect you from the very harsh realities of failure. Do you want to enlist the help of other health-care professionals to help you build something of value in your community, to bring doctors of chiropractic from the margins into the mainstream? Or do you simply need www.canadianchiropractor.ca them to help cover the costs of the rent and heat and lights? In other words, do your plans for a clinic qualify as an act of creation or an act borne out of necessity? There are some important points to consider when thinking about building a multidisciplinary clinic. You’ve found the perfect location with all the right features, but remember that while the physical attributes of your practice matter, the people factor matters even more. Who will you team up with? Why • them? • How will you attract these people to your clinic? How do you plan to keep them • there? What do you hope to accomplish • with these other practitioners? • Will you collaborate with them and integrate your services? On a practical level, what might that look like? These questions all need to be answered before you sign that long-term lease you could never afford on your own. You might be considering including MDs. If you are, be clear and upfront about your expectations. Do they need you? • Do you need them? • Are you anticipating that these • doctors will be a source of new chiropractic patients? • Will you share an electronic health records system? Even more importantly, do you • expect them to pay you a lot of rent or any rent at all? Perhaps you have already met the ‘perfect’ doctors to associate with, but it can only work out in the long run if everyone wins – and by “everyone”, I mean including your patients. Don’t hesitate to explore ways of working October 2017 Canadian Chiropractor 23
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