COVER STORY PRACTICE BUILDING THE GREATER GOOD Becoming a purpose-driven business is good business BY ERIK KLEIN I nvesting in the greater good is be-coming less of a niche, “feel-good add on,” and is more of a necessity in this ever-changing business en-vironment. The Millennial factor, which initially made Boomers and Gen X’ers scratch their heads, is now entering the executive-suite, and is demanding that day-to-day operations not only be about balance sheets and profit, but also about bringing greater change to our landscape. Purpose and credibility is no longer mutually exclu-sive. Changing the world will always be good for the bottom line, no matter how you look at it. In the health sector, the chiropractic profession is in a great position to take the lead on purpose-driven business. This is truly a unique opportunity to stand out in an area where we have traditionally struggled. Credibility, unshackled by government politics of health bureaucracy, we can lead the charge on what health care “should” be. The reality is, as phenomenal as our care is on a day to day basis, on a na-tional and global scale there is a much more ominous factor contributing to health care: the social determinants of health (SDH). According to the World Health Or-ganization, the SDH “are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and re-sources at global, national and local levels. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities – the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries” Between 2012 and 2016 I served on the board of the Regional Health Au-thority “Horizon Health Network” in New Brunswick which runs over 100 hospital facilities, employs 13,000 peo-ple (including over 1,000 physicians), has a budget of $1.3 billion and answers directly to the Minister of Health. What I quickly realized was that in our health system, regardless of initiatives adding 3T MRIs and extra OR time, people are progressively getting unhealthier. The reality is, poor nutrition, chronic stress, inactivity, social isolation, and a lack of education leads to chronic illness, increased health costs and early death – and that cannot be rectified with any amount of technology. We must address the problem at its source. This realization struck me to my core and re-framed what it means to be a socially responsible entrepreneur. According to a 2017 report by the Canadian Institute of Health Informa-tion, they found that (regarding hospi-tal utilization by the general public): “At ages 50 to 74, high users were more likely than non-high users to be in the lowest household income group (47 per cent DR. ERIK KLEIN is the CEO of Town Health Solutions, an Atlantic Canadian Network of corporate owned and franchised clinics, establishing a new model to rapidly scale chiropractic practice and businesses for new grads and established docs alike. If you would like to be considered for a Regional Master franchise ahead of the national launch, go to www.townhealthsolutions.com/franchising or email [email protected] 16 Canadian Chiropractor June 2019 versus 34.4 per cent). ” Further, “physical inactivity, lack of a domestic partner, and being a minority” were other major factors. The average cost to taxpayers for a hospital stay is between $1,000/bed on a family medicine floor, and $3,000 for an ICU. Every. Single. Day. The costs are staggering, and with high re-admis-sion rates in these populations, the problem isn’t being solved. The old adage of the 80/20 rule rings true. Twenty per cent of the most vul-nerable members of the public use 80 per cent of our public services. While in Atlantic Canada, only 5-7 per cent di-rectly see a chiropractor annually, we can have a positive influence on 80 per cent of our social support net, and build our business along the way. We as chiropractors can take the bull by the horns and make a difference here. The average chiropractic practice gener-ally serves an upper middle class, insured and health conscious individual. We will make a great change to their life, perfor-mance and well-being, but we can always do more. By being front and center in the community as being “agents of change,” we establish our practices as those of the highest credibility. In New Brunswick, there is a social investment club of leading businesses called the “Million Dollar Pledge.” Each of the ten businesses pledge $10,000 per year for ten years for a total of $1 million dollars. While the group selects projects, the administra-tion and reporting is handled through the expertise of the United Way. The statistics on the results of these social www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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