A New Way To Build Revenue in Chiropractic Business Today’s businesses are under constant pressure to expand their revenue and profitability. Chiropractors are no exception, even though it can be easy to forget that chiropractor and other medical professionals are also business people. When looking

to maximize profit, most chiropractors start with trying to improve the efficiency of their core practice by implementing improved billing and scheduling systems. Another sure-fire method for increasing revenue involves offering add-on products and services. Many chiropractic patients see value in alternative health techniques such as massage and acupuncture. It might make sense to offer these additional services to patients as a holistic chiropractic practice. In fact, surveys of patients have found that they have a higher degree of trust in alternative health techniques that are recommended by their chiropractor. The greatest opportunity to boost revenue for a chiropractor isnutritional supplement sales. Many patients of chiropractor believe that nutritional supplements can help them

return to good health and that supplements can maintain health. A recent study found that the majority of primary care doctors do not recommend nutritional supplements due to discomfort with the level of their knowledge and experience with supplements. A study that presented primary care doctors with a quiz on the documented benefits of selected supplements found that most primary care doctors did not know the proven benefits of supplements. This may be why most patients are more likely to discuss nutritional supplements with their chiropractor. Almost 75 percent of practicing chiropractors sell supplements. If your practice is not selling nutritional supplements, you may be missing an incredible opportunity. There are also long term business benefits to selling supplements. Patients that purchase nutritional supplements through their chiropractor often develop a deeper level of comfort with both the chiropractor and the recommendations. This deeper level of comfort leads to increased referrals and repeat business.

Building a successful supplement business requires that the chiropractor consider each patient and his history when recommending supplements. Making recommendations thatalign with a patient’s health concerns will create a greater impact and a deeper level oftrust. For example, recommending fish oil as an intervention for a patient with high triglycerides builds trust and credibility for the chiropractor. Ideally, the chiropractor should select a line of high quality supplements that can be purchasedwholesale. It is also important to stock the supplements. This way the chiropractor can recommend and sell the supplement during the same visit. This is similar to the way a traditional doctor might send a patient home with samples of a recommended drug. Purchasing supplements wholesale and having them on hand to send home with a patient will allow a chiropractor to build a successful supplement business and lead to greater improvements in revenue. Chiropractors have a unique opportunity to increase profitability by incorporating complementary services such as massage and nutritional supplements. Patients have developed a greater level of trust and comfort about discussing alternative health practices with their chiropractors. As a result chiropractors have a rare opportunity to develop this trust into a successful supplement business.