:dropcap_open:T:dropcap_close:ommy Thompson, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, and current United States Senate candidate is enthusiastic about wellness and prevention.
“Seven out of 10 deaths are caused by chronic diseases, and more than 75 percent of health care costs are spent treating conditions that are preventable,” Thompson said during an event held at Standard Process Inc. last year. “There’s so much more we could be doing, especially in the area of nutrition, to prevent these diseases from ever occurring versus treating them after the fact. It’s encouraging to see that we’re finally ready to invest in keeping people well in the first place.”According to the Nutrition Business Journal’s recently released 2011 Integrative Medicine Report, “The power brokers in Washington have clearly warmed to integrative approaches to healthcare, and the industry stands posed to dramatically benefit from its mounting contribution to public health in the United States.”
How are you contributing towards keeping your patients well? Are you doing enough, or all that you can?
Here are five reasons that you should seriously consider adding nutrition to your practice, plus a piece of advice on how to get started today.
1. As a chiropractor, you are different than many other health care professionals. Your education and training have taught you to be committed to the health and wellness of the people you treat, not just to the treatment and management of disease.
It makes sense then that close to 70 percent, of chiropractors use nutrition in their practices – they see it as a valuable tool in treating the whole person and keeping their patients free of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and obesity. It is in your patients’ best interest to see that nutrition and chiropractic go hand in hand toward prevention, just as the majority of chiropractors have already seen.
2. If you want to thrive as a chiropractor, you need to build your reputation. Using nutrition in your practice will give you an advantage because patients will view you as more well-rounded. By using a more complete approach to wellness, you will be able to give higher quality patient care.
This in turn, will build your credibility faster and enhance your reputation within the community you serve. When people see benefits from your holistic approach, they’ll refer more friends and family to you. That’s a win-win for all involved!
3. Chiropractors are finding that problems treated solely by chiropractic manipulation do not respond as well without nutrition, especially today, as they do when nutrition is incorporated.
“More and more, I’m seeing that I can be more effective as a chiropractor by using nutrition with patients,” says Dr. Jeffrey Fedorko, who has been growing his Canton, Ohio practice for 30 years, and served as the past president of the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA).
Dr. Fedorko adds, “Patients just aren’t as healthy as they were when I first started, and many are not responding without the addition of good nutrition. When I do add nutrition, the results are amazing and my patients take notice!”
4. Consumers’ attitudes are changing as health care costs and frustration with the conventional “sick care” system continue to rise. More and more people see natural, holistic care as analternative to high prescription and surgery costs.
:dropcap_open:Nutritional supplement companies are ready, willing, and able to help chiropractors learn more about nutrition and how to take this worthy wellness and prevention path to elevate their practices.:quoteleft_close:
“People today are more aware of the importance of being proactive about their health, and they’re realizing they can do this by making better choices in their lifestyles,” says Dr. Fabrizio Mancini, president of Parker University. By incorporating nutrition into your practice, you can help your patients understand which choices will have the biggest impact on their health. And, when you have a positive impact on their health, you’ll have a positive impact on your business.
5. It makes good business sense. Here’s why. As a chiropractor, you make a living using your own two hands. While that’s very commendable, it’s also risky. When you go on vacation, you take your hands with you, and the business stops, but the bills don’t stop.
On the other hand, if you have developed a solid nutrition practice in addition to the musculoskeletal work you do, then you still have an income stream, even when you are out of the office for an extended period of time. Many chiropractors have been able to increase their income by 25-30 percent by incorporating nutrition into their practices. In addition, it adds value to your practice when you decide to retire, because the business is more than you and your two hands.
Tip to get started: “Just begin; don’t be afraid,” Dr. Fedorko advises chiropractors who are interested in incorporating nutrition into their practices. “Start with one condition and allow your practice to dictate where you go next,” he says. “As your patients ask ‘What about this?’ learn about the next issue and the next. Or, pick an area of nutrition that is of particular interest to you, or that you really enjoy, and learn more about it. The most important thing to realize is that to be more effective, you need to begin using nutrition.”
Nutritional supplement companies are ready, willing, and able to help chiropractors learn more about nutrition and how to take this worthy wellness and prevention path to elevate their practices.
Many offer webinars, training modules, and best practices information that will help you get started and grow. They also offer patient brochures, PowerPoint presentations, and training on how to communicate with your patients about nutrition. Use these valuable tools to add nutrition to your health care toolbox. You’ll be helping your patients achieve a higher level of health and creating a healthy bottom line for your practice.
Charles C. DuBois is president of Standard Process Inc. He is honored to be the leader of a company that is committed to carrying on the philosophy of Dr. Royal Lee founding father of Standard Process, so that health care professionals and their patients will continue to receive the best in whole food nutrition. For more information about Standard Process, please visit the company’s new website at standardprocess.com or call 800-848-5061.