From: Dr. Margolies.. 3-10-23

www.familychirocenter.net

Please forward this to your chiropractic colleagues

Postings: Practice for sale in metro Atlanta

  E-mail Message This Week .. Wake Up Call

I had an opportunity to speak one on one with the medical chief of staff of a large and prominent metropolitan hospital. We know each other casually but our recent conversation was promoted by mutual news that we shared. During the conversation, I asked about the financial health of the hospital and the medics in general. He was candid, as I knew him to be, and he expressed his concern that the medical healthcare industry has changed for the worse. Besides his responsibilities of monitoring the medical staff he has to also keep an eye on the hospital money crunchers. During our conversation, he brought me up to date on the mechanics and relationship between the hospital administration and the physicians. On a much smaller scale, it is no different than our mom and pop chiropractic operations.

Our decisions on when and what to purchase and procedures to perform are often based on its cost effectiveness. Somewhere in the middle is what is best for our mutual product, patients. Business is business no matter how you spin it. For those reading this and shaking their heads in disagreement, a few hours of reflection would render your understanding that every action results in a reaction where patient visits, patient payments, patient acquisition, patient procedures, diagnostic and treatment equipment and protocols, staff hiring and firing and the general atmosphere within your practice is all related to business. Personal and professional Health and Wellness goes hand in hand.

His distaste for the insurance industry was obvious for one simple reason, their reimbursements have been paltry compared to years ago and procedures deemed routine yesterday are now used occasionally.  I was surprised to learn how many life saving programs have been curtailed because it isn’t cost effective or considered a financial loss. No one is stepping up to make up the financial slack leaving huge gaps in the financial health of our major hospitals. All because of money the sustenance of the institution is becoming more important than the care of the patient. This may sound harsh on the surface but consider your budget; where would you curtail or cut and how far before patient interests supersede staff employment, office procedures or selling becomes necessary. More to the point, if you multiplied your budget and staff by hundreds and had to care for many indigent patients with little or no recovery of funds you’ll soon get the point. Business is business.

For chiropractic the message clear. To me, this is a wake up call and it’s best to heed the message. We will have to, as we always do, fend for ourselves. You better get on the Wellness bandwagon and support your office with qualified patients understanding the value of alternative or complimentary care. Have them understand and appreciate the value to maintain and sustain a clear nervous system with a supportive joint structure that works in harmony.  It’s okay if you want to ride the wave of insurance but someday, restrictive measures will necessitate cost containment and be assured that we’ll be the first they contain.

The answer is quite simple, start today to shore up your knowledge and educational procedures. Simplify and quantify your technical prowess and shoot for long-term maintenance patients who appreciate your message and wish to share if with their friends and family. Be ready, if not already, to discuss and provide financial responsibilities and options to help those that wish to participate in their quest for better health. Be ready to stand apart from the dictates of the majority while supporting the few that turn to you. It’s literally taping into the germ that sprouts life itself and for us, freeing the expression that sustains it.

This is the best wake up call there is

Postings: Practice for sale in metro Atlanta

Great opportunity to acquire a turn key long established practice in metro Atlanta with patients and staff ready to go. If interested reply to: waldhorn@comcast.net