Review

"The Practice Builder"

Executive Editor: Alan L. Bernstein

See pages XX, part #J-310-C on how to order

One of the things that disturbs me most in our profession is the garish advertising stunts we engage in to get patients. One of the worst is the freebie gimmick. This is the one that was thought up by some greedy, unprofessional, untalented, and probably unsuccessful chiropractor who, in desperation, decided to find a way to get more patients than the competition by offering something like free x-rays. That was followed by a wave of fear among the resident back crackers who thought they might lose the competition for more bodies and bucks; so we are presently engaged in a circus of sleeze and deception all aimed at increasing the number of people seen rather than the quality of the service given.

To many of the public we have made ourselves professional jokes. They quite correctly think that the value you place on something reflects it worth. If you give away free exams, x-rays and/or adjustments -- that's just what they are worth to them -- nothing. It's too bad that state boards couldn't ban freebies so that we could all be in the same boat and rise or fall on the value of the service given. We should be expensive -- not cheap. We should have the public saving their money to go to the specialists we are rather than have them call from office to office for the best deal.

This doesn't mean, however, that we should sit in ivory towers meditating upon the holy vows of poverty. On the contrary, we should try to build practices large enough to see and serve as many patients as possible consistent with quality care.

While there are practice management firms that have legitimately helped a great many DCs build excellent practices, getting to some of the seminars can sometimes be difficult. Doesn't it seem like a good idea to have someone come to you with ideas instead of the other way around?

Apparently someone has thought of this and produced a newsletter (published 11-times-a year) called the "Practice Builder" with the subtitle "All the ethical, effective strategies for the professional."

Well, what they print may be ethical but some of the ideas published lack what I feel is good taste. So what? It's not meant to please everyone. What is presented is a potpourri of ideas used by all manner of professionals to increase their practice size and income. This is not a chiropractic publication. It is instead a journal with contributions by and for chiropractors, optometrists, dentists, medical doctors, osteopaths, veterinarians, psychologists, CPAs, physical therapists, lawyers, and all kinds of professionals.

This is one of the things that makes this publication so unique. Every page gives you ideas that you can use or discard; ideas that have been proven successful by other professionals. Everything is covered from mailers and door-to-door pitches to TV spots and phone messages.

Just about all the information comes from the actual experiences of different people. It covers the good, the bad, and the hideous with remarkable candor.

Quite honestly, I could hardly put any of the issues down. On one page I might laugh at the stupidity of the ideas presented and on the next read a new concept over several times so that I might use it properly.

The "Practice Builder" is a must for anyone interested in establishing, building, renewing or saving a practice. In honesty, I must say that it's a neat publication.

It's also an expensive one -- but one that could pay for itself with a single issue. At the beginning of this review I mentioned that we should place a value on something commensurate with what we feel is its value. The people at the "Practice Builder" are saying to you that their publication is valuable and have put a price on what they produce that states this belief. They're right. It's worth every penny they ask.

RHT