For decades I have tried to understand why some people choose the path of chiropractic and wellness, while others succumb to the constant barrage of propaganda propelled into our lives from the drug cartel. From what I've learned, the answer has a lot to do with the information they receive and believe. What we believe is generally the sum of what we read, hear, see and experience. The information is weighted based upon the authority and intensity of the source. In order for your patients to have a wellness mindset, they must partake of a steady diet of wellness information.
Looking at the research that is being published these days, there is a constant and steadily increasing stream of studies supporting wellness. Wellness is not some vague religious pursuit that only the most naive embark on. On the contrary, the evidence is available and relatively consistent, and it applies in one way or another to everyone.
So, how do we help our patients (and their family, friends and neighbors) gain the understanding they need to choose chiropractic and wellness? The drug companies are doing their part to steer your patients toward their products (and for all intents and purposes, away from yours). With combined advertising budgets nearing a billion dollars a year, the drug cartel is highly motivated to ensure that every television commercial break, every radio program and every magazine that enters your office is packed full of their message of better health through chemistry. While it may seem like an overwhelming task, you can combat their influence, at least in your community. Here are some things you can easily do starting right now, if you haven't already done so:
If it appears that I am pushing you to communicate more with your patients, I am. There is nothing more powerful than information that impacts people's lives. Your message of chiropractic and wellness can impact their decisions and their health. Use every tactic you can to make sure they hear what we (and so many others) are saying.
*For recent wellness research that you can share with patients, see my Wellness Report blog postings.
**If one copy of To Your Health is not enough for your reception area, you can order more for a nominal fee by calling (800) 324-7758.
***If you need help creating and e-mailing a patient e-mail newsletter for your practice, call us at (800) 324-7758. We have one that is very inexpensive to implement.
Many relevant diagnostic signs are not performed deliberately by the examiner or by the patient at the examiner’s direction. They are observed as the patient reacts to their condition. Fortin’s finger sign, Minor’s sign, and Vanzetti’s sign are three examples of this principle.
Spearheaded by burgeoning scientific and clinical research literature, psychedelics have reached a level of media coverage and popular interest that has not been seen for over half a century. By “psychedelics,” we are referring to the unique class of substances that includes psilocybin (the active compound found in so-called “magic mushrooms”), LSD, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ayahuasca, 5-MeO-DMT, and mescaline – each of which occurs in the natural world (except for LSD, which is a semi-synthetic compound).
While working at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, N.M., one of the primary care physicians stated that imaging every patient prior to receiving chiropractic was not medically necessary. It was at that point I reconsidered the need for the imaging of every patient to avoid malpractice.
