The "Wellness Revolution" Is Neither Healthy for Your Practice Nor a Revolution
When someone is drowning it’s not the time to teach them how to swim!
Webster’s dictionary defines a revolution as being something that is new and different, so new and different, as to cause a major change that is often sudden and complete.
It is time to get something off my chest so indulge me if you would. Try and maintain openness to this message and don’t shut your ear lids or eyelids too early. Just like you, I read our trade journals and am well aware of the new “fad” in Chiropractic. That’s right I believe it is a new “fad” where we have replaced the “subluxation based practice” with what we now call a “wellness practice.” As a matter of fact the same people who brought you that first revolution (?) are now the people that are bringing you the new revolution. My concern is the “business model” and the promises that can not be kept.
Now I don’t want to get off on a rant or anything but...! My opinion is not a commentary on what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s about what’s working and what’s not working in the “Business of Chiropractic.” As a Chiropractic Entrepreneur you must learn to think like your patients think, not like a doctor thinks.
Just like you I’m quite impressed with the research, the clinical information and the thoroughness of the reports that are generated by these wellness packages. And yet at the same time I’m struck by how often we as a profession end up preaching only to each other, getting all gussied up and no where to go. We habitually commit the fatal flaw of all marketing which is being “product oriented” and not “customer oriented.”
We get so excited about reading the “wellness packages” (product oriented) that we just know that patients will be equally impressed and inspired or shall I say, “sold on the idea” that they are a part of the wellness revolution and we are their leaders. And so convinced will they be (Yoda influence) that patient compliance issues will become a thing of the past, referrals will bust down your doors demanding to be seen and shouting, “give me wellness!” Imagine no more whining about the length of care or the cost.
OK, now wake up and smell the sell. This wellness packaging and myth -information is either naïve or just another way to sell you their products. Another way to appeal to your fears and to feed you hope that if you just “hang on” and of course “buy protection” their national wellness branding campaign will save your practice. Smoke and mirrors my friends, smoke and mirrors. Do you have any idea how much money it costs “real corporations” to brand their products?
Having practiced in California since 1981 and having the privilege to live in the resort destination community of Lake Tahoe I watch how people spend their discretionary time and money, and it’s not on wellness! All you have to do is follow the money trail and at the end you will find what people really value. They value feeling good, having a great time, relaxing and not working, and being pampered when possible. They value fast food; fast service, stimulants, and anything that will make them feel better about their lives.
I simply don’t see the wellness revolutionary forces having any impact other than on your wallet and assuaging your fears temporarily, while the real work you must do to grow as a person and a Chiropractic Entrepreneur is ignored. It’s like cleaning out the closet instead of studying for your exam.
You are the message and what is that message? Is it dominating health care or is it serving one patient at a time to the best of your ability and their capacity for change. It is so simple when you stop making people appreciate you by convincing them to think like you.
Residing at Lake Tahoe especially during the summer months, I get to observe “all of those tourists covered in oil” still carrying their winter fat. I simply don’t see the radical change that is supposedly occurring. We can take statistics and surveys and arrange them anyway we want to sell something or to make ourselves feel more important in society. While people parrot the words natural, healthy, and wellness they have not gone through any core revolutionary or evolutionary behavioral changes. Of course some people have an interest in taking care of themselves, but it is by no means embraced with the enthusiasm that we Chiropractors have. That’s what I mean by being too “product oriented.” Nobody knows about Chiropractic better than you or about health and healing that is certain. But let’s not lose sight of the reality that we live in a “super size me” culture with pediatric obesity on the rise, a psychiatric drug frenzy, and a culture that feels entitled to be healthy and happy.
Of course we hear the platform pontifications and read the ads convincing us that more people are visiting alternative disciplines and yet there is no real change in your bottom line. We must remember that getting a massage, going to an acupuncturist, or buying vitamins and herbal remedies is by no means a revolution.
A Revolution would mean that they want to take charge and full responsibility for their health and not look for quick fix remedies. A Revolution would mean that people are motivated to be at their very best performance in every aspect of their life. A Revolution would mean that there is a collapse and or takeover of the health industry. The brutal fact is that this is not happening to the level that you are being sold and it won’t in your lifetime. If this sounds pessimistic it is realistic. If you want to really impact your community of patients simply meet people where they are, help them with what they want, and inspire them to become what you see is possible for them.
When someone is drowning it’s not the time to teach them how to swim! Save a few more people this week (adjust them) and offer swimming lessons (wellness information and advice) to those who are interested. Put the patient first and your agenda last.