The Chiropractic Files

Chiropractic Commercial on NBC: We are Mainstream

Hey Guys,

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Ok,  A new series of chiropractic commercials are scheduled for the year 2007 for a whole year.  This is an  excellent idea for going mainstream. Check out the links to the commercials

the website is  www.chiroontv.com  go check it out.......

Below is the information from the website

1. 3 TV COMMERCIALS. Mpower Media has produced 3 television spots in 35 mm. film, the same level of production of Hollywood and Madison Avenue studios. Every commercial was created with the goal of reaching the specific audience of the Chiropractic market.

2. NBC BROADCAST. Mpower Media has secured airtime nationally with NBC, one of the major TV stations in the country. Mpower will air a minimum of 31 spots a month. The start date of the National Chiropractic Campaign has been set for March 2006, to continue for a whole year until March 2007. One year of getting the chiropractic message across to the American public can get you direct business in your practice.

3. CHIROPRACTORS PARTICIPATION. Thousands of chiropractors nationwide will contribute $300 a month to be a part of this national program. More than 650 chiropractors across the nation are already using these television commercials. Everybody counts. We need your support to make this campaign a national success.

4. THE OBJECTIVE. Mpower Media wants to help the Chiropractic world to bring awareness, credibility and visibility to the Chiropractic profession. The Chiropractic message will be seen in highly watched and credible programs that most Americans watch on regular basis, like NBC News.      

5. THE MARKETING STRATEGY. Each television commercial will be aired nationally for a period of 4 months. Your potential clients will see 3 different spots with the same message, and they’ll remember to call you! Each one of the commercials ends with “Call 1-877-CHIRO-06 to be connected to a chiropractor near you”.

6. YOU GET THE PHONE CALLS. Our state of the art phone routing system connects the calls directly to your office. If more than one chiropractor from one area is involved in the program, the phone calls will be distributed in a round-robin system, so everybody gets the same amount of phone calls.

      7. THE MARKETING STRATEGY. Mpower Media gives an entire print campaign that match the television commercials to every chiropractor involved on the program. Your potential patients watch the characters and the slogans of the commercials and then they get print pieces that reinforce the same message and help them make the connection with the TV campaign.      

8. HOW THE AIRTIME SCHEDULE WORKS The National Chiropractic TV Campaign has started and with 540 million people watching NBC every day, we are reaching 90 million with our television commercials. This historic event has begun. The program starts with the broadcasting of the spots in late night programs, like the re-broadcast of JAY LENO (Monday through Friday) and the Sunday late night re-broadcast of DATELINE NBC. There is a minimum of 31 spots to be aired every month, and that number increases once Mpower Media evaluates the response that the American public has to each time slot. That response determines how many commercials should be aired more during certain times or certain programs. The "Doctor's Only" web site will have every month the changes that are being made to the schedule. At our current pace, you'll be able to see more daytime airings in place of the night time ones. The first spot to be added into the daytime schedule will be in the TODAY SHOW, spots that airs around 9am in most markets, or in the PASSIONS soap opera.

Dr. Nesly Clerge, DC

From 1 Figure to 7 Figure

Hello all, I'm Dr. Kinland.  This is an absolutely true story that I'm about to tell you. I went from making no money to a 7 figure income in the past few years. This is my story.

After I graduated 12 years ago, I decided to jump straight into a practice.  I wasn't the type to work for somebody else, specially when that somebody can do the same thing that I can, and went through a similar education that I did. 

So, I decided to buy a practice and for obvious reasons I am not able to say the location of those practices.  After graduation my student loans were not as much and I had some extra funds and contributions from family.  I brought a small practice for about $80,000.  I was told that the first few weeks or even months of practice will be slow.  So I expected to be slow for a couple of months.  Keep in mind that I did not know much about billing, insurance, marketing and talking to patients.  I did Ok in school, so I figure my intelligence would pull me through.

Do you know what being in the Reds mean.  Well, let me explain.

When your overall debt (overhead, staff, lease etc…) is $5000/month and you are bringing in $ 2500/month, then that’s red. Obviously, you don’t have to be a math genius to figure out that you will not be able to keep this up without running into the ground.

Needless to say, after 2 years I sold that practice and took a hit. Let me give you an example of why this practice failed.

I was fresh out of school and I did not know how to run a business and my billing person was just as ignorant as I was when it comes to finances. Hiring knowledgeable staff is very important in starting a practice. Ok, I was working with a Work Comp case and it was a good case. We verified the information and the adjuster told me that the bills will be paid. Little did I know that for a Work Comp case, you will need a claim number and an authorization number. In any case, the bill came up to about $9,000 and I really needed that money to pay my overhead, staff etc……A few weeks after bills were sent out, I received a letter stating that the bills were being denied. The reason why!!! I did not have an authorization number and was never authorized to treat. WOW, talk about a stab in the heart. Lesson here: always have authorizations in writing. What is said over the phone means absolutely nothing.

See, the problem is coming out of school, you are not aware of these issues. I was not using a consulting firm and I had similar problems the coming months. A year later, I sold the practice and took a lost. The only good thing that came out of it, is that I know what not to do for the next time around!!!!!!!!

At this time I was broke, but the good thing is that I had good credit and I was fortunate enough to take a loan. This time around, I decided on another approach. I did not concentrate on the PI, Work Comp type practice and this new practice was mostly insurance. Oh, boy let me tell you, it was horrible. Now I know why some doctors will only run a cash practice. My fees were being reduced, paper work is a nightmare, some of the bills were being denied and it took an eternity to be credentialed with some of those insurance companies. This time around, I did not have a patient flow problem but a cash flow problem.

I had more patients than the first practice since I knew a little more about marketing. My money however, was less because of reductions, denials, patient inconsistency etc…..not to mention that the state laws were not chiropractic friendly.

Now, I was faced with a problem, actually a couple of problems.

1. My family was growing and I needed the finances. Talk about stress, now I see why people can go crazy. Running a practice is STRESS, STRESS, STRESS!!!!!!!

2. My first practice failed and now my second one is failing and I have just a little bit of money left from the loan.

3. I consider quitting the profession and simply getting a regular job!!!!!!

4. I was depressed.

5. I did not know what to do!!!!!!

So I did what most people wouldn’t do I moved my family to a new location and started a very small practice while maintaining a part time associate position. I also decided to go with a consulting firm.

This time around I knew the do’s and dont’s and once again I started with a slow start. The only difference is that my new practice was very small and my wife did the billing, my overhead was very low, and I did PI, Work Comp and Insurance.

It started with 3 to 5 patients a week. 1 month later I had 20 patients/Week. 4 months later I was averaging 60 patients/week and was able to quit the part time associate position. Within a year 160 patients/week. Good news, my practice was now too small and I had to expand. As we speak, I’m averaging 350 patients/week and my total net is $1.5 million/year. That’s not what I take home by the way. You must deduct taxes, staff, overhead, marketing budget etc……

I went through a hard time and I know that a lot chiropractors are going through the same. Don’t give up!!! There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. A few tips to consider:

1. For PI practice, build relationships with attorneys. Most attorneys could care less about you, it’s a good idea to make the first gesture. Send them a patient then contact them and schedule a lunch. Keep the relationship going. You send one or two, they send one or two.

2. Make absolutely sure that you have a claim number and an authorization number for Work Comp cases. Verify all billing info and addresses.

3. Always have back ups. When a patient walks in get copies of drivers, license, insurance card, PIP information of that patient & PIP information of the other party.

4. For new doctors wishing to start a practice get credentialed with the insurance companies, medicare etc…. ASAP. On average, it’s a 3 to 5 months process depending on the state.

5. School will not teach you about the real world, it’s a good idea to be involved with a consulting firm if you are clueless. The consulting firms know the laws and the new changes when it comes to insurance etc……

6. Make sure that all Insurance paper work are submitted on time, e.g. ACN, ASHN, PIP etc……Your claims can be denied if the forms are not submitted on a timely manner.

7. Last but certainly not least, MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING. Word of mouth and referrals are good, but referrals will take some time. You need patients in order to survive, so once again MARKETING, MARKETING.

Of course I’m being very general, obviously I cannot mention some of the other techniques for legal reason, but follow these advice and you should be OK.

I can go on & on but I just wanted to write my story in order to inspire those that are going through a hard time. Don’t give up!!!!!!! Feel free to comment.

I’m very busy and I may not be able to answer your questions but I will try.

Good LUCK

Dr. Kinland, DC