Special Tribute

The following is a tribute to the principle of one of the finest chiropractors we have all ever known. These words were written by Bob before his untimely passing in December 2000.  Dr. Robert Porter, Chiropractor 1956 - 2000.

Is This The Best of Times or Is It The Worst of Times?

Robert D. Porter. D.C.

With the swing toward alternative care providers our practices should be BOOMING!!!

As I talk with doctors all across the state it amazes me how two doctors, practicing in the same town, often very near to one another can view things so differently. One will tell me their practice is booming, things are great and this is the best of times while the other is struggling and feels it is the worst of times. 

With the problems that are happening in the 'medical model' all our practices should be thriving simply by default. Patients are exiting and running from medical care by the thousands and quite appropriately so. The medical model is not only ineffective and costly, it is also very dangerous. Think about the medical paradigm for a moment. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, medical care is one of the leading causes of death in the country!!. Antibiotics are no longer effective. Leading scientists from all over the world are concerned that antibiotic resistant infections are growing and becoming untreatable. Our country's health care is the most costly in the world yet ranked lower than all of the industrialized nations. 

The medical model is not only failing miserably, it is killing hundreds and thousands of people every day!! Yet M.D.'s will let sick and suffering people die if they are not insured or can't afford the fee and still, their offices are filled!! And people will do whatever it takes to pay for medical care, take on second jobs, work overtime, do whatever is necessary to pay for services they 'perceive' to be so "valuable." 

How can this be? What causes people to value care that kills hundreds of thousands of people every year? That is the third leading cause of preventable death in the country? The answer is simple. The medical doctor values the care. The medical doctor is taught all through school that he is a "god" and that he can save peoples lives. Because the doctor values his care the patients value the care as well.

DO YOU VALUE YOUR CARE? DO YOUR PATIENTS VALUE YOUR CARE?

Chiropractors can learn a valuable lesson from the medics. What is that lesson? If we do not value the service we render no one else will either!! Remember, "The Cream Always Rises To The Top!" As a profession, if we are going to 'rise to the top', we must stand up and make a proud declaration of who we are and what we do. 

In order for patients to perceive that chiropractic care is valuable, we must know, understand and believe, without a doubt, our care is valuable and we must charge a professional fee for the service we provide. Do you believe that your adjustments are valuable? Can your adjustments help people avoid surgery, help restore vision, hearing, health and help in chronic conditions? I know mine do!! 

Obviously patients can never pay us enough for our care, but they can and will pay a professional fee when they see a value for it. What is an appropriate fee for a lifesaving, health-restoring adjustment? The average cost of back surgery is $40,000 and often times with terrible results. If you can give that patient ONE adjustment and help that patient avoid surgery, would it be worth $40, $60, $80 dollars to that patient? Absolutely it would!!

What would happen to your practice if, before each adjustment you give, you would focus on the true value of chiropractic care and conveyed that message to the patients? What would happen to our entire profession if we all placed the appropriate value on our care and charged appropriately for it? We would begin to 'Rise To The Top'. 

I believe if we valued chiropractic appropriately, not only would our patients value it they would go get their family and friends and drag them into our offices so they also would have the best in health care. Raising the standards of our profession begins inside each chiropractor. 

How much do you value what you do? We have the most valuable health care service in the world!! Have you related the value of real health care to your patients? Are you charging a professional fee for the most valuable health care service in the world? If so it will be 'The Best of Times' for you. If not it is probably 'The Worst of Times' for you. Look at your practice, it will tell you how much you value what you do. Remember, The Cream Always Rises to the TOP!!