Chiropractic Economics Blog

As editor of Chiropractic Economics magazine,  I get calls from readers. Many of them are similar to these:

• “I’m getting a divorce. Can you tell me the average income and salary of chiropractors in …?”
• “I’m a new DC and I’m setting up my first practice. I need to tell the bank how much I will be paying myself and my staff. What’s the going salary rate for a new chiropractor?
• “I’m hiring my first associate. How much should I pay her?”
• “My CA wants a raise. How can I tell if I’m paying her the right salary?” 

I’m not in a position to advise anyone about financial issues. However, I can and do refer callers to the latest information we have published in our annual salary and expense survey.

The salary and expense survey Chiropractic Economics conducts each year is not acurately named. It is not so much a salary survey as it is an income and expense survey. Its analysis shows how your income (gross and net) compares to your peers across the country and to members of the opposite sex. It shows differences and similarities between group and solo practices. It compares cash-only and reimbursement-based practices.

In other words, it gives you information you can use to set sail on your future.

You can’t get this information from any other source. No other organization conducts a similar survey — not even the U.S. Dept. of Labor, which uses our data in its biannually published Occupational Outlook Handbook.

I am aware that completing surveys is a time-consuming task. When I was in human-resources management, I used to get periodic requests to complete salary surveys that required salary ranges, descriptions of positions, and averages of more than a dozen benchmarked positions. Completing that type of salary survey was very time-consuming.

Our 11th Annual Salary & Expense Survey is online and waiting for your input. It is not a difficult survey to complete. And it should only take about 15 minutes of your time.

Surveys are only as good as quanity and quality of the data they collect. Whether you are a new practitioner or a seasoned doctor, please take the time and go to www.ChiroEco.com/2008survey now. The survey will be active only through the end of February.

It’s easy to dismiss a request to complete a survey, thinking, “Let the next guy do it!” I hope this time, though, you will think, “I am the next guy.”

And who knows? You may need to know some of the information we collect.

Until next time,