Chiropractic Economics Blog

As Chiropractic Economics online editor, I am constantly surfing the Web to find the latest news and buzz about chiropractic. Today, I saw this story from about a Noblesville, Ind., chiropractor who writes a column for his local newspaper (“Dr. Justin Gilmore: Caring for your spine: why chiropractic care is for everyone,” http://www.county29.net/cms2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15678&Itemid=237).

This is a good example of grass-roots marketing. It positions you as an expert, increases patient referrals, and it’s free! And now that most newspapers have Web sites, your message can have a global reach.

ChiroEco.com has several articles about this kind of marketing approach, which I have listed below. Please feel free to post a comment about this blog, the articles we publish, or anything that’s on your mind. We welcome all feedback!

Kick off your marketing with these essential steps, http://www.chiroeco.com/article/2004/issue9/9mark2.php

27 tips to jump-start your marketing, http://www.chiroeco.com/article/2005/issue1/1marketingtips.php

How to Get All the New Patients You Can Handle, http://www.chiroeco.com/50/market/howtoget.html

Just do it! Establish yourself as a wellness leader, http://www.chiroeco.com/article/2006/Issue3/PR1.php

The making of a ‘star’ 30-minute TV shows put you in the limelight, http://www.chiroeco.com/article/2005/issue1/1marketing3.php

How to become the scoliosis professional in your community, http://www.chiroeco.com/article/2005/issue14/MKT1.php

Focus on Perceived Value, Not Lowering Prices, If You Want To Increase Revenue, http://www.chiroeco.com/article/2000/Nov/Prac2.php

I received a substantial gift card for Christmas. I carried it around for several months and just cashed it in on something for my home. I appreciated not having to dig into my savings to buy the items that I wanted.

Gift cards have been on my mind because I recently read an article in Employee Benefit News about a new type of employee benefit — wellness gift cards. According to the article, Highmark, a subsidiary of Blue Cross-Blue Shield, launched a healthcare gift card program for employers. Employers can purchase the cards in any denomination. Employees can spend them like any other gift card, except that it can only be used for certain merchant codes, such as to fund co-pays, pay hospital bills, purchase prescriptions, or obtain alternative medicine, such massage. (The article did not specifically mention chiropractic, but why not?)

One benefits manager heard about the cards and bought a couple dozen as rewards for employees who went through a complete health-risk assessment program. The manager said it was a surprise bonus and served to reinforce the healthy behaviors the employees had established.

A retail massage chain recently opened in my area. It offers patrons the ability to buy gift cards.

I’ve been to a number of different chiropractors’ offices, but I’ve never seen gift cards offered. Personally, I think it’s a good idea — the gift of health.

What do you think? Do you offer gift cards?

Until next time,

I remember a time when “wellness” was a foreign word in corporate America. Proponents of wellness programs couldn’t get these programs past the concept stage, because top management perceived such programs as an expense, not an investment.

That was 20 years ago. Now, however, it seems everyone wants to get on the wellness bandwagon. The reason why is simple: Healthcare (that is, sick care) is expensive; in comparison, wellness is cheap.

I just read an article in Employee Benefits News, a news magazine for human resources and benefits managers.

The headline was “HSA tames cost hikes.” The article discussed two things one small company (87 employees) did to control healthcare costs: It switched from a traditional healthcare coverage to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and it implemented a wellness program for its employees.

The wellness program included screenings for weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol and showed that 65 percent of employees had weight or nutritional problems and 58 percent had high cholesterol.

Following the screenings, an employee committee developed a series of programs to address these problems: a daily walking program, a weight-loss contest, nutrition classes, lunch-time seminars on health and wellness issues, and exercise and yoga classes.

After one year, the article said aggregate cholesterol was down 10 mg/dl; 69 percent of the workforce received flu shots; and annual preventive-care visits increased from 30 percent of employees to 74 percent.

United Healthcare, the company’s insurer, projected 139 percent return on investment in claims savings for every participant in the wellness programs.

If you are considering expanding your healthcare services to industrial or corporate consulting, don’t overlook the little guy. The “little guys” might be your “in” in industrial consulting.

All things considered, small employers have a greater need than the “big” guys: They generally don’t have a dedicated staff person to organize wellness and safety programs; because of their small populations, health insurance costs them more; and they can’t afford to have a workforce that is less than 100 percent able to perform.

Bigger is not always better.

Until next time,