The majority of chiropractors agree that spinal problems begin as early as during the birth process and that chiropractic adjustments for children are every bit as important as for adults. Helping your patients to understand this is not only good for children but it can be great for you and your practice as well.
If you have a larger adjusting room with space for extra seating in the room… that is ideal for seeing whole families. Family visits are usually jovial and fun for everyone. They are also tend to be more time efficient because the doctor is not switching rooms for each patient. For many chiropractors though it’s quite possible to see a family of five in the same amount of time you would see two or three individual patients. Whole family scheduling is also often a lot easier for your staff and there is a lower demand for parking. There are also more people involved in the remembering of the appointment.
Over enough years of practicing seeing families you’ll have the pleasure of having a self perpetuating multigenerational practice. Where the children you’re seeing grow up and from birth or early ages bring their children in to see you for adjustments. Often you’ll be seeing three and sometimes even four generations all together in your office. For them it’s generally a wonderful experience and the enjoyment is normally contagious for everyone in the office.
So what are some of the ways you can see more whole family visits? First of all it’s important for patients to see signs that you also take care of children.
1) Posters and brosures about the importance of chiropractic for children.
2) Chiropractic stickers for the younger children after they are seen.
3) A play area for children in your waiting area.
4) Childrens’ books about chiropractic in your waiting area.
5) Space permitting a chiropractic adjusting table geared towards children.
6) Chiropractic children or family photo board in a visible area.
7) Families and children visiting you for adjustments.
8) When a patient expresses how happy they are with their results ask them to tell their other family members.
You will tend to create the type of practice for yourself which others perceive you as having. Be it; sports, geriatric, pediatric, accident related, etc. Specialized practices can be great, but if you want to see whole families and you and your practice are not expressing this then you will not attract it.
What patients see in your office gives them clues to who you see as patients and who they should bring in with them or refer to you. If you are open to patients bringing their family, friends and colleagues in with them, then they will. If a patient asks if you can help someone, tell them to bring them along next time. If you’re welcoming, then often they will bring their spouse and children in to meet you and watch them get adjusted. Of course the patient should be okay with this but most of the time they are, and if not you still can say hello in the waiting area.
If this is something you want for your practice then just doing a few simple things from the list above will likely increase the number of families you’re seeing without too much extra effort.
For Chiropractors
Some book recommendations for your waiting area:
