When It Comes to Growing Your Practice, Think Small… Not Big

I have spent years talking to chiropractors across the country, and one of the biggest dilemmas most of them share, myself included, is determining the clinic’s fee schedule. We are torn between running a profitable business and giving our patients access to affordable healthcare – in many cases diminishing the value of our services and making us the target of unnecessary risk. If we’re offering lower fees for cash payments than insurance payments, or discounts that are far beyond our cost of billing, or not charging for some services, it could trigger inducement violations. Many of the doctors I speak with have not evaluated or raised their fees in over five years. While we are all aware of changes to the economy, and increases in the cost of doing business, we often put ourselves in the position of working harder and longer hours to make the same, or less, money than we did in previous years. And all because we fear that any increase in fees will result in fewer patients getting the care they need in our offices. 

On July 12, 2018, the US Government released updated inflation numbers that showed annual increases ranging from 1.4% to 24.3%. Yet, as business owners and doctors, we can’t bear the thought of raising our fees just a fraction after five years. In reality, there is a fixed cost for a patient visit in our offices. As business owners, we are setting ourselves up to lose money when we don’t know what that cost is. Calculating your cost per visit is quick and easy using this simple spreadsheet.