Previously I posted about chiropractors in my area offering everything but the kitchen sink for $20.

Now, I see this guy offering chiropractic adjustments for less than $10 per adjustment.   I’m sure there are other chiropractors in the country who are advertising this on Google AdWords (paid search).

Have you ever pondered about the ramifications of chiropractors putting this kind of crap up for all to see?  You can act as though it’s of no concern to you.  But pretending it doesn’t matter does not make it go away.  Sure, you can focus on referrals from patients, MDs and attorneys, and do your best to sell the value of the service at the report of findings.  But you can’t control what they see, and eventually things will catch up.

I would venture to say that researchers in healthcare economics see these ads (consultants to policy makers).  As do people in the insurance industry (ever wonder why chiropractic HCOs haven”t increased their allowances for years?).   PI attorneys see this and want to cut your bill.  But worst of all, patients see these ads, and it causes them to reconsider how much to pay for your services.

This chiropractor has a right to charge less than $10 an adjustment.  Chiropractic is in a free market economy, and if someone can charge this amount and still turn a profit, then it is legitimate.

So as I see it, you can do two things to counter this downward pressure to the market value of chiropractic:

1)  offer something unique that is in a different class than a chiropractic adjustment (orange to apples) that people will pay more for;

2) lower your rates, but lower your overhead even more to still come out on top, and put a lot of effort in low cost things that increase the perceived value of the visit.  Amp up the customer service and office visit experience, so they like coming to your office not only for the treatment.

I will soon be releasing a new ebook this week, Automating New Patient Generation Using Today’s Internet.  These days it’s difficult for chiropractors to stay in business as we get hit by the widespread practice of rate-cutting, reduced insurance reimbursement, a cash-strapped market, and an over supply of chiropractors compared to the local demand.  You’ve got to get every advantage you can, and low-cost automation is one of the things that is available.