Referals - to and from chiropractors

[Emma?]

This was brought up in a bodywork email group.

Do you get referals from chiropractors?? Do you give referals to chiropractors?

The referals you give to a chiro, do they come back to you? Do they go to the chiro AND come in for massage as well?

The comment made was:

"My prejudice is that chiropractors tend to hold onto clients. When I send
client to a chiropractor, I hardly ever see them again (except for one with whom I have a special relationship)..chiropractors, for some reason, need 125 visits with the client before healing is complete..."

I have chiropractors that contact me on a regular basis. They wants a stack of my business cards, to go out to lunch, etc... One is new in the field, and the others not so new.

There are so many chiros that dont just do the hands on work any more. They have all these mechanical gadgets now adays!

Any comments are welcome.

 

[Bosco]

Referals-to and from chiropractors

In live in Kalifornia where there was a significant change in the Workers' Compensation laws in 2004 and the CA Chiro Assn. lobbied to defeat a massage licensing law. Here's what resulted:
Many DCs lost a large chunk of their practice and I used to get many referals from DCs. They all stopped cold about a year and a-half ago. Many DCs have hired young kids, just out of school, for $20.00 or less per hour and are treating their patients in office. I get most of my medical referals now from PTs and pain MDs.
The California Chiropractic Association lobbied and helped defeat a state license law in Aug. of this year. After this I lost all respect-what little I had left- for DCs. Many in my town are doing soft-tissue work and they definetly won't refer out. Because they can bill insurance and Medicare, they are competing with me for patients.
So, I don't refer to chiros and I don't get referals. This works well for me as I am also a skeptic(sic) of 3 vists a week for a year. I really believe that most problems are with soft tissue, not bones.
There's my 2 cents.
Kind regards,
rubmyster

 

[Stuart S]

Greatttlakes,
I did have a really good referral relationship with a couple chiropractors in town for several years.
One was here only a few days per week, he has a practice in a city 50 miles or so from here. In that instance I think I was a better source of referrals to him that he ever was to me. But I did get one good weekly client through one of his clients, so I guess it all works out in the end! LOL
The other was a chiro who would refer clients to me every once in awhile, even while I practicing at the salon. The trouble of course was that many of them looked upon massage as health care and didn't want to have to endure the smell of perms and other chemicals which would waft up the stairs during their massage sessions, or other interruptions (loud talking, laughing, etc.) The chiro who referred clients to me has since retired.
I have a couple clients from practically every chiro in town. They, however, only come in a few times per year, unless they've had some kind of accident or other injury.
When I do meet with chiros we talk and I try to promote the idea of becoming a "team" to promote wellness for their patients. I've impressed a couple of them with my brochures... yeah the "Massage and Chiropractic" ones from info4people!
Do I get referrals from chiropractors at the moment? No, not really. Do I give them? No, not any more. When I find a chiro I really think is outstanding, and whom I respect then I'll think about referring my clients again. In the meantime, they're free to choose their own. t102

 

[blackroses4uever]

I get referrals occasionally from Chiropractors. Two in particular. They both know that I am a big advocate for chiropractic work, but that I am ultra-picky. I do refer to a couple of chiropractors who are outstanding and highly ethical, as well as being very accomodating of patients who seek treatment as they can afford it. I would never refer a client to a DC who tries to sell a year long 3x/week "plan", especially within the first 2-3 visits. How can they possibly know exactly how long it will take for my client to get better, especially that early?

As far as mechanical gadgets, some of them are very good for clients who really do need an adjustment, but are scared of going to a "back-cracker." But I agree, I made an appointment with a chiro who wanted to refer to me, (read that: me refer to him... I don't know why, he's incredibly busy.) He never referred anyone to me, but I did pay him three visits to see if he is they type I'd refer to. He used several machines on me, including a $60 treatment for some kind of laser that did nothing, (plus he didn't tell me that using that little thing for 4 minutes was going to cost me $60 extra.) He had 9 (?) treatment rooms, and the only other practitioner there was his son, who is an LMT. His son was back and forth to three rooms around me doing adjustments. His patients never saw the doctor, and he was NOT doing massage. I could hear his little machine through the corrugated cardboard walls. Obviously, this is exactly the kind of DC that I would NOT refer to. :s

I too have chiros who call or send a letter, wanting to "exchange" business cards, go to lunch and "talk" or becoming a "team." I've supposedly "impressed" a couple of them too, but not received a single referral in return. Their information is no longer displayed. If you market to another practitioner that you wish to have a reciprocal relationship, it better be reciprocal.

For the most part, the therapeutic relationships I've developed with Doctors have been when a client comes in for treatment, on a doctor recommendation. The client has found me on their own because the doctor said "you need a massage." Once that happens, I KNOW that doc is a proponent of massage, so I send a thank you, introduce myself to the doc and staff, and enclose a couple of cards and my brochures.

This relationship seems to work best. They have nothing to gain from my "referral," they already have busy established practices, and do not offer massage specifically. Currently, my best referrer is a multipractitioner family practice. The two doctors are D.O.s by training, and do manipulations, as well as other somewhat alternative therapies. There are also two nurse practitioners there... all of whom refer to me. I am, I suppose, "on the team," but it's not anything at all the way the D.Cs who have approached me are promoting.

 

[Tayler]

i have 2 chiros that i refer to. i refer to one based on his personality working with the client best.

the other one is an absolute gem. he doesn't have a god complex and he certainly doesn't mind referring out. we refer back and forth to each other frequently - he is the one i send my most loyal clients to, and v/v.

i think it all goes with the relationship. and back to word of mouth, that's how i found out about him - by HIS clients. then i went to see him to test him out and now we work together very well.

in any situation, if there isn't trust there and consistent communication, i wouldn't feel very good about referring out my bread and butter.

amanda

 

[Jedimaster]

Many of my massage clients also go to the chiropractor. They are two forms of therapy that go well together, so it's natural to have clients that do both. I've never lost a client I referred to the chiropractor.

I learned about the various chiropractors in my town through word of mouth, largely from my massage clients. I know which chiropractors recommend multiple weekly visits & have a line of gadgets & extra charges associated with every appointment. (I don't refer to them). Thankfully, there are also quality chiropractors in my town, whose work seems to help people, who are reasonable in their treatment plans, and who care about their patients as well. I do have a mutually referring relationship with one of those good chiropractors. I went to him myself after numerous people recommended him. I liked his professionalism & was impressed with his skill, so I began referring my clients to him as well. Although he'd heard about me & seen my brochures before, he didn't begin referring to me until I became his patient. I find this is true for most of the chiropractors in my town. They refer to the massage therapists who are their patients. I don't think meeting them for lunch would be enough.