Today we are going to take a detour off the billing, coding, documentation & compliance roads and go directly down the path of building a better business.  In that respect, one thing that interests nearly all chiropractors is developing cash income streams  (i.e. non-insurance dependent).  And if these income streams can be automated (i.e. not totally dependent on the doctor), all the better.

Certainly, it is easy to see how nutritional programs (i.e. nutritional consulting, supplements and weight loss) would fit into the cash income strategy, but…while most chiropractors would agree that this type of income is attractive, there are several challenges most DC’s have with giving nutritional advice in their offices.

Obstacles to Generating Significant Revenue With Nutrition

Problem #1 = “Dust Bunny Nutrition”:  Unless a chiropractor has either great systems for recommending suppelments (teachable skill) or they have a large portion of their practice dedicated to nutrition, most DC’s admittedly have supplements that gather dust and fail to create significant income for their practice (an obstacle you can overcome).

Solution #1 – A great alternative is to utilize supplements and weight loss on patients that is “on demand” (i.e. drop ship, you stock nothing and the manufacturer ships everything).

Problem #2 = No Time.  Another big obstacle DC’s have to overcome when trying to create significant nutritional income the fact that they have no time for “nutritional counseling.” In other words, they are already busy and can’t imagine taking a lot of time to talk to patients about their nutritional needs.

Solution #2 = Automate and/or Delegate.  The easiest way to overcome this obstacle is to choose a nutritional company that utilizes automated tools so that the ability to efficiently assess your patients needs is already done for you.  This may include online tests, nutritional surveys or other forms of testing that does not require you to spend a lot of time interviewing your patients.  The other option is to delegate the assessment to someone else who will counsel or coach your patients.

Problem #3 = No Distribution System.  The third major obstacle is to have smooth systems for distribution.  Unfortunately in most practices, there are no systems and if there are any present, they are random.  For example, if you have to rely upon your patient to tell you that they ran out of Glucosamine Sulfate, you have no systems.  If you have some sort of human tickler file, it is a little better, but it’s pretty random as the only time you will think to utilize it is when you are not busy and many patients will fall through the cracks.

Solution #3 — You need a system that removes human error, thus increasing consistency preventing distribution bottlenecks attributed to human sloppiness.

Action Steps

These are the 3 Biggest challenges that I see in way too many practices that struggle to get nutrition off the ground (and similarly, weight loss typically runs into the same pitfalls).

If you are in this boat, fix it fast using the recommendations above.  Most chiropractors have enough on their plate and need to focus on less, to do more.  If you are dabbling in nutrition, it’s time to step it up or cut it out and get rid of your supplements.

If nutrition is an area that you’d like to explore more of but aren’t quite sure how, there are a couple “done for you” options that fit all the criteria met above.  In my opinion, the single best in this class is IDLife (which stands for Individually Designed Life. IDLife are makers of customized nutritional supplements and weight loss aids, that are formulated based upon a unique online assessment tool (automated) and then drop-shipped directly to your patients (no dust bunnies).  Then their system automates the follow-up as well (no distribution problems).

ID Life’s online questionnaire (which is linked to your website) that extracts all kinds of data from your patient in order to customize nutritional recommendations for them. Once they complete the questionnaire, they order from your link (which gives you a % of their purchase) and IDLife ships the vitamins directly to the patient.

In my opinion, this takes out much of the legwork of recommending nutrition and weight loss for patients and can remain profitable for you in the process.  Most chiropractors are utilizing the “Business Builder” kit as a starting point so they can get the biggest discount and profit opportunities through the purchasing side. Then their patients access their website to begin their nutritional programs.

Finally, I’m sure IDLife isn’t the only company out there doing this, so if you have a program that meets the needs above, then go for it.  In my opinion,  the IDLife system has removed the biggest obstacles that create problems and orchestrated a way to incorporate nutrition that will enable many DC’s to succeed.