Recommending Care, by Dr. Ogi Ressel
May 30 2009, 11:18 pm
Warm hellos to everyone!
I have a special treat for all of you - Dr. Rick Thompson of Omaha, Nebraska, one of
my dear PEP Doctors and a good friend, graduated from the Program some three years
ago and has fielded many questions from many of you. He sent me some ruminations
which I decided are very worthy of passing on to all of you. There is wisdom and
experience in his words.
Please enjoy:
Hello All!
I was thinking about newer docs (and older) in practice and wondered why some have such
a hard time with their recommendations for care? I know many say, "Gee, I just can't see
patients needing 100 plus visits over 12 months in order to correct their subluxations", so
they feel the need to "water down" their recommendation just to feel all comfy with
themselves (‘themselves' is you doc, not the patient).
What is the matter with you all!?
Dr. Ogi mentioned that you are trying to change a Subluxation pattern, a neurological habit - one
that is deeply learned! Do you think that your 30 or even 60 visit recommendation will do it?
Get real!
Remember how many times a day you got adjusted when you were in chiropractic college?
Probably 15 times a day! How about now? If you have another doc in your office like me, it
is most likely 3-4 times a week. So the question then becomes this: Why are you
recommending anything less to someone who has never really
been adjusted in their life? I feel it has nothing to do with the number of visits over a year,
however. No. I believe it all boils down to the cost that results from the recommendations - t
hat is the real issue. What these docs (yes you included) do not realize is they are coming
from the perspective of what they think their patient could/will afford. Yes.....you are simply
judging them. As you have heard before, when you think this way, you are coming from a
poverty mentality. I believe many of you forget the fact that patients have been in the
workforce for many years, have savings, retir
ement accounts, etc., and have a lot of "life experiences". Life experiences? Yep, Life
experiences, such as the $3000 dental bill for the teenager, or the $1500 air conditioner r
epair bill etc., or new tires for the car, etc. Catch my drift? Your patients have purchased
houses, paid taxes (ugh!!) and have bought $50k+ cars. Some of these things you have
never done (yet!) and thus cannot fathom that a $4-5k chiropractic bill is really not that
much money in the larger scope of things.
Think about this for a minute, it has been said the average American earns over
$1 million dollars in his or her lifetime, regardless of education level. I believe it is this lack
of "life experience" that creates real problems with doctor's minds. They, (I mean you) just
need to realize that the world does not operate on their current level of thinking. This creates
the real need to follow the experience of a doc who has had a lot of "life experience," has had
the top pediatric and family practice on the planet, and knows the level the World really
operates on (the PEP Program). Think about how the World would operate if it ran according
the thought level of a new graduate, or a doc stuck thinking like this - we would all live as
roommates in old bungalow houses, drive beat up hand-me-down crappy cars, have no savings,
sleep 12 to a hotel room on trips and eat roman noodles!
So, what is one to do?
First re-read the above and really think about the "life experiences" of the average person today.
Then take a walk or drive about your town and look around you, drive though neighborhoods and
look in people's garages (only if the door is up!) and see what they have, what they drive, and
then think about how much it cost.
You will soon realize the world does not operate on your current level of thinking. Then take the
PEP Program and implement ALL of it and do so without "yeah butting" yourself to death.
For those of you who have taken the Program, I would highly recommend you retake Module I
(I have 3 times now) and then get to work implementing it FULLY - no mixing or matching.
Now, go out there and get some "Life experience!"
Dr. Rick
Well said, Rick!
I have to tell you that he's right. Many of you dilute your recommendations based of what
you feel your patient will accept - according to your comfort level. But this issue is not about
what your patient needs.
No.
It is all about what you are "comfortable" with - even if it goes against researched and
published protocols.
It then becomes a self-worth issue, doesn't it? A number of doctors do not feel worthy
of receiving payment from their patients. WOW! Now we are on some touchy ground!
I promise you to continue this train of thought in next week's THOT. Stay tuned!
My warmest wishes,
Dr. Ogi Ressel
