Bus Training Article - Business Training and Education...

Business Training and Education Needs of
Chiropractors
Steve W Henson , Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing, Western Carolina
University, Milton Pressley , D.B.A., Professor of Marketing, University of New
Orleans, and Scott Korfmann , MBA Student, Western Carolina University
Objective: This report is an examination of the perceived need for business skills among chiropractors. Methods:
An online survey was completed by 64 chiropractors. They assessed the need for business skills and current
levels of business skills. Using this information, gaps in business skills are identified. Results: The need for business
skills is broad, encompassing all major business functions. Existing business skills are well below needed levels.
Conclusion: The chiropractic profession needs significantly greater business and practice management skills.
The existing gap between needed business skills and existing skills suggests that current training and education
programs are not providing adequate business skills training. (J Chiropr Educ 2008;22(2):145–151)
Key Indexing Terms: Chiropractic; Education; Commerce; Practice Management
INTRODUCTION
Rapid changes in the health care industry have led
to an increasing need for enhanced business skills
and knowledge.
1–8
The ongoing need for training and
education in health care management,
9
marketing
10
and legal and regulatory management
11
has been
documented, as has the need for new approaches
to health care graduate education.
12
Complicating
matters is the prospect that the management ap-
proaches used by many healthcare organizations
continue to lag behind those of other businesses in
similar competitive industries.
These gaps, while also commonplace in other
industries, are of great concern to the healthcare
industry for several reasons. First, healthcare
revenues in the United States are approximately $1.2
trillion making it the single largest industry in the
The Journal of Chiropractic Education
Copyright  2008 the Association of Chiropractic Colleges
Vol. 22, No. 2. Printed in U.S.A.
1042-5055/$22.00
United States. Secondly, the industry faces environ-
mental challenges far greater than those of most
other industries. Both technology and regulatory
changes have an almost immediate impact on health-
care organizations, often requiring radical change.
Continued consolidation among healthcare organi-
zations has created a complex, rapidly changing
competitive environment. Finally, healthcare man-
agers must balance issues like quality of life with
bottom line profits in a way that no other managers
are required to do. Consequently, gaps in any area
of management can be detrimental to success in the
healthcare industry.
However, while the need for health care educa-
tion and training in business skills has been well
documented, the health care industry is too broad to
allow easy generalizations. Health care encompasses
fields like, but also hospitals, pharmaceutical compa-
nies, and other quite different fields. This article is
designed to look specifically at business skills needs.