May, 2007

• ICA Rejects "Demand" from COCSA
• Making a Website Work for You
• Chiropractic Patient, Author and Advocate Speaks to Chiropractors
• The Good, the Bad, and the Subluxated! - AKA - Chiropractic in the News
• NYK Upcoming Seminars and Shows
• Now You Know Internet Educational Services
• How to Contact NYK

How to print this newsletter

ICA Rejects "Demand" from COCSA

The International Chiropractors Association (ICA) has responded and rejected the "Demand" made by the board of the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations, (COCSA), for merger with the ACA.  The original resolution by COCSA issued an actual "demand" that ICA and ACA "merge".  The resolution was created and voted on by the Board of COCSA and has not been discussed or brought before their larger Assembly made up of the various leaders from the member associations.

The International Chiropractors Association’s Board of Directors and Representative Assembly met at their annual meeting on April 27-28, 2007 in Washington, DC. During those meetings, ICA elected officials discussed all aspects of the demand issued by the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) for the merger of the ICA with the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). Following these discussions, the ICA leadership from both the Assembly Representatives and the Board of Directors unanimously adopted an official statement on this issue. That statement reads as follows:

“The International Chiropractors Association has always stood ready to work with any chiropractic association or group for the common good of the chiropractic profession, the principles we stand for, and the patients we serve. We have repeatedly extended our hand in the spirit of cooperation in an effort to gain a unified voice in those areas where such a voice is useful and favorable. Our participation in the Chiropractic Coalition, an organization in which all national associations were asked to participate, demonstrates our willingness to continue these efforts.

Historically, there have been four attempts to force a merger of the ICA with another national chiropractic association. Each of these attempts resulted in defeat of the proposal, and a decline in membership for both associations involved. In all these attempts, an organizational merger was attempted without a basic understanding of the very uniqueness that necessitates the various organizations. The ICA has no desire at present to repeat these historical failures by pursuing the same course.

There are basic chiropractic philosophical tenets that ICA holds supreme, and are not subject to compromise. It is the separate and clear voice of the ICA that has created a system of checks and balances in our profession. Over the past several decades it has been painfully obvious that this separate voice has prevented the profession from drifting in a direction that ICA views as clearly in violation of our philosophical tenants, as well as detrimental to our profession and the unique contribution we offer the public.

Although we view the ‘demand’ from one organization upon another to be a curious course of action, we can appreciate the desire to further the profession of chiropractic. ICA shares these desires but does not agree on the course of action being proposed. ICA continues to pledge cooperative effort in those areas where a common voice can speak on issues. However, on those issues where a separate voice is needed, ICA will continue to express that voice.”

ICA President Dr. John Maltby commented, "ICA has communicated with the President of the American Chiropractic Association reiterating ICA’s willingness to cooperate on issues of common concern, for the greater good of the profession, especially in the realm of legislation and public policy. We look forward to that dialogue and will keep the ICA membership informed of the results."

Editor's comments:  It should be noted that the ICA annual meeting in Washington was held in conjunction with the "Chiropractic Coalition" which is a coalition of associations designed  to facilitate an avenue where national chiropractic organizations could work and lobby together for the common good of chiropractic.  Each year since the inception of the Chiropractic Coalition the ICA, WCA, and FSCO have participated in this event. Additionally, each year the ACA has declined to participate. 

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Making a Website Work for You

A website is probably the most amazing educational tool that a chiropractor could have.  I remember for years before the Internet was available (now I'm dating myself) we would collect articles and information and place them in three ring binders for our patients to read.  The only problem is that the patients could only read these articles when they were in your office.  Once they got home, they were bombarded with TV stories on the benefits of drugs and medical care.

Now with the Internet, patients can read these articles right off your website.  This is why we at Now You Know have focused on the quality of the articles we put in our patient newsletter. These articles are researched and reviewed monthly to bring you the most current information available. These articles then get archived into each and every website with us.  Presently, instead of having a three ring binder with 50 to 100 articles, NYK website subscribers have a website with over 800 articles.

So with all this great educational material right at your patient's fingertips, what is the best way to maximize this information?  Well, here are some tips:

1. Become familiar with your website, so that you know what articles are on the site, and how to search for articles in your archive.
2. When a patient asks a question, answer the question to the best of your ability and then also refer them to your website for additional information on that subject.
3. When a patient tells you that they have a friend or neighbor they'd like to refer to you, make sure you tell that patient to refer their friend to your website.
4. Print an "Article of the Week" from your website or the NYK Newsletter and post copies in various places in your office. 
5. If you have a storefront, place the most recent edition of the newsletter in the window for walk-by traffic to see.
6. If you have access to a community or church bulletin board, and you have permission to post there, place an article or the newsletter on that board.
7. Place copies of the NYK newsletter on store counters of those businesses that will allow it.
8. Make sure your website address is on every piece of printed material that leaves your office.  This includes business cards, stationary, receipts, and pamphlets.
9. Have your web address printed on your main signage. It is easier for most people driving by to remember you website address than your phone number.

There are many additional strategies you can use to advance the exposure and educational value of your website.  We additionally have heard from many of our subscribers with other tips and strategies.  So we thought we would open this up to everyone.  If you have a tip or strategy on how to maximize your website's effectiveness, we'd like to hear from you.  Please send us your strategies to us at nowyouknow@nowyouknow.net. We will publish the better ones in future issues of The Information Age newsletter.

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Chiropractic Patient, Author and Advocate Speaks to Chiropractors

There are a lot of good books on chiropractic currently available.  Several of these books were written by chiropractors and I recommend that you add these to your personal and office library.  But when a patient writes a book simply because she was inspired to spread the chiropractic message, well that's something really special. 

At the ICA annual meeting last month, Ms. Geri Carlson addressed a luncheon and spoke to the assembly of ICA doctors and guests.  When she was finished there wasn't a dry eye in the house.  Geri simply told her story and how her life was changed through chiropractic.

She later commented, "I was honored to speak at the I.C.A.’s Springtime in Washington Convention Auxiliary Luncheon on Friday, April 27th. Talk about humbling! I have admired many of you from afar. It was wonderful to meet so many of you! The convention was held at the beautiful Ritz Carlton Hotel in the Washington, D.C. area. One leading chiropractor in attendance, and someone who has become very dear, was Dr. Bob Braile. This weekend was special in itself, but the fact that Dr. Braile was there made it even more wonderful for me. He could not have been more gracious to my husband, Rob and me! It was quite an event. One thing really struck me. Since I have a background in healthcare, I expected to come across some arrogance at this convention (forgive me for being blunt). But I can honestly report that the spirit was much different. I have said many times that D.C.’s are amongst the most selfless, kind and compassionate people, so I shouldn't have been surprised that these doctors and their spouses were incredibly gracious, lovely, and respectable. I can’t say enough about them. Thanks to the I.C.A. family! And special thanks to Ron Hendrickson for his hospitality! "

After her talk the attendees lined up to get a signed copy of her book, "I Stand Amazed". This book tells her story of how chiropractic saved her life. Now after numerous requests from chiropractors, Geri is offering her book at volume prices.  I can think of no better motivating tool that a patient telling prospective patients about how great chiropractic is.  Below is a list of the discounts.

For more information, to place an order, or to subscribe to Geri's free email newsletter, you can visit one of Geri's websites at either www.istandamazed.com or www.gericarlson.com.

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The Good, the Bad, and the Subluxated! - AKA - Chiropractic in the News

We review the world wide web almost every day for articles for our NYK patient newsletter. In reading hundreds of articles, there are always stories that do not make it into our patient newsletter but are of interest to us as chiropractors. Not all of these stories are good, and many of them I do not agree with, but we felt you should know about them. So if you don't have hours to search the world wide web for articles that concern us as chiropractors, just review the links below. To see the actual articles, please click on the headline links below.

• Life University realigned to grow
• 2007 ICA Chiropractor of the Year
• Chiropractic care: It’s not just for aching backs anymore
• PLAY BALL! Chiropractic Adjustments Keep Boston Red Sox Organization Physically Fit Throughout the Baseball Season
• Complementary Care May Offer Hope For Chronic Pain Sufferer
• House debates chiropractor law
• Chiropractic board under fire for controversial procedure
• Animal Chiropractics
• Study: Spinal manipulation helps neck pain
• Connecticut Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Public Reporting of Chiropractic Malpractice
• Chiropractic Adjustments Helping Kids with ADHD
• What is the Real Problem at the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners?
• Spinal manipulation in children studied
• Slouch potatoes are such a pain in the back
• Study Documents Significant Decrease in Blood Pressure Following One Specialized 'Atlas Adjustment' Chiropractic Treatment

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NYK Upcoming Seminars and Shows

We would like to thank the many associations, organizations and groups that have us speaking on their programs. Dates permitting, we would love to participate at your Association or Society convention as well. If you are interested in having us at your program, please contact us at either nowyouknow@nowyouknow.net or call us at 1-800-695-8937. Below is a list of programs and speaking engagements we have scheduled in the near future.

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Now You Know Internet Educational Services

Now There Are 4 Great Services for Your Office!

NYK Websites:  Now You Know is the largest provider of individual websites to the chiropractic profession. Our website service includes your choice of 33 templates, over 800 pages of content, "Ask the Experts" videos, and many other educational features that make an NYK website the best value in patient and community education. Check out the ever growing list of features on our website at: www.nowyouknow.net,  then click on "Website Service".

Chiropractic Depot:  Why just pay for a website when you can have your website start paying you?  Chiropractic Depot brings education and income together in your website. With the Chiropractic Depot service, you have a storefront inside your website where patients and visitors can select and purchase from a growing list of health, wellness, and fitness products.  The sales are fulfilled by the vendors and products are shipped directly to your patients.  And the best part is that you get a commission on each sale!

Chiropractic Depot is a service designed to bring the health and wellness industry together with the chiropractic profession. Each year, billions of dollars of health and wellness related products are sold to the public. Chiropractic patients, because of their orientation toward natural health, are prime consumers for these products.  It is time for us as Chiropractors to be the leaders in this consumer driven movement.

Now You Know Email Newsletter Service: The NYK email newsletter delivers current and hard-hitting articles on health and chiropractic issues emailed directly to your patient's inbox.  If you want to keep your patients informed, this email newsletter service is unsurpassed in chiropractic.  But there is more.  The NYK email newsletter service is really two services in one!  With the NYK email newsletter service, subscribers can also easily send bulk emails out to their entire patient list. So, with the NYK email newsletter service, not only do your patients get the great stories and articles from the NYK Newsletter, but they can also get updates created by you!

Echiropractic: We push technology to the limit with online chiropractic pamphlets, cards, and office letters for your unlimited use. This service allows you to send unlimited individual emails directly to patients. Each Echiropractic message can be customized with a message from the doctor. This service is similar to some other popular online greeting cards, with one big difference. These messages are for chiropractic offices with chiropractic messages.

Now You Know "Premium Plus" Package:  This new package includes all four of our services at a discount.  NYK services complement each other and together make the perfect blend of educational and income generating services, all at an affordable price.  Subscribing to all four services is the best value and resource available for complete online educational tools in chiropractic. The new Premium Plus Package saves you $50 on the initial start-up and $30 a month.

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How to Contact NYK

General NYK Mailing Address:
Now You Know Inc.
PO Box 2210, Marietta, GA 30061-2210
We're just off the beautiful Marietta Square

Use our toll free number to reach any of our departments
800-695-8937

Our Email Addresses