Practitioner Case Study: Using a Virtual Dispensary for Chiropractic Care

More and more, patients are turning to their chiropractors for nutritional advice.

Today, natural health products—dietary supplements other than vitamins and minerals—remain the most popular complementary health approach in the US, according to statistics from the National Institute of Health’s Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). (9)

With the rise in demand for information on dietary supplements, chiropractors have begun to incorporate more nutritional advice and recourse into their practices. According to an analysis conducted by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) in 2015, 97% of chiropractors provide nutritional support and supplement recommendations as part of their regular treatment. (7)

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“Fullscript’s virtual dispensing platform makes it simple for me to practice functional and integrative medicine. It’s shown me that individualized treatment can be easy! All of my patients’ supplements are shipped right to their doors.” –Dr. Kris Sargent, DC

Did you know?
Consumer surveys show at least 77% of all adults in the US report taking dietary supplements. (2) In Canada, around 45.6% of Canadians who are one year or older are using supplements. (5)

A chiropractor’s insight on using Fullscript

Dr. Kris Sargent, DC, has been practicing chiropractic therapy in Chicago, IL, for almost thirty years. She credits Fullscript’s online dispensary as a huge element in the successful scaling up of her functional medicine practice.

“With Fullscript, it’s easy for me as a chiropractor, it’s easy on my staff, and it’s easy for my patients. And if you have a big office, it’s way easier on all of that too. Building a virtual supplement business for yourself isn’t pushy or icky.” said Dr. Sargent.

During her time studying at the National University of Health and Sciences Chiropractic School (NUHS) in Chicago, IL, Dr. Sargent was exposed to functional medicine. She attended a lecture on the connection between nutrition and chiropractic care. She has practiced integrative functional medicine ever since and specializes in common chronic conditions such as arthritis, hormonal imbalances, and back pain.

“When I came out of chiropractic school, I opened my integrative practice right from the get-go. I always incorporated nutrition into my treatment. I’ve always taken an integrative medical approach when seeing patients. I guess I have a weird philosophy in that I believe that the chiropractic adjustment really is powerful. I don’t think we understand yet how powerful of a healing modality it can be. If you nourish your body as well as treat your spine, you’re going to be healthier.”

Dr. Sargent has experienced specific benefits after implementing Fullscript, and especially as a chiropractor, she highlights the benefits of Fullscript’s supplement dispensary store platform.

12 benefits of using a virtual dispensary as a chiropractor

Using Fullscript’s virtual supplement dispensary platform provides chiropractors with more than just professional-grade supplements for their patients. Dr. Sargent has discovered that Fullscript has helped her practice generate consistent passive income, improve patient adherence, reduce her administrative hassle, and more.

1. Less waste and decreased inventory

“Before I first switched over to Fullscript, we had just downsized to a shared office space. We had kept some stuff on the shelf, but I just finally made a decision and said, ‘That’s it. We’re done. This is stupid. Why are we doing this? Why are we managing this? We don’t have to do this anymore.’”

With Fullscript, chiropractors and other staff don’t have to waste time or money managing and stocking a traditional in-office supplement store. And because chiropractors waste less time ordering and organizing supplements, they have more time to spend with their patients.

“We used to have $20,000 worth of supplements on our shelves. My staff had to spend time managing and organizing. We ended up just throwing out supplements. Now, why would we do that? Why would we waste our time on inventory when we have Fullscript?”

2. Safe, practitioner-grade quality supplements

“Sometimes, a patient will ask, ‘What do you mean what I get over the counter isn’t the same as this?’ It’s not. The supplement companies on Fullscript spend extra money to ensure that what’s in the bottle is on the label and that what’s on the label is actually in the bottle.”

With Fullscript, you know exactly what your patients are taking. Ensuring the quality and effectiveness of the supplements is key to any successful treatment plan—mainly because a lot of people don’t realize that the supplement industries in the US and Canada are unregulated. (4)

“Fullscript helps you control patient outcomes better because you, as a practitioner, know what supplements they’re getting. You don’t need to guess. You already know. So if patient outcomes are important to you, your certainty around their nutritionals is going to make all the difference in the world for them and you.” –Dr. Kris Sargent, DC

3. A new revenue stream for your practice

“When the current health crisis hit, I saw my Fullscript dispensary become more active because people became more interested in preventive and integrative medicine. And by having my virtual store set up and keeping consistent with my contact to patients, I was in a position to not only help more people but also grow my functional medicine practice.”

With Fullscript, there is no money or time wasted like you would encounter when running a traditional supplement store at an office—only profits. It is a free software tool that can be set up within a day, can be used by chiropractors with no overhead cost, and is a good source of passive income.

“Maybe the initial order doesn’t provide that much difference, but after six months of using Fullscript, all of a sudden, it’s almost like an annuity income. You don’t have to do very much, and you still have it. Fullscript is the perfect passive stream of income.”

4. Easy follow-up with patients

Fullscript offers more than just a virtual dispensary. It’s a secure way of communicating with patients remotely and providing follow-up after appointments. With Fullscript, patients can autoship their supplements, or you can send patients reminders that they may be running out soon. (7)

“After an appointment, most patients forget 80% of what you’ve told them. They’ve probably forgotten the name of the supplement you recommended. But with Fullscript, you can follow up and send your patients a reminder and also recommendations by email, and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I do need to take all these!’”

5. Market affordability

With Fullscript, American chiropractors can adjust discounts for patients up to 35% off, while Canadian chiropractors can provide discounts up to 25% off, meaning that you, as the practitioner, can choose to make more profit or offer your patients more significant savings on professional-grade supplements.

“I love the fact that I can go in and change my discount offerings. For example, you can do a Freaky Friday Sale and email your patients about offering 10% off all the supplements in your dispensary. You can play with it and have fun with it. The marketing around having an online supplement store can be really fun.”

6. Fast and reliable shipping to your patients’ doorsteps

Who needs the hassle of heading to their practitioner’s office to pick up supplements? With Fullscript, supplements are delivered to patients’ doorsteps within days.

“When it comes to getting patients comfortable using Fullscript, I think it’s all about how you frame it. And the shipping component is a big sell. Like you say, ‘You know what, we are going to make this so much easier for you. You don’t have to take an extra trip to my office to get your supplements anymore.’ Nowadays, everyone uses online options and in just one click, whatever you ordered arrives right at the door within days.” –Dr. Kris Sargent, DC

7. An intuitive way of tracking patient progress

Fullscript’s platform makes it easy to keep track of patients and help them successfully manage treatment plans. And, studies have shown that telehealth tools help practitioners provide better care for patients. (8)

“I can pay attention to whether my patients are following their wellness plans and are refilling on products. I can put my eyes on a chart that says, ‘This is the last person who bought. This was when they bought it. This is what they bought.’ And so I can also pay attention to compliance, making managing compliance easier, and that is huge.”

As a practitioner, you can see if your newer patients are adhering to their treatment plans and even send them an email to make sure they saw your recommendations.

“If I see that a new patient hasn’t purchased their supplements in a week, I can go and say, ‘Hey Mary, did you miss the note I sent by email?’ or something of the sort. She can just say, ‘Oh, I needed to wait until I get paid,’ so I can stay on top of it.”

8. Higher compliance with treatment plans

Sending your patients specific supplement recommendations using the Fullscript platform is a great way to boost their compliance. Providing patients with educational resources and a safe way to get professional-grade supplements makes a big difference. With Fullscript, you can even send patients auto-reminders when they are likely to run out and give them the option to auto-ship supplements. (3)(10)

“I feel like I have really good compliance because I use Fullscript to educate my patients by sending supplement recommendations. I explain why they need specific supplements, and then they often just order because it’s in their cart and the information is there.” –Dr. Kris Sargent, DC

9. Individualized patient care

Fullscript’s platform allows practitioners to easily individualize patient care, taking into account unique preferences and anxieties.

“Fullscript is great at helping practitioners provide individualized treatment for different patients. For example, if you have an analytical-minded patient, you can share data and lots of detail about dosage instructions. I’ll use Fullscript to reach out to patients and say ‘Hey, this is for your leaky gut. It’s going to help you with digestive problems’, and they’ll be like ‘Oh yes! That’s right, for my leaky gut, I should take it.’ or whatever it may be.”

“Plus, because of the way you recommend in Fullscript, it’s easy to see where a patient is in their treatment. For example, I have all the recommendations in one place and I can look back and say, ‘Oh, it looks like you’ve been on this supplement for three months, that’s probably long enough. Let’s cut you back.’” –Dr. Kris Sargent, DC

10. Evidence-based integrative health resources

Fullscript’s platform provides a way to deliver professional-grade supplements to your patients but also provides them with quality, trustworthy information about supplements, nutrition, and other holistic health topics. Fullscript features a knowledge center with educational blog posts, webinars, holistic treatment protocols, and podcasts you can share seamlessly with patients. (7)

“As you educate your patients on whatever they have going on with them, why they need to take supplements, this makes a huge difference for compliance. It’s important patients really understand their health’s connection to specific supplements—not that you just want to sell them some multivitamins.”

11. Boost your online presence

Fullscript is also an easy way to stay current with digital marketing trends in healthcare and improve your search engine optimization, or SEO, as a chiropractor. (8) Fullscript is integrated easily with a range of healthcare management tools, and having a virtual supplement store on Fullscript can help you find new patients on the web.

“You can use Fullscript to boost your online presence. For example, I am in a couple of groups on Facebook and I often share a link to my Fullscript store so current, old, and new patients can get the supplements they need on their time. I also send out a lot of emails directly to patients and sometimes offer discounts on all supplements.”

Furthermore, Fullscript offers a suite of practice resources for chiropractic medicine. The knowledge center features insights into some of the best digital marketing strategies for integrative practitioners, and what elements you should look for in a virtual dispensary.

12. The perfect platform to help you transition to virtual care

With healthcare shifting towards more and more telemedicine, Fullscript’s platform can help keep your patient’s health journeys on track outside of office hours. Fullscript is a great ‘introductory’ virtual tool for practitioners who are used to doing things ‘old school.’

“It’s really easy and intuitive for practitioners. It’s easy for me to see where a patient is and gauge how their treatment is going. Traditionally written notes and everything can get misplaced and it can be hard to find what you’re looking for. But with Fullscript, I have all the scripts right there and so I can just look back and say, ‘Oh, you’ve been on this supplement for three months, that’s probably long enough. Let’s cut you back.’”

Plus, with the current global health crisis, telehealth tools are more important than ever.

“When you’re introducing your patients to fullscript, be sure to say ‘Hey, all your supplements are going to go right to your door. You don’t have to make an extra trip. Shipping is basically free.’ Pulling all the positives out helps, and in the instances we had pushback, my answer was ‘Well I’m sorry, but this is how we’re going to do business now.’ Don’t be afraid to make the change. All it takes is one day.” –Dr. Kris Sargent, DC

The bottom line

“For doctors to be really successful, you need to take an integrative approach. And when it comes to the nutritional element, you have to make it easy for patients. You need to make it as convenient as possible for patients to use the right supplements. As a health practitioner, you need to get out of the mindset, ‘Well, I don’t want to sell supplements. I am not a salesperson.’ You’re absolutely not. I think that a lot of practitioners get tripped up on that.”

If you want to improve your overall patient care as a Chiropractor, you need to be willing to let go of traditional biases in medicine and take on a more integrative approach to health care. Remember that Fullscript is here to help you achieve just that.

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