The Value of Chiropractic

Some doctors complain that the Honor Box devalues chiropractic, as if the true value of an adjustment can only be assessed by a consistent, relevant fee (around $50, or so) collected for services rendered.

When I was struggling with my decision to implement the Honor Box, I studied carefully its "grandfather", a payment system from back in the day commonly referred to as box-on-the-wall. I was blessed at the time to stumble across an article written by Dr. Joseph Strauss.  Dr. Strauss wrote eloquently on his motivation behind the box and the experiences he has had running his practice with the box.

This piece of writing influenced my decision to start the Honor Box back in 2001 more than any other single piece of chiropractic research, philosophy or advice.

Here's the link: http://f-a-c-e.com/gpc.htm

Now in answer to the critics and their claims that the box lowers the value of chiropractic, let me quote directly from Dr. Strauss's words:

It has been suggested by Markson, Nikitow and others, that allowing the patient to set a fee or not having a fee comparable to medicine demeans and belittles the practice of chiropractic and ultimately making it less valuable in the eyes of the public. That may be true for those chiropractors because they see chiropractic, and probably everything else in life, as being valuable in terms of dollars and cents. It is simply not true, even if many people believe it. Those that believe "you get what you pay for" do not themselves apply that principle to everything. I have no idea what it costs today to have a baby in an expensive hospital. But would having that baby in the back of a New York City taxicab make it any less valuable to the parent? If people do put a value on things based upon the price then we as chiropractors should work toward changing that attitude rather than helping to perpetuate it. How much is love worth? How much is a life worth? How much is an air conditioner worth to an Eskimo? How about to a native in Equatorial Africa. Obviously, value is directly dependent upon an individual's perception of an object.