Why Patients Leave Care and the Conversation That Keeps Them: Communication in Chiropractic with Dr. Don and Brandi MacDonald
The Informed Chiropractor PodcastShow Notes
Why do practice members leave care, and what can you do before it's too late? In this episode, Brandi MacDonald is back on the show for the first time in a long while, and we talk about the early signs that someone is drifting off-trend, and the conversations that keep them in care. Retention isn't a strategy. It's a lag indicator. What you control are the lead indicators: noticing health trends and behavioural trends early, and having the honest conversation while it still matters. In this episode:
Why "retention strategy" is the wrong goal, and lead vs. lag indicators Trend lines: catching someone drifting toward the ditch before they hit it Why results come first: adjusting through a polyvagal lens with the MacDonald Safety Corridor Protocol Health trending: what to do when something happens that nobody pre-framed Brandi's three lenses (chiropractic, salutogenic and polyvagal) and moving people from "the one thing" to the whole thing Behavioural trends: the missed second visit, the "I don't know my schedule next week" moment, and comments at the front desk Why your chiropractic assistants are your "connector detector" Amiable chiropractors and conflict: "It's not conflict, it's just the truth" Topping up the rapport bank, and practising these conversations like an athlete Scripting and table talk vs. incidental learning Brandi on storytelling, depth and meaning in practice
Read the article: Why Patients Leave Chiropractic Care (and How to Notice Early) We'll go much deeper on all of this, with role-play and our actual first-visit, report-of-findings, re-evaluation and front-desk systems, at The Gathering: The Communication Extravaganza in Toronto on Saturday, December 5, 2026. Doctors, chiropractic assistants, spouses and students are welcome: https://theinformedchiropractor.com/toronto Also mentioned: our book, The Polyvagal Shift, coming in January; Healing the Chiropractor in Phoenix in January; the Communication Extravaganza on the Gold Coast in February; and something in the UK we'll keep you posted on. This is clinical experience, not medical advice. Free "Intro to the Polyvagal Lens" for Chiropractors: https://www.theinformedchiropractor.com/introduction-to-chiropractic-through-a-polyvagal-lensJoin the Informed Chiropractor Collective: https://www.theinformedchiropractor.com/the-informed-chiropractor Connect with The Informed ChiropractorFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theinformedchiropractorInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/informed_chiropractor/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theInformedChiropractor If this episode was helpful, follow The Informed Chiropractor Podcast and share it with another chiropractor (or CA) who would benefit from the conversation.
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Your practice members don't leave because your adjusting isn't good enough. They leave because of the little things nobody noticed. In this episode, Dr. Don MacDonald talks about trend lines: the health trend lines and behavior trend lines that tell you when a practice member is drifting off course. Catch it early and a simple conversation repairs it. Miss it and those micro ruptures accumulate until someone ghosts you. You'll hear why rupture and repair is the hidden engine of every strong practice relationship, what the "rapport bank" is and why a full one gives you leeway when things get bumpy, why your chiropractic assistants should be your best noticers, and how incidental learnings teach better than any script. This is a preview of what Don and Brandi will be teaching at the Communication Extravaganza in Toronto on December 5, 2026. Bring your team. Details at https://theinformedchiropractor.com/toronto Also mentioned: the Communication Extravaganza on the Gold Coast February 27, 2027, the pelvic floor protocol seminar in Perth February 20, 2027, and Don and Brandi's book The Polyvagal Shift, coming January 2027. Free "Intro to the Polyvagal Lens" for Chiropractors: https://www.theinformedchiropractor.com/introduction-to-chiropractic-through-a-polyvagal-lens
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