By adhering to the principled school of chiropractic, Jeffrey E. Ptak, DC, instills loyalty in his patients

by Rich Smith

Trying to figure out what attracts a patient to one chiropractor and not another can be baffling—unless you are Jeffrey E. Ptak, DC, owner of Ptak Chiropractic Life Center in Santa Monica, Calif. He has given the matter plenty of consideration over the years, and is confident about the reasons why the ailing choose him.

“People are looking for someone to tell them the truth, first of all,” says Ptak. “They’re also looking for someone to confirm that the health problems they are experiencing are real and not imagined. People want to be led to good health, but are not sure where to find it; my mission as a chiropractor is to explain to them that their body, mind, and spirit already know exactly where to look.”

Location, Location, Location
For growing numbers of health-seekers from around the area, the starting point in that search is Ptak’s office on Wilshire Boulevard, 12 short blocks from the ocean. But some who turn to Ptak for direction are surprised to discover he is virtually the only chiropractor in the city whose practice does not offer the kinds of services expected these days from providers like him.

“I don’t offer adjunctive therapies,” he says. “This is because I believe chiropractic is one thing, and one thing only. By that, I don’t mean chiropractic is about a person coming to you and asking to have his back cracked so that he can be on his way and go about his business. Chiropractic—true chiropractic—is something much larger than that.”

Ptak identifies himself as an adherent of the principled school of chiropractic, which also is known as innate-based, lifeforce-based, or adjustment-based chiropractic. “I want the person who comes to me for care to end up understanding the principles of life, how the body works, and how to live healthfully,” he says. “I want the person to understand the benefit of symptoms, what symptoms are, why they have symptoms despite a healthy body, and how it is possible for an unhealthy body to have no symptoms. I want the person to understand that their health is their responsibility, not mine.”

Patricia Ptak, clinic administrator, (left) discusses office management with Ptak, while Susan Geer, CA, front desk, speaks with a patient.

Within the context of his practice, Ptak sees a spectrum of conditions, with no particular type of problem being more predominant than another. “They are coming to talk to me about cysts, cancer, breathing disorders—you name it,” he says. “However, I don’t treat diseases, and I make sure they understand that.”

Patients (Ptak prefers to call them “members of the practice”) range in age from newborns to the very old, with the largest single demographic being people in their 40s and 50s. Ptak’s office—which is staffed by two chiropractic assistants, one billing administrator, and a part-time support person—sees a high volume of individuals and families with an even mix of insurance and family wellness plans.

Sigh of Relief
Ptak was born and raised in New York City. Asthma afflicted him throughout his childhood and into adulthood, requiring consumption of as many as four asthma medications daily to keep his airways open. In 1978, Ptak sought treatment at the nation’s premier asthma hospital. While there, he became enraged by the health advice proffered by a psychopharmacologist who was conducting a class for asthma sufferers, mostly elderly. “Anyone who followed this person’s recommendations would have ended up with an altered body chemistry,” he recalls. “I thought, this is ludicrous and walked out.”

Ptak knew a little something about body chemistry because he was a neuropsychologist doctoral candidate at City University in New York. Shortly after that incident, he ruptured a disc in his neck and one in his lower back. Although he had been souring toward traditional western medicine ever since the incident at the asthma hospital, friends still had to force him to try a chiropractor. “I flat-out did not want to go,” he recalls. “I had been taught that chiropractors were quacks and frauds.”

Eventually, he relented to placate his pals. After an hour listening to the chiropractor explain the principles underlying his brand of care, Ptak was convinced enough to allow the doctor to work on him. That same day, Ptak made the decision to drop out of graduate school and quit his job as a researcher with the National Institutes of Health, because the encounter with the chiropractor was so impressive. Soon, the asthma was gone and the ruptured discs healed. “For the next 5 years,” says Ptak, “I worked for my dad at the manufacturing plant he owned. But I also hung around the chiropractor’s office just to be able to soak up everything he said.”

In 1982, Ptak decided to go to chiropractic school. He chose a California school—Los Angeles Chiropractic College—mainly because he wanted a change of scenery. He graduated cum laude in 1985 and remained in the state to start his practice that same year.

If At First You Don’t Succeed
Initially though, Ptak was adrift as a doctor. “I was confused about what a chiropractor was,” he says. “I went to school knowing the power of principled chiropractic because I had experienced firsthand the healing power of the body when the nervous system functions without interference. However, I somehow lost that awareness in school. The college offered only one semester of chiropractic philosophy, so we weren’t taught chiropractic as I had experienced it and understood it to be.”

His practice languished as a result. Then, in 1994, he gained a mentor who reintroduced him to the possibilities offered by principled chiropractic. From that point, everything began to click for Ptak. Filled with a new vibrancy, he proceeded to revamp his practice from the ground up.

Ptak adjusts a patient in one of his treatment rooms, all of which are connected by creating a doorway in the adjoining wall.

Some of the changes were intended to enhance efficiency. For example, Ptak moved his treatment rooms closer together so that he would not have to walk as far between them when seeing patients. By saving steps, he could devote more time to individual patients or see more patients per day. Either way, it also meant he was less likely to be tired by the close of business.

He also brought aboard more useful equipment. This included an X-ray, a surface electrography, thermography, and a spinal analysis machine (SAM®) with a bilateral scale for postural checks. “By the ‘90s, people had become very visually oriented, so it was helpful to show rather than just describe what was going on inside their bodies,” he says. “You can convey a lot of information just by letting a person look at a scan of how the nervous system is working too hard and also how the muscles are out of balance.”

He started adopting stronger promotional techniques as well. Recently, for instance, he ran a St Patrick’s Day new patient and reactivation special: $17 (the 17th of March being St Patrick’s Day) for an exam including two X-rays and a report of findings. “We also have monthly promos tied into one or more themes,” he says. “To call attention to the promos, we decorate the office and adjusting rooms in accordance with the chosen theme or themes.”

But the most significant and meaningful change was Ptak’s decision to fully embrace the ideals of principled chiropractic. “I began to live a chiropractic lifestyle rather than trying to alter the principles of chiropractic and make chiropractic fit my life as before,” he explains. “Because of this, chiropractic now became easy. People began to respond to my message as never before.”

Ptak says his practice soon thereafter became a powerful magnet for people seeking the truth about good health and for those hungry to embark on a journey of self-discovery.

Patients Beget Patients
Today, new patients find their way to Ptak almost exclusively through referral from satisfied existing patients, a process he encourages. “Once people thoroughly understand what true chiropractic is all about and begin to experience its benefits, they will be zealous in telling family and friends about it and will also persistently cajole them to come along and to see for themselves,” he says

Brigitte Garrett, CA, coding analyst, discusses insurance and billing issues with Ptak.

Ptak also promotes patient-based referrals by recommending that new patients bring their closest family and friends for the presentation of his report of findings. “The primary reason I like to have each person accompanied by loved ones is so that they can better assist the person help himself or herself,” he says.

“This is good for the person, too, because, people who think they are really unhealthy will appreciate having mom, dad, spouse, adult children, coworkers, or whomever with them for moral support and comfort. And it is good as well for the family and friends because, since the person is someone they deeply care about and are concerned for, they’re going to want to hear straight from the doctor exactly what the findings are.

“Second, it’s a way to draw all these other people into my office so they can get to know me, learn something about chiropractic, and perhaps be inspired to become members of my practice themselves. And many of them do.”

New patients are also attracted to the practice through a radio program in which Ptak is involved. The show is called, “Waking Up In America,” and Ptak is responsible for producing one of its segments, which he himself hosts.

“‘Waking Up In America’ is put together by one of my patients, who invited me to participate 2 years ago, “he explains. “The mission of the show is to make people’s lives better by giving them useful information, so a chiropractic segment fits right in. My segment, “Straight Talk,” airs every Wednesday at the lunch hour, and it is heard on a local station plus the Internet [www.heavenincorporated.com]. Each week, I have a different guest—a chiropractor—and we discuss various issues from the perspective of principled chiropractic.

“It’s exciting on a number of different levels,” adds Ptak. “People in the listening audience become intrigued by what’s being discussed, and will go seek out a practitioner of principled chiropractic as a result. Some of those listeners choose to come to my office, other to the office of the guests. Sometimes my guests, when they’re back in the offices, make referrals to me, as do other chiropractors who have been tuning in. Also, a lot of the people who are already members of my practice regularly listen to the show and love being able to tell their family, friends, and coworkers, ‘Hey, that’s my doctor talking. He and his guests have some truly important things to say about health; you ought to start listening too.’”

Advertising is expensive in the Los Angeles metro area (which encompasses Santa Monica), so Ptak has not gone that route to attract patients. He will, however, begin to advertise once he moves his office to its new location, about 3 miles east. At that time, he will need a means of quickly introducing himself to the neighborhood, and advertising will be a good vehicle for that.

Ptak is leaving his familiar digs for a couple of reasons. One, parking is always difficult. His building’s lot is seemingly forever full, so patients often must circle the block in search of an on-street space. “After driving around four times, a person will say, forget it, and that’s maybe the last we’ll see of him,” he says.

Ptak’s other reason for moving is that he is landlocked by being so close to the beach. “The beach is far enough away that it doesn’t do anything to enhance the experience people receive when they come see me, but it’s close enough that it severely limits my geographic market reach to the west of here,” he says.

The new inland location Ptak has chosen is in a less congested area and is easily accessible by freeway—he estimates his current patients will typically save about 20 minutes in travel time. It also features a generously sized parking lot that will allow him to see significantly more patients.

“The advantages of this new location alone will be enough to cause my practice to experience amazing growth,” he says. “It’s going to be the practice of my dreams.”

Rich Smith is a contributing writer for Chiropractic Products.

Ptak can be reached via email: in8one@earthlink.net.