Survey of Income Comparison: General Practice and Sports Certified Doctors of Chiropractic

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in reported gross billings and collections between doctors of chiropractic who have obtained a certificate of additional qualification (CAQ) in sports medicine compared with those without a CAQ in sports medicine. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. An e-mail invitation to participate in an anonymous survey was sent to doctors of chiropractic who hold active certifications with the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians. The respondents were provided a link to a web-based survey that was constructed with similar questions to a national chiropractic survey issued by Chiropractic Economics (CE) for the same year (2015). Results: Three hundred forty-nine sports medicine CAQ doctors of chiropractic responded (23.8% response comparison to 719 CE respondents. The CAQ respondents averaged $722 983 in gross billings (9.8% response rate) compared with $539 046 by CE respondents. Sports medicine CAQ doctors of chiropractic averaged $452 376 in gross collections (10.4% response rate) compared with $348 773 by CE respondents. Conclusion: An analysis of these 2 surveys illustrates that CAQ respondents report higher total annual gross billings and collections than the CE respondents. Improving study methodology may improve response rates and garner a more accurate representation of any differences between doctors of chiropractic with and without CAQs.