Few purchases are more important to a chiropractic office than the table. In addition to space, technique, color, and size, a chiropractor must also consider financing options, warranties, and other factors.

To find out more about what chiropractors should take into consideration when buying a table, Chiropractic Products spoke with five experts on the topic. Mark Reiter is president, LSI International Inc. Julie Cox-Cid works with TRACK Corp in Spring Lake, Mich, in sales of the Cox Table. James Wake is eastern regional sales manager of HCMI in Springfield, Mo. Gary Huddleston, DC, is celebrating his 25th year as a practicing chiropractor and is the owner and founder of Eurotech Manufacturing and Elite Electromedical. J. Michael Hunter is general manager, Lloyd Table Co, Libson, Iowa.

How can a table manufacturer or distributor help a chiropractor avoid downtime if the table has a mechanical problem? What does an ideal warranty program entail?

Reiter: The best way for the manufacturer to help the doctor avoid downtime is to build a table from the beginning with service in mind. It should be simple for the doctor to perform simple maintenance. Electronics, motors, and moving parts should be easily accessible. Dealers should be well-trained in how to service the table or to be able to help someone else service it. Ideally, there is a network of dealers or service agents that can be called on at a moment’s notice to help get the doctor up and running again.

The ideal warranty pays for all parts and labor in the first year. After that, there should be no charge for technical support, and the manufacturer should have a network of technicians to call who can quickly access the doctor to perform a repair.

Cox-Cid: The manufacturer (or its distributor) must have a system in place to receive a call from the doctor who is having the mechanical problem at the moment, figure out the issue, and arrange for the issue’s resolution. Knowledgeable phone assistance, arrangement for a nationally contracted technician service that offers response time if on-site work needs to be done, of 24 to 48 hours and detailed work instructions for each part of the table are best to reduce downtime.

An ideal warranty program would include a period of time sufficient to inspire confidence in the owner/doctor that his table is working properly. Further, a usual parts/labor warranty would include overnight parts delivery (with detailed instructions for installation) for the warranty period.

Wake: Downtime may not always be avoided. One possible solution is to build the table in such a way that it is at minimum a bench table, even if all of its components are broken. This would allow the doctor to still do evaluations and some types of adjusting. An ideal warranty program is dependent on the point of view.  From the manufacturing side, the ideal program would be nothing at all. From the doctor’s side, it would be all parts and labor forever. The happy medium is, in my opinion, a 3-year warranty where applicable and 1 year on everything else. This shows willingness on our behalf to cover our equipment for a long period of time and gives a feel of comfort in the product.

Huddleston: Downtime and repairs are unfortunately real-life, and can never be avoided, but a good table company can make the best of a tough situation. Eurotech has a direct customer hotline to our shop foreman, who in turn handles all aspects of repair as quickly and efficiently as possible. Parts are often overnighted, and a repairman contacted immediately. Repairs are often completed in less than 24 hours. An ideal warranty program would give the doctor direct access to someone in charge of repair and warranty.  The ideal plan would also cover all aspects of the repair, and reduce doctor anxiety as much as possible.  Finally, the ideal warranty plan would be long enough to cover any problems that show up, and give the doctor peace of mind that the factory is behind him 100%.

Hunter: A manufacturer’s table design can be of great assistance to the doctor when trying to avoid downtime due to a mechanical problem. For example, adding manually activated drop sections to automatic activated drops, or being able to lower a table from an elevated or tilted position during times of electrical power loss, can be of great importance. In addition, having “plug-n-play” components make many repairs easy enough that the doctor or CA can do them; therefore, the need for a service tech may be unnecessary. However, having a qualified and competent service department is one of the manufacturer’s paramount obligations to the doctor of chiropractic.

What factors should a chiropractor take into account when choosing a color for the table? 

Reiter: I think the old-school thinking was to pick something neutral in case the office colors changed. I think today people are getting tables with more color and trying to enhance the look and feel of their office. If styles change, you always have the option of reupholstering the table later.

Cox-Cid: Table color is truly a personal-taste and room-decor issue. Some say lighter colors may show dirt more readily, but excellent cleaners are on the market that reduce this issue’s prominence.

Wake: The doctor should consider his office color scheme and also how the color will affect the mood and emotion of the patient. A lot of chiropractors take into consideration the effects of color on people and paint the clinic walls accordingly. I think they should consider the same thing in the color of their tables. They should also consider resale value. If they cover a table in pea green and want to sell it 7 years down the road, they may have some trouble.  

Huddleston: Actually, choosing a color for the table is often a difficult decision. Make sure the table color matches your decor and is pleasing to the eye. Loud colors may be in style or vogue for your area, but you want an inviting and relaxing color for your patients that says “welcome.” Often, light colors are harder to keep clean and need to be considered when you think about the types of patients who come in. If you are in an industrial area, darker colors may be more beneficial. If your patient load is more office workers, then lighter colors will also work. More than anything, just like the color you choose.

Hunter: When choosing the color for their table, the doctor will want to choose a color that fits with their adjusting room decor. Color is a matter of personal likes and dislikes. In general, the darker hues tend to show less dirt from daily use. Here at Lloyd Table Company, navy blue is by far the most popular color our tables are ordered in.

How can a chiropractor make the best decision on whether to lease or finance the table?

Reiter: Leasing allows the doctor to deduct the monthly lease expense, and purchasing allows you to deduct the complete price of the table as a capital expense in the year it’s purchased. If you lease or finance, you’ll obviously pay interest, but you can reduce your immediate outlay of cash. Credit cards have a little higher interest rate, but often have benefits like air miles or cash back. If the doctor has strong cash assets, he or she can simply write a check and save on paying the accumulated interest. Of course, in the end, leasing, financing, credit cards, or even paying cash is a very personal decision that should be made after consulting a tax adviser or CPA.

Cox-Cid: Financing and/or leasing the most important piece of equipment for the chiropractic physician's office—the adjusting instrument—is a most vital decision. It needs to be discussed in detail with an accountant who can recommend the best course for the business. Further, the accountant can also direct the doctor to appropriate credits that may be available, like the Americans with Disabilities Act tax credit (up to $5,000 per year on a purchase of more than $10,250) or special business tax deductions.

Wake: I always advise the doctors that I deal with to consult their accountant. Each doctor and each clinic has different needs at different times throughout any given year. It is too difficult to just give a flat answer of lease or finance or write a check.

Huddleston: Many new doctors in practice will choose to lease, as the payments are often quite low. Financing through a lending institution may have slightly higher payments, but overall, lower interest. There are also tax advantages to leasing that the doctor needs to discuss with his CPA or attorney, no matter if the doctor is newly in practice or a seasoned professional. Financing, leasing, paying cash—all of them have their advantages. The doctor just needs to explore what is best for them.

Hunter: When deciding to buy or lease your table, you must first assess your financial situation. Do you have a surplus of cash to make a direct purchase? Do you want to tie up that surplus of cash? If you don’t have a surplus of cash, you may consider a lease. With leasing, generally there is very little money down. That means you will have more money to invest in other revenue-generating activities. You may be able to deduct the lease payments from their corporate income, because the IRS generally does not consider an operating lease to be a purchase.

How long should a chiropractor reasonably expect a table to last?

Reiter: It probably depends first on the number of mechanical and electronic parts. I see tables traded out about every 10 to 15 years. However, a simple bench can be reupholstered many times over the years and last an entire career. I’ve personally seen hi-lo tables that were 30 years old and looked brand new. In the end, I think the determining factor is how the doctor cares for the table. If he or she performs simple routine maintenance, keeps the upholstery clean, does upkeep on any motors or gears, and treats the equipment with respect, the table will last a very long time.

Cox-Cid: The table’s life depends on use of the equipment by the doctor. His/her considering it  an “instrument” improves its lifetime. If the table is used gently and properly, it can last for a doctor’s career with, possibly, cushion replacement on occasion.

Wake: A chiropractor should expect a table to last the life of his or her practice, if properly maintained. I hear doctors saying all the time that they have a table that they have had for 12 years, and they bought it used from a guy that had it for 10 years. Doctors do not replace capital equipment when they should—only when they absolutely have to. This means that they will have a piece of equipment well beyond its realistic life expectancy, so a quality-built table that will last 10 years or more will be milked out for another 10 years, if at all possible.

Huddleston: Actually, a chiropractic table should last for the life of a practice. Granted, items will wear out and need replacing, but the table itself should continue on, maturing in age and expertise with the doctor using it. If quality components are used, such as machined parts instead of castings, and formed steel instead of cheap bent parts as many import companies use, then your table will grow old gracefully with you.

Hunter: When a table is purchased from a quality-minded manufacturer, it could last for generations. A quality-engineered table design, combined with quality components and a manufacturer committed to excellence, virtually guarantee a lifetime of service to the doctor.

How can a chiropractor use more than one adjusting technique on one table, so the patient doesn’t have to move from one table to another?

Reiter: Using one table for multiple techniques is certainly more economical for the doctor and more convenient for the patient. The most common combination table today is a flexion table with drops. Many of these tables also have a vertical height option to allow the doctor to raise and lower the table to more easily facilitate different techniques. Ultimately, using the same table for different techniques will mean a compromise to one degree or another, but might also pay off in economy and convenience.

Cox-Cid: In chiropractic, the physician’s choice of technique(s) plays a central role in the decision of what type of table that will be installed in the office. Choosing to specialize in one technique with the research support behind it is the best way to reduce a patient’s having to be moved from table to table. A chiropractor’s reputation will be established by his/her clinical outcomes, so the choice of technique is most important, so  the technique with the best research support and highest clinical outcomes must be considered. Then the best quality, safest, best supported by customer service and warranty, table is chosen. Options can be added to the main type of table necessary for the primary technique offered to accommodate other ancillary techniques and reduce the need to move patients.

Wake: This depends on the different techniques the doctor is trying to accomplish. If the doctor is very specific in his needs in the ordering process, or if the salesman is very thorough in his qualifying, most tables have enough options that dual techniques can be achieved with one table. Usually, firmer foam is needed or an advanced headpiece is needed in order to use multiple techniques with one table on one patient.

Huddleston: In today’s health care environment, diversity is the name of the game. Tables need to be designed to do a wide range of treatment options and yet be affordable. Flexion, extension, diversified, and physical therapies, are all modes of treatment used daily by the busy chiropractor. A table that cannot do these varied techniques costs the doctor in both time and money. Since the owner of Eurotech is a chiropractor, he understands the needs, different modes of treatment, and multiple techniques that a table must be able to do in order to be efficient and a benefit to the doctor, his practice, and his patients.

Hunter: It has been Lloyd Table Company’s underlying goal to produce tables that help achieve maximum efficiencies of the doctor/patient visit. Our tables are designed and built to encompass features required by the doctor who practices a multitude of adjusting techniques. For example, our Galaxy Ultimate is a hylo and elevation table that allows for Thompson drop work, flexion-distraction, Gonstead, Activator, and even the sacro-occipital technique.