WHAT TO EXPECT DURING YOUR FIRST VISIT
1. Intake Paperwork
The first thing that new patients handle is the paperwork. This is no different than in any other doctor’s office. With the intake paperwork, you describe the problems you’ve been having. Additionally, you review your past medical history (including any traumas, surgeries, infections and other medical problems).
The new patient forms can be filled out when you show up for your first visit. Or if you prefer, you can get the forms before you come in for your first visit via downloading them from this website. One of the benefits of getting the forms ahead of time is that it will reduce the time of your first visit. When you come in, we can go straight to the consultation (no waiting!).
2. Insurance Verification
If you have health insurance, please bring your insurance card and a photo drivers license with you. We will make a photocopy of them, and then our billing department will be happy to verify benefits and eligibility. The reason why we photocopy your drivers license is to protect you against identity theft.
3. Consultation & Case History
Once your intake paperwork has been completed, you will then have a five to twenty minute consultation with the Doctor. The consultation is where you get to tell the us what has been going on, where you’ve been hurting, how long you’ve had the problem, describe the severity and quality of the pain, what makes it better or worse, and other therapies that you’ve already tried. The Doctor will review your past medical history with you, and also review your work, social and family health history. We believe in doing a thorough case history because it can give us clues about the nature and cause of the problem. It is a very important component in forming an accurate diagnosis. During this consultation the doctor will deterine if you are a candiate for chiropractic and/or physical rehabilitation or if your case should be referred to another provider for your condition
4. Examination
Our primary goal is to objectively evaluate all the involved tissues (bones, muscles, joints, the neurology, etc...) in order to discover what exactly is wrong. This will then enable us to render the most accurate diagnosis possible. And from there, we can prescribe a treatment plan that is specific for your unique needs. Click here to see what you can expect from my examiniation
5. Discharge From First Day
After you have completed your consultation, examination and x-ray study, you will likely reieve some non-invasive care for pain relief and/or exercises or activity fo daily living education and tranining to prevent further injury/aggrevation to your condition or to relieve pain/increase funt ion. You then make an appointment for a follow up consultation called a “Report of Findings”. This special consultation is where the doctor and you will discuss what is going on, what we can do to help an estimate of how many visits it’s going to take and what it will cost. It is strongly recommended that you to bring your spouse or significant other to the report of findings. Additionally, we recommend that you schedule the report of findings the next day that the clinic is open.
NO ADJUSTING ON FIRST VISIT?........
As a rule I do not adjust patients on the first visit, and for a very good reason. There is no way for me to know ahead of time what the problem is, or if there is some kind of underlying pathology. I don’t yet know the extent of the degeneration & damage to your joints, discs and other structures. I don’t know the severity of the misalignment.
To protect you, I wait until I first have all of the information before I initiate treatment. You wouldn’t rush into surgery without your surgeon first having done full lab workups, having done x-rays and other imaging studies and having done a very thorough and comprehensive examination. Likewise, you don’t want to rush into a chiropractic care plan without your doctor first having all the information he needs to properly treat you.
I need time to develop your x-rays, analyze them and take precise measurements. I also need time to review the information from your case history, consultation and examination, X-rays, special testing results, or consult with any other doctors about your condition as needed. From there, I make a diagnosis of your problem and design a specific treatment plan for your condition(s).
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WHAT TO EXPECT DURING YOUR SECOND VISIT
1. Report of Findings
When you come back for your follow up visit, the first thing that happens is the report of findings. This is a very important consultation where we review all of the clinical findings with you, explain what we found, and let you know if we can help you (or if you need to be referred to another healthcare provider). The Doctor will make his recommendations for care and handle any questions you may have. The report of findings should take about 10-20 minutes (longer if you have more questions). At the report of findings, we will answer four key questions for you:
- Have we found your problem?
- Can we help you (or do you need to be referred to another doctor)?
- What is it going to take to fix the problem?
- What is it going to cost?
2. Financial Consultation
Following the report of findings, you will have a financial consultation with an ADVANTACARE Patient Advocate. We will review insurance benefits (if any) as well as whatever out of pocket responsibilities you may have. You’ll be given payment options and may choose whichever one is the most appropriate for you.
3. Start of Care
As soon as the financial consultation has finished, we can start your care program. Your first clinical visit can include a gentle chiropractic adjustment and any other therapies that the Doctor has ordered.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT ADVANTACARE CHIROPRACTIC?
Spinal structural correction, which utilizes highly specific, low force adjustments.
Physician supervised rehabilitation programs (specific to your needs).
Pain neutralization technique, which can shut off pain as easily as turning off a light switch.
Nutritional support - to foster healing at the chemical and cellular levels.
Fun and interactive patient education programs.
DO CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS HURT?
The vast majority of chiropractic patients report feeling no pain during an adjustment. In fact, they report feeling incredible relief FROM their pain! The adjustment is fast, and extremely effective at stopping your pain right then and there.
HOW LONG DOES A TYPICAL VISIT TAKE?
A typical visit lasts between 20 to 40 minutes. It can be longer as it varies depending on what kinds of therapies or rehab you need.
HOW MANY VISITS WILL I NEED?
The length of your care program depends on many factors: The extent of the problem, how long it’s been there, your own innate recuperative powers, complicating fact ors to your recovery such as diabetes, poor physical conditioning, obesity, etc. and to a very large extent how compliant you are with your program.
WHY DOES IT TAKE MULTIPLE VISITS TO FIX MY PROBLEM?
Chiropractic care is very much like physical fitness. It takes time to re-train muscles and ligaments. The research has shown that it requires three
times per week to make a physical change – be it physical fitness or spinal structural correction. After you’ve achieved the maximum correction, then it is appropriate to reduce the treatment frequency.
DO I HAVE TO GO TO A CHIROPRACTOR FOREVER?
You do not have to go forever. Some people go until they get out of pain, others choose to get out of pain and then go on to correct the structural problems that caused the problem in the first place. And a third group of patients choose to correct their spine and then take it to the wellness and prevention level. This is very similar to going to the dentist for regular check ups.
WHY DO YOU ORDER X-RAYS?
X-rays are ordered because sometimes pain may be due to a hidden, underlying cause. They enable the doctor to actually see the bones, note any malformations or to see pathology. X-rays are a valuable tool, used to help the Doctor of Chiropractic make appropriate choices (such as which technique to use). The correct diagnosis is half the cure. X-rays are ordered so that the chiropractic physician can make the most accurate diagnosis possible. An accurate diagnosis enables the doctor to prescribe the most appropriate treatment plan, so that the patient can get well. It’s my policy to perform an X-ray study on each area of complaint. I do this to protect my patients, because I am unable to detect pathology, or any other potentially serious problem just by looking at your body from the outside. I need to see your inside. X-rays are never taken for pregnant patients. If you have old (previously taken) films, please bring them in.
DO I NEED A REFERRAL FROM MY M.D.?
Most of the time, you do not need a referral or permission from anyone to see a chiropractor. However some HMO plans may require a PCP referral.
IS THERE A GUARANTEE OF RESULTS?
It is unethical for any healthcare provider (M.D.'s, D.O.’s, or D.C.'s alike) to guarantee results. While we can't guarantee results, I guarantee that I will do everything within my scope of care to help you. |
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