About once a week I get a reaction from a patient that I have to laugh at. After telling them I don’t need to see them for a while, they’re apt to look at me as if my cheese has slipped off the cracker. If they’ve come from another chiropractor they were usually encouraged to come more often, not less. NO contracts, NO long-term commitments. In fact, no commitments at all!
“OK, instead of seeing you next week let’s schedule you in three to four weeks.”
“Wait….what? You DON’T want to see me?”
“No, you’re progressing nicely and I see no reason to bring you in again for a few weeks. Of course, if something happens, come on in but otherwise I’ll see you in about a month.”
“I’ve just never had a chiropractor who told me NOT to come in.”
Probably half of my new patients have been to other chiropractors and, unfortunately the norm was to get them in the office as many times as they could. Usually they were going to chiropractors that took insurance, so the office knew that the patient was “allowed” 30 visits a year so they would bring them in 30 times.
My care is not based on how many visits you’re allowed by an insurance company, but on quantifiable metrics that we both agree to on starting care. Generally, within a week most patients are at about 80% and we start curtailing the treatments. One of the hardest parts of my job is trying to convince those patients that have been going to chiropractors once- or twice-a-week for years (even decades!) to see me once a week, then once a month, then quarterly, etc.
I have a great reputation in Knoxville for being that chiropractor that will fix people in as few visits as possible and will NOT prolong care longer than necessary. That is why about 70%+ of my new patients are from referrals. My patients trust me to look after their well being, not maxing out their visits each year. The vast majority are out of the acute care phase within 2 weeks. In fact, about half of my new patients are mostly done with care in just 3 visits.
So if you’re looking to get out of pain as fast as possible, not go to an office that requires multiple visits a week for weeks or months on end, this is the office for you. We earn our patients’ trust.
