Fear of the unknown is one of the reasons why people might be reluctant to visit a new chiropractor for the first time. If we can clear up any uncertainty about what’s going to happen when you come to our office, it’ll go a long way towards removing stress. Let’s discuss what we do here at Tulsa Spine and Rehab so you’ll be prepared ahead of time.
Getting Ready
We like to do most of the legwork related to the administrative side before the patient comes into our office. We’ll send you an email so you can fill out the relevant paperwork online. We want to learn information such as why you’re coming in, general demographic information, whether you’ve had a significant health history, what you’ve done for this type of complaint, if you’ve had any surgeries, and if you’re taking any medication.
When you first step into our clinic, you’ll likely speak with someone at the front desk to verify benefits and determine what your specific plan allows. Most chiropractors are in a network with some type of insurance company. We’re contracted with most of the major carriers here in the state of Oklahoma. Of course, there’s also an emerging trend in healthcare where a lot of physicians are moving to more of a cash-based model.
No Long Wait
Our goal when you get here is to already have all of your information in our system. That way our staff will greet you and you’ll be ready to go. I think one of the things that gets us turned off with medical offices is the long wait. You might regularly have to wait upwards of 20 minutes when you walk into your primary care physician.
When I first started practicing 16 years ago, I decided that I wanted to run my office differently from the others. We know your time is just as important as ours, so we need to make sure that we don’t make you wait nervously when it can be avoided. If you’re scheduled for an 11:00 appointment, we want to get you started by 11:01.
Building a Relationship
In today’s medical landscape, when we go to a physician they tend to do a poor job of explaining what’s wrong in a manner that we can understand. If patients are given recommendations, what exactly are they supposed to do? Are there going to be side effects? Is it going to hurt? When you visit with me I want to make sure that you feel at ease about what we’re doing on that day. We’ll be sure to explain exactly what we’re going to do all along the way.
Over the next 30 to 45 minutes of our first office visit, I’m going to go through your history with you and have a discussion about what you’ve done in the past. I want to learn if there are any contributing factors (like if you were in some type of accident). I’m trying to establish rapport because I owe it to the patient to put them at ease and make them feel comfortable. I think it’s important to let patients know that I’m there to do whatever I can to make them feel better. If I can’t do it myself, I’m going to make the appropriate recommendations.
Exam, Diagnosis, & Treatment
Next, we’ll do some orthopedic neurological tests including different types of movement patterns to determine if there are contributing factors to the problem. I sold my X-ray unit years ago because I don’t think it’s necessary to shoot X-rays on every patient that walks in the door. However, I do think that X-rays are a very important diagnostic tool along with MRI and CT.
After I examine the patient and determine what their issue is, I’ll talk with them about the diagnosis in lay terms. We’ll go through a plan with the things I think we can do to help. It could be manipulation, myofascial therapy, clinical massage, physical therapy, or acupuncture. We’ll go through the treatment options and discuss how each would potentially apply to their condition. From there, I’ll give patients a chance to ask any questions they might have. (I think this is another aspect that clinics can easily overlook.)
Then we’ll get into duration and frequency. As I’ve said before, I’m a firm believer of quick and efficient treatment plans. That does’t necessarily revolve around the length of the visit itself—it’s also about the frequency of a patient coming back to our office. Three times a week for four weeks has never been my preference. Instead, I think that my goal is to get people better as quickly as I possibly can. Then I can provide them with the tools to maintain and manage the situation on their own.
The last thing we’re going to do on a patient’s first visit is make them feel better. One of the main reasons the patient came to visit us is because they’re hurting. Clinics will often examine a patient and then tell them to come back at a later date. That doesn’t make much sense to me—if I can make the patient feel a bit better with some form of treatment or recommendation, I think that’s what they deserve.
If you have absolutely any questions about your first visit to our office, contact us online or give us a call at (918) 743-3737.
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