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FOR NEW PATIENTS
Office Protocol
New Patient Forms
Insurance Coverages
CareCredit
In this era of Obama care and electronic health records, the protocol has changed from what you may have experienced in the past in other offices. First of all, we do not immediately treat patients since we are not an emergency room and many steps must be done before any treatment is rendered. We do not jump into cases with heroic care since spine pain is not like "pulling a thorn out of a paw." It more closely resembles a twisted knee that must be examined closely before treatment is done. We will, however, help you deal with the pain in other ways so you will probably feel better on the first day, but we will not do any spinal adjustments until the legal protocol is complete.

If you are in severe pain and cannot walk, you may want to visit the ER before coming to our office to make sure there are no cancers, fractures, or serious infections, which happen in a small percent of cases.

We are legally obligated to go through a few steps before any treatment is rendered:
1. Every patient must complete all entrance forms of current vitals, past illnesses, present medications, and current problems. You can download these forms below.

2. At the initial consultation, your case will be reviewed by the doctor and if he thinks you may be helped in our office, we will then conduct a spinal exam consisting of a thorough spinal physical exam and x-rays of the problem area. If you are in pain, we will do electro-therapy to decrease the inflammation and, if you are in severe low back pain, fit you with a lumbar support. No spinal adjustment will be rendered on the first day until you are examined. If you are a massage therapy patient, you still must complete these forms.

3. At the initial visit, you will be given a New Patient CD that introduces you to our office and explains the 3 Principles of Spinal Rehab. It is imperative you listen to this CD, otherwise you will not understand our type of care, what your problem may be, and what the exams reveal. You will also find this CD very interesting and informative about the changing paradigm in spine care. For instance, research now admits drugs, shots, and spine surgery are ineffective, costly, and disabling. Experts today admit spinal manipulation, decompression, active rehab exercises, and massage therapy are the best types of care, the least expensive, and the longest lasting compared to anything the medical world has to offer. (see Dr. Smith's new book for details)

4. After these exams are reviewed, on the next day we will give you a Report of Findings. The doctor will review the spinal physical exam and show to you the x-rays pictures. This is a very interesting time for you to see the spinal misalignments in your spine. If you want, you may bring your spouse or significant family members to this report so they can understand why you are suffering. Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words. Some patients even take cell phone pictures of their spine x-rays to show their friends and family.

5. At that time, if the doctor feels he can help you, he will give you a Treatment Plan consisting of  a series of spinal adjustments, physical therapeutics, spinal exercises, and massage therapy. Severe disc and sciatica cases will be treated with the DRX9000 spinal decompression.e

6. After your case is reviewed and your Treatment Plan covered, another new element is the Informed Consent where you must be told of your options to treatment and any risks involved.

7. If you agree to this  Treatment Plan and understand the Informed Consent, only then will treatment begin. Generally we treat patients for at least 10 visits then we do another re-exam to see your progress. Some patients may require up to 30 visits, depending upon the seriousness of their spinal condition.

8. After the re-exam, we will give you a Progress Report to discuss your status. If you are better, we will recommend supportive care so you don't relapse. If you are not better, we may continue care or change our treatments. For example, if you have low back pain, we will suggest you try the DRX9000 if traditional chiropractic care is not completely successful.

9. If this decompression treatment does not improve your condition, we will refer you to a neurosurgeon for a consultation. There are 5 reasons why will we refer you: 1) cancer, 2) fracture, 3) serious infections, 4) prolapse disc, or 5) those cases that simply don't respond to our care.

10. The majority of our patients do feel at least 50% to 90% improved by this time. The key decision now is to maintain your progress so you do not relapse as some do who neglect their maintenance care. Research shows the combination of daily exercises and periodic spinal care is the best way to keep your spine healthy. Most of us will have some areas of chronic weaknesses from old childhood or sport injuries, so you will be susceptible to relapse. Just as the dentists have taught you to do your daily dental hygienic care (brushing and flossing) and have periodic professional care, the same is true for your spine--daily spinal exercises and periodic spinal care.

Hopefully this review of our protocol for new patients will give you a clear understanding how our office works to give you the best in chiropractic spinal care.

To facilitate your time as a new patient at the initial consultation, you can download and print our initial office forms. This will save you nearly an hour of time on your first visit. When they are completed, just bring them with you to your initial consultation along with any x-rays or MRI scans you also may have. As you will notice, there are three Pain Indexes--neck, mid-back, and low-back. You only have to fill out those that relate to your main complaints. To begin this process, click on the link below.

Download Office Forms

When you are finished,
call for an appointment @

(478) 922-4091

Insurance Coverages

Most patients have some type of insurance coverage from Medicare to the federal insurances on base. Although some are better than others, let me explain how we handle insurance coverage and what is best for you to do.

1) TRICARE does not cover our care here. It does cover chiropractic care in other regions, but not at RAFB.

2) The Veteran’s Administration does cover chiropractic care on a limited basis. You have the legal right to get chiropractic care, but you must get diagnosed at their Dublin hospital before they refer you here.

3) Medicare does cover our care on a limited basis and will only pay 80% for spinal adjustments, not exams or therapy, and it only pays for acute care and not maintenance care.

4) Federal insurances vary quite a bit, but most of them do cover our care.

            1. Federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield #104 & #105 enrollment codes have a $20 co-pay and offer 12 chiropractic adjustments and 75 therapies, which includes massage therapy.

            2. Federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield #111 & #112 enrollment codes have a $25 co-pay and offer 20 adjustments and 50 therapies.

       3. Mailhandlers has a $20 co-pay and offers 26 visits for together for chiropractic and massage therapy.

5) United Healthcare administers the Georgia State health benefit plan for local teachers and has either a deductible or co-pay that allows 20 chiropractic and massage visits per year.

6) All Aetna programs are contracted through ASHN that allows 8 chiropractic visits then a clinical treatment form is submitted for further approval on future visits.

7) If you have any other insurance coverage, our staff will check individually since there are many types with varying coverage.

The DRX9000 spinal decompression is not covered by any insurance. You will be happy to know we offer the DRX at a greatly reduced rate. For example, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $200 per treatment, but we offer it for only $65 (plus any other therapies or procedures, of course). The standard DRX program consists of 30 visits and we re-evaluate every 10 visits to gauge your progress. Many patients use the following plan below to pay for this treatment and other non-covered treatments.

Financing with CareCredit®

After dealing with thousands of patients and their insurance coverage over the past thirty years, there are financial problems that may interfere with your care. Certainly as co-pays and deductibles increase and as coverage for treatment decreases, patients often do not get enough care for their condition. As well, paying high deductibles and/or co-pays on each visit can be a burden on patients with limited income who often discontinue care due to these initial high costs.

There is a better and more affordable way to handle the cost of care. Just like you can take out a Student Loan to finance your child’s education to avoid paying huge lump sums for tuition, books, and board each semester, there is an equivalent financing plan to cover your health care costs. Even better than a student loan, this plan is interest free if you qualify and pay it back within 18 months (like any business credit card, the vendor pays the interest fee).

This is why we offer CareCredit®, a healthcare credit card specifically designed to pay for treatments not covered by insurance. CareCredit has two unique features: every CareCredit transaction is eligible for a No Interest (if credit is approved and if paid in full within promotional period up to 18 months) or Low Interest Payment Plan and you can use the card at all healthcare practices that offer CareCredit.

Just like a student loan, you can pay affordable monthly payments so you don’t go broke getting well. You can also use CareCredit for other healthcare costs like dentistry, vision care, veterinarians, audiologist, cosmetic surgery, weight loss, orthotics, and other types of non-covered care that you may need. And you can use it again and again without having to reapply.

We highly recommend this program because we know the first month of care includes exams, x-rays, chiropractic care, massage therapy, and other therapies that are costly. With CareCredit, you can have the best of all worlds—1) the care you need 2) with an affordable monthly payment program 3) that is interest free.

If you use CareCredit, you can still submit your bill to the insurance company to get reimbursed for what they will cover.

You can apply online yourself to determine which program is best for you @ www.carecredit.com. If you are not computer savvy, our staff will be glad to assist you in this application process when you’re in the office.

This is a win-win program that many patients use now.

PS: Please send us your nice family and friends,
just like you! :)