How to Get More Chiropractic Patients to Commit to Treatment
Many chiropractic patients make the assumption – or even have an expectation – that their pain and discomfort can be relieved in a single chiropractic session. As any chiropractor knows, this is far from being the case; in fact, most patients should expect a series of treatments to relieve their issues effectively.
When faced with the prospect of multiple treatments, patients may withdraw due to fear, apathy or an inability to pay for more than one or two office visits. Chiropractic professionals should focus on communicating to their patients: the reasoning behind a multi-treatment plan and financing.
Chances are, a patient has bad physical habits that keep his condition from improving. He’ll keep making that repetitive motion, perhaps because his job depends on it.
He’ll try to maintain good posture, but the attempts may last only a few minutes before he returns to slouching at his desk or standing in a crooked posture.
He’ll lose hope that a pinched nerve or slipped disc can be fixed and may resort to painkillers for relief. A chiropractic professional can explain to the patient that a treatment protocol can retrain his muscles and skeletal structure, so it relieves discomfort.
The key word here is retrain. Think of a Bonsai tree: A master horticulturist doesn’t just take a pine branch and cut it down to size. Training a sapling to grow in a certain way takes training, over time, with physical support.
Small adjustments are made, and the tree grows into those adjustments incrementally. The supports are adjusted until the tree has reached its final shape and no longer needs them.
Another benefit of patients enrolling in a chiropractic treatment plan – both physically and financially – is this: It’s akin to preventive medicine, and will likely also prevent the need for painkillers and even invasive surgery.
If the prescriptions only mask pain and don’t serve to correct the root problem, patient dependence on them can occur. Chiropractic is considered a medicine- and surgery-free practice for pain relief and pain management.
Once the patient understands the need for a treatment protocol, the next step involves explaining his different payment options. If your practice offers in-house financing, that could appeal to patients whose credit is less than ideal.
Otherwise, there are a handful of well-respected medical financing programs for patients to investigate. All in all, the benefits of chiropractic treatment protocols all boil down to surgery-free treatment with care, over time, and without prescription medicine to mask pain.
And when the only other option toward pain relief involves potentially invasive surgery, pain medicine and lengthy recovery periods, who wouldn’t want to finance a chiropractic wellness plan? It’s easy and convenient to enroll in chiropractic financing for patients to help them overcome cost barriers to their health and wellness.
