Accident Or Trauma Care 

Explanation of care  
We see both Phase I and Phase II trauma related injuries in our office.  These injuries are mainly strain/sprain to the joints and soft tissues of the spine.  Soft tissue injuries are common in accident cases.  They usually cause acute vertebral subluxations or acute exacerbations of pre-existing chronic subluxations.  This often results in pain, limitation of movement, muscle spasm and some inflammation surrounding joints.  They may cause some short-term disabilities but seldom cause permanent disabilities if proper care and management are done soon enough.  Total disability does not usually exceed three to five days in Phase I trauma injuries.   Phase II injuries may cause up to three to five weeks of total disability. 

Terms of acceptanceWhen a patient seeks care for an accident and we accept a patient for such care, it is essential for both to be working for the same goal.  In this way there will be no confusion, misunderstanding or disappointment.  When we accept a patient for any reason, we have two main concerns: their health and our reputation.  This is especially true in accident cases where third parties are involved.  If we do not get the desired results or if we drag your care out longer than is customary for your type of injury, it is not good for you or for our reputation.  The following is a list of responsibilities that we have found must be agreed upon before accepting patients for accident care. 

Our Responsibilities
1.       Correct Your Acute Subluxations:  Our main job in caring for these injuries is to correct the acute subluxations caused by the accident    and to restore you back, as near as possible, to your pre-accident condition.  This usually requires a series of specific spinal adjustments.  In addition to your adjustments, we may recommend extra rest in the beginning and special exercises as your condition warrants.
2.       Make Your Care As Short As Possible:  Soft tissue injuries usually heal back in the first five to eleven weeks following the accident. These cases require intensive care as early as possible to prevent tissues from healing back wrong.  If they are allowed to heal back wrong during this important period, it makes our work much harder and can lead to permanent problems.  Our policy is to see you very frequently for the first three to five weeks during this "healing period."  This usually requires some nine to fifteen visits followed by a reevaluation of your condition.  If we find that you are not at least fifty percent better at the end of this time, we strongly consider either a change in our care, a referral to someone else or both.  If we find that you are much improved but your problems are not totally resolved, a second period of less vigorous care is recommended.  This period usually involves eight or fewer visits over four weeks.  Finally if you are progressing but significant problems still remain, a third period of minimal care may be indicated.  This usually involves four or fewer visits over one month.  Your progress will be evaluated at intervals throughout your care.
3.         Assist You In Receiving Payment From The Responsible Party:  We do accept most accident cases under our primary care program and will prepare insurance forms to assist you in making collection from the insurance company.  Please remember that under Georgia law the insurance company's responsibility is to you and not to us.  This also applies even if you have an attorney.  We cannot accept responsibility for collecting your insurance claim or for negotiating a settlement for a disputed claim.

Your Responsibilities
1.         You Must Be Regular With Your Visits:  You must see us for the recommended frequency of your adjustments.  Often patients feel better after their first few visits and begin to skip visits.  Some will even wait a month between visits allowing uncorrected problems to heal back wrong.  They then return for care, often in much pain, expecting their insurance company to pay for it.  This is very frustrating to both doctors and insurance companies. It drags your care out much longer than is normally required and may interfere with our ability to help you obtain your desired results. It does not work in accident cases.   Caution:  If you go longer than two weeks past any scheduled appointment, without contacting us, we will assume that you wish to terminate your accident care.  At this time we will close out any pending claims.
2.         You Must Cooperate Fully:  This applies to everything that we may ask you to do or not to do in order to get well as quickly as possible.  This also means that you must furnish us all the necessary information regarding your accident such as special authorization forms, accident reports etc. 
3.         You Must Accept Your Financial Obligation: All of our services are rendered and charged to you.  Even though an insurance claim is filed, you will receive a statement each month if your account has a balance due.  You are responsible for payment of your account within the limits of our credit policy.  We require each patient to pay at least ten percent of any unpaid balance at the end of each month until a settlement is reached or until the third party reimburses you.  Full payment is due at the time a settlement is made.   For your convenience, we accept both Master Card and Visa. 
Special Note:  Spine Care Center is a Chiropractic Health Care Center. Our only service is to provide the very best in Chiropractic care. All of our procedures and fees are based on this premise.  We are able to see most accident cases under our primary care program.  Our low fee system does not however, permit us to do intensive insurance work that involves disability ratings, extensive narrative reports to attorneys, or make court appearances in cases where litigation is involved.  

Cases of this nature certainly need and deserves Chiropractic care.  If you strongly suspect your condition may require these services, please notify us at once. We will make arrangements with a chiropractor of your choice, or assist you in obtaining a chiropractor whose office procedures and fee systems are structured to better fit your needs at this time.  You may transfer back to our office for care, if you wish to do so, once you have terminated your claim for these special needs.