Why Must I Explain Medical Necessity to My Chiropractic Patients?
When a chiropractic practice fine-tunes their practice processes including compliant billing, effective documentation, and meaningful clarity of definitions like medical necessity, those changes may seem huge, especially as you communicate these ‘new’ concepts to your chiropractic patients.
There are key points throughout the patient’s experience in your office where careful explanation of medical necessity is required. Focus on these points in the relationship with your new or established chiropractic patient to ensure your patient clearly comprehends the critical concepts – medically necessary care vs clinically appropriate care in a chiropractic practice.
When Should I Explain Medical Necessity to My Chiropractic Patients?
There are several times during the chiropractic doctor-patient relationship that you should address the definition of medical necessity and the chiropractic patient’s financial responsibility.
New Chiropractic Patient Consultation – To set the tone of the chiropractic doctor-patient relationship, and assist your chiropractic patient with an awareness of your billing policies, begin by ‘training’ your patient in how to assist you with proper chiropractic documentation of their ‘lack of’ or ‘return to’ optimal function.
Chiropractic Report of Findings (ROF) – Use this opportunity to explain what you’ve found during your initial data gathering throughout their first chiropractic visit. Also, lay out the expectations of how things work in your chiropractic office. Don’t overlook this important first step in your chiropractic doctor-patient communications process.
Converting Existing Chiropractic Patients to a New Way of Thinking – Once you have mastered talking to your new chiropractic patients about your chiropractic office procedures, slowly begin communicating with your existing chiropractic patients. Take it one step at a time. Target those who are coming up to their next re-examination, then target those chiropractic patients who are on monthly maintenance care, and then target those chiropractic patients who just ‘pop in,’ for example. Each established chiropractic patient conversation will get your closer to your ideal chiropractic practice, one patient conversation at a time.
KMC University provides a valuable service for chiropractic providers. I purchased a library membership and a coach to guide me as I audited and made changes to clinic SOPs. This program is useful in ensuring compliance, training staff, and confirming the decisions I make for the practice. Even though the practice is operating smoothly, I rely on KMC University to keep me informed of updates and changes in the industry. I continue to be a KMC member and utilize an individual coaching session as the need arises. You will not go wrong with KMC University. From the help desk to Kathy Weidner herself, every individual I have encountered has been friendly, helpful, and provided value.