Do I need a referral to see a Doctor of Chiropractic?
You do not need a referral to see your chiropractor. Doctors of chiropractic (DC’s) are considered first contact or primary care providers.
What are primary care providers?
Primary care providers are by definition: a person who helps in identifying or preventing or treating illness or disability. Each state has regulatory boards to help patients get similar standards of care allowing DC, MD, DO, NP, and others to be capable of being your primary contact. When looking for a primary care provider you want to consider their background or training. If you want to do things in health more holistic you would consider more of a holistically trained physician like a chiropractor (DC). If you align with more conventional care, then I would consider more of a western medicine approach such as with a traditional MD, DO, or nurse practitioner (NP).
How the provider is trained in school is how they will treat in office. If you consider this, then you will then have a better experience with the provider you pick to handle your care.
Are chiropractors doctors?
Chiropractors are doctors. Chiropractors go to chiropractic school where they learn all about the body, its systems, how to diagnose and treat the body and its conditions.
Chiropractors have to obtain at least 90 credits, and can obtain their bachelors of science degree prior to starting graduate school. Upon completion of chiropractic school each doctor of chiropractic will have their associates degree, bachelors degree in science, and their doctorate degree.
Here are some of the classes and subject we take during our time in graduate school: anatomy/embryology, physiology, pathology, chemistry/biochemistry, microbiology, neurology, psychology, obstetrics/gynecology, X-ray, and orthopedics. Chiropractors and medical doctors take the same classes but at different amounts of focus in them. Many people don’t understand the similarities of each degree. Here is a paper explaining this for clarity.
Do I take insurance?
At PTM & C, we value our patients. This means valuing your wallet too. What I mean by this is we keep our fees low by keeping our overhead low. We do not take traditional medical insurance. We accept flex spending accounts (FSA) and health savings accounts (HSA). Super bill furnished upon request.
You must always call your insurance provider, ask them what is covered for you, then decide how to go forward in your care. Some insurance companies cover many services we offer and some cover none. If you start to understand how your insurance works, you will be able to get the most of your medical insurance. Please ask if you have further questions.
What is a super bill?
A super bill is essentially an explanation of services to submit to your insurance company. It has our information, diagnosing codes (ICD-10), the information of the service provided (CPT codes), and the cost of that service in one convenient place. This is commonly needed for submission to your medical insurance for reimbursement.