First impressions are critical and chiropractic care is no exception. A patient's lingering attitude toward a provider, and the chiropractic profession in general, is often strongly correlated to their first chiropractic experience. Consistent with efforts to improve the public's perception of ChiroCare contracted providers, ChiroCare developed a formal policy to outline office standards that will be applied to contracted providers at credentialing and recredentialing going forward. Some specific examples of these standards include:

• The chiropractor must not advertise free or discounted services such as examinations, x-ray or manual therapy.
• The office should be staffed with a least one-full time equivalent staff person who is present during patient contact hours.
• Nutritional supplements must be stored so they are out of reach of children.
• A non-emergency/ non-urgent care patient must not wait more than five (5) days from the time a request for appointment until treatment is rendered.

Please review the full policy at www.chirocaremn.org to ensure you are aware of all of these standards.  If your office is does not currently meet all of the listed standards, we suggest that you implement revisions to achieve compliance, avoiding potential issues, including possible provider termination, that may be raised through recredentialing, spot audits or member complaints.

Consistent presentation of professional business practices, in conjunction with other marketing and educational efforts, will help ChiroCare's network of providers emerge as the most trusted source of chiropractic care in the upper Midwest region.