Question
Hi Dr. Arnone,

I had been seeing a straight Chiropractor for the last five weeks.  I went in because of lower back pain.  It is a practice of four Chiropractors.  I never saw the founder though he must of been at the other office they have.  I noticed right from the first visit they were always busy.  The doctor I had was very nice and insisted I call him by his first name.  My insurance didn't cover chiropractic visits so he did an evaluation and X-ray for free.  When I went back for my second visit he went over the X-rays with me and showed me where my lower back was shifted over a bit and wasn't straight.  Then he came up with this plan where I had to come 3 x/week for six months and then once per week.  He insisted he could straighten my spine within this time frame.   He told me I needed to order Orthodics for my feet which I did to the tune of $550.00 for two pairs.  He then told me he was handing me off to the associate chiropractor in the office and then I had a visit with the financial person going over the plans that I could choose from.  They wanted me to fork over $3300.00 right up front or over three month period.  I said that I needed to think about it and I kept on going once a week and just paid per visit.  But I have to tell you the last visit was not very good.  First off when I was waiting I overheard the Financial person telling a patient that she had to pay because of her deductible and she wasn't very pleasant about it.  She also did in a public forum.  The women was young and pregnant.  Then I was lead to another part of the clinic where I was to receive my adjustment.  I had always received all the others in a private room.  I noticed the two chiropractors were working on other patients and I was told to lay down.  I sat down.  He came over and ask me how I was and to lay down.  He spent a maximum of five minutes on adjusting me if that.  I realized that all the other visits the adjustment was five minutes if that.  So you figure you have the two of them doing this all day and that is quite a profit margin.  I paid $45 for five minutes worth of work.  The thing that even shocked me more is that they do adjustments on newborns.  So I said that was it for me.  In my opinion this practice of whatever you will call it is a fraud.  I found another chiropractor who only charges $35 and spends at least half hour to an hour with you.  He isn't a straight chiropractor and I feel better with that.  I didn't want my neck adjusted since I was there for my lower back.  I need to report this practice to the local BBB and Attorney Generals Office.  It is a shame because these two young Chiropractors are both very gifted but they are forced to rush around to full a quota.  I needed to let you know this so you are aware of what some of your fellow Chiropractors are up to (no good).  

Thank you,
Mary

Answer
Mary,
The part about the financial person being rude about money, is certainly not a good situation. Neither is the fact that you were handed off to another doctor but that happens sometimes.  The orthotics can help you to be more balanced and possibly hold your adjustment better, although I do not incorporate them in to my practice and I have patients holding for months at a time.
When I check someone's nervous system, I am able to use a highly sensitive instrument and do a few other checks to back it up, this only takes a few minutes on a usual office visit.  If I find that I need to adjust a patient it then only takes another minute or two.  Therefore all in all, it may take 7-8 minutes from start to finish on a usual office visit.
It really only takes a minute to adjust someone, try to understand that you are not paying for a person's time, you are paying for a desired result, which is to get well.  
If those doctors help people to get well, than I say that they are doing great, and that they deserve every penny of that $45.  How much is your health worth?  Can you even put a number on it?
Now on the other end of that, if they are running a mill, and just getting people in and out as fast as possible to make as much money as possible and are not truly serving people by helping them to get well, than they are not practicing "Straight Principled Chiropractic" and deserve the "bashing" that you are writing about them.
Did they help you at all in the last 5 weeks?  That is the question that I want to know.
Because there may be times that I see a patient for only about 5 minutes and not even adjust them, only check their nervous system for them, and they pay more than $45 for that.  They pay it because they understand that I am helping them to get well, and up to this point no one else has been able to do that.  They have also spent much more at these other doctors who have failed them anyway.
I probably should not compare myself to any of these doctors because my clinic is a sub-specialty of chiropractic and is very different to any clinic that you have ever been to.  We tend to see the worst of the worst patients in town, the ones that no one has been able to help for many years.
I am not saying that you are right and I am not saying that you are wrong.  I do think that if they helped you to improve your health, then they are probably worth it.

Yours in Best Health,
Dr Rob Arnone, DC