Upon graduation of chiropractic school in April 2014, I started an independent contracting position with my field doctor in my hometown. I thought that’s where I wanted to be and could learn from the chiropractor who I had grown up adjusting me. After getting my feet wet a little, I started to learn about the business aspect and insurance. However, what I didn’t understand was if what we were doing was legal or not. I began to realize things weren’t getting done correctly after I noticed the doctor filling out paperwork for a patient visit that was months ago for an audit. I thought it was strange at the time. The longer time I spent there, the more I questioned the legality of everything.
After a long 6 months, I realized this was not the place I wanted to be and I needed to get out. I put a few resume’s out and eventually an integrity doctor took notice in mine. We had our initial interview and she gave me the layout of the office and how it worked. I was blown away by the professionalism of not only the staff but the office as well. How it ran, how it looked, the amount of people they were able to touch on a daily basis. At the second interview, this integrity doctor told me she wanted me as part of her team but if I didn’t feel like it was the right fit that she’d help me find something to get out of the bad situation I was in.
I took the opportunity and have never looked back. I had been given an opportunity to not only serve the community through chiropractic care but work with a phenomenal team whose main goal was integrity, not only for themselves but for all of their patients as well. As part of our doctors’ training, we went over documentation meticulously to make sure we were doing things the correct and legal way. Every day we trained on being better doctors which in turn helped professionally and personally. All on the basis of integrity.
I’ve learned through integrity that doing things the right way doesn’t always mean it’s the easiest way. As we continued to grow with our documentation and leadership skills, we learned that billing insurance for maintenance care flat out wasn’t legal. It was a hard transition, switching all of our patients from their insurance to time of service for wellness care. It was definitely a trying time and learning experience. Our colleagues who weren’t with Integrity Doctors were still billing insurance for maintenance care which was frustrating. However, we actually found that patients valued us and their services more because we had the integrity to do the right thing.
That brings us to the core values. There isn’t a single other chiropractic community that focuses on core values and success principles. There isn’t a single day that goes by that a patient doesn’t say how much they appreciate our passion, our customer service and our integrity. All of which we learned from the core values and success principles. The success of the office is not measured by collections but by the number of peoples’ lives that we continue to change every single day. I know what it is like to work in a non-integrity office and I will never go back to that.
Thank you Integrity Doctors.
Dr. Anna Schueneman