Q: I have a predominately PI practice and I have read your personal injury workbook; My question is how can I do a more effective job of converting personal injury patients into long-term maintenance patients after their case has settled??? A: Thanks for your e-mail. The magic of creating a Wellness Patient from a PI patient begins from day one. To be realistic .. a number of PI patients are just there because they want to settle something and can care less about their health .. those you have to go with the flow with. The others you can be educating about Wellness and Chiropractic and offer options for care beyond their crisis care for their injury. I would recommend a knee to knee discussion of the subluxation and the reality of posture and neurological stress and how an injury .. such as a whiplash ..can impair the innate ability to heal. Bring into the mix the three types of patients .. the first is there for pain reduction only .. we call this patch up or relief care. The second understands the reality of posture and health and continues beyond immediate relief for a correction or wellness care .. this can take 12 or more months of a reduced schedule but on going care. By the way .. this will be ebyond the schedule for your accident care and would be your responsibility (you may be able to throw in their health insurance at this point if you haven't used it). The third patient continues beyond wellness or relief and maintains their spinal care and spine. We call this maintenance care. In fact I have been under maintenance care since entering chiropractic school. Create a letter that fits your philosophy that you can give them for their reading and then ask them what they want to do before their schedule ends.