WELCOME TO OUR CLIENT PORTAL
Here you will find all the admin information and resources you may need as a client of Dr Ben Phillips
I look forward to helping you move toward your Vibrant Life – achieving your health and life goals along the way.
This page outlines how I operate, and how you as my valued client fit into my matrix of delivering high quality healthcare.
Access the following client resources here:
Policies & Procedures
My intent is to support you to work toward and then continue to live with the very best health possible for you.
I hope you are (or will be) excited about how much healthier you will be with a more balanced and subluxation-free nervous system.
"Chiropractic, combined with Health & Wellness Coaching
is about being the BEST you can be, naturally."
My experience over 15 years of providing healthcare services, has shown me that best results occur in the shortest possible time, when there is agreement and co-operation between us. These policies or procedures are the matrix of how I operate and what my requests are of you, as a highly-valued client.
Understanding What I Do
This website holds a lot of information and resources to understand what I do and why.
If this is the first time you have ever been to a chiropractor, then it's possible you have already noticed that we do things differently to other health-related professionals - including your local GP.
There is a clear reason for this: the intention of our health centre is very different from orthodox medical practice.
I am NOT here to TREAT you, I CARE for you.
I am NOT here to FIX you, you fix YOURSELF!
I HELP you, COACH you, and ASSIST you to IMPROVE your body's FUNCTION, primarily by improving the communication loops between your body and brain
A healthy, honest doctor-client relationship is vitally important for us to foster.
I welcome your questions and encourage your interest to learn as much as you can about chiropractic care and about my approach to health and well-being.
Office Flow Procedures:
Our procedures are designed to get you great results AND achieve these results in a healthy, happy, healing atmosphere with utmost efficiency.
I want you time with me to be streamlined, convenient, and frustration-free, Your time is important to you – that makes it important to me too.
On arrival, please aim to relax for a moment and let the stress of the day subside.
I expect to run to time, however things can crop up that prevent this. I will always let you know if my timing is going to be impacted.
You can expect an apology if I keep you waiting!
Chiropractic care is NOT a ‘passive’ experience. I don’t just ‘do’ something to you while you simply lie there.
I’m assessing your spinal and nervous system function, and then introducing a precise force, with a specific intent to help your body adjust. It’s your body’s inborn intelligence (wisdom) that converts this input to meet its needs on any given day.
If you more consciously prepare, being receptive and ready for the best possible adjustment, the effects and success of an adjustment are likely to be heightened.
Rest, take a deep breath and ‘connect’ with yourself. Make sure you’re hydrated. Let go of the ‘rush’ of the day.
Self-focus is key. Find a way to develop ‘heart-space’ so your adjustment works its magic better.
I choose to adjust in an ‘open-plan’ environment, where multiple clients may be in the same space or on tables quite close together. This helps people share their experiences, and ask questions that can help someone else.
If you need privacy to share something confidential, please let me know and I will ensure I can meet that need.
At the start of every visit I will check in… “Is there anything new of different going on in your life?”
This question is to keep up to date on symptoms as well as your life more generally. Are there significant things, good or great, challenging or stressful that will help me ‘read’ your body better on this visit?
Please pay attention to your body and mind during and after an adjustment.
Some people notice immediate, overt change or sensations, for others these signals are quite subtle, and for yet others, there is no obvious sensations at all.
Please pay ATTENTION to your body and mind during and after an adjustment – in general as well where you’ve been adjusted.
Some people notice immediate, overt change or sensations, for others these signals are quite subtle, and for yet others, there is no obvious sensations at all.
The subtle signals could be a sense of warmth, tingling, a sense of ‘ease’, change in discomfort levels, improved range of movement, a sense of ‘opening up’, a good ‘electrical’ sensation along an arm or leg…and so much more. Some people after an adjustment report that their senses seem sharper, or their ‘brain-fog’ has disappeared.
Please know that as your body adjusts, it can release stored energy and emotion. Sometimes you may feel a need to cry or express something that has been locked up inside. This IS A SAFE PLACE for this, and you are welcome to let it out. Express, don’t suppress.
Please remember after every adjustment – give your nervous system more chance to heal, and maintain the effects of the adjustment it has just experienced.
Together, we’ve turned your power ON. Now KEEP the power on for longer!
- Rest here for a few minutes (at least) before you continue with life
- DRINK at least one glass of water befoer you go
- WALK for ideally 5-10 minutes before getting back into your car
- Keep yourself as BALANCED as possible for at least 2 hours after an adjustment
- carry your handbag instead of putting it over one shoulder
- Get your wallet OUT of your back pocket – permanently!
- FOCUS on your breath – calm, slow, deep.
- If you feel tired and you are able to let your body sleep – do it!
- Wallet in pocket
Please ask questions. Curiosity and a desire to learn is an amazing trait. As you learn more, you become conscious of more and different change in your ‘ecosystem’
Adjustment visits are designed to be efficient – we find where adjustments are needed and get to it!
This process of ‘turning your power on’ takes only a brief time with deep focus.
Chiropractor’s fees are not for a time-based service – my fee is an exchange in value for my expertise in assessing your body and applying what it needs.
I hope you never feel like ‘just a number’ though; I want you to feel connected, well cared-for, and ‘loved up’
There are times I may discuss some home-care or something else appropriate with you, however if know you are in need of an extended conversation or consultation, please ask for an extended appointment outside of ‘prime time’ (see below)
Payments & Changing Appointments:
When operating from a fixed location (i.e. when not doing house-calls) I have blocks of time I call ‘Prime Time’ – these times are popular times before and after work or school: 8am-9.30am and 3.30-5pm
I work toward maximising the number of appointments I can make available during these periods, to efficiently adjust people, quickly, yet with focus and care.
Longer appointments are scheduled outside of these times. If you need an extended appointment (see below), please let me know.
I can sometimes accommodate appointments ‘by appointment’ outside of my standard hours. Let me know if you need this service, and I can let you know if it can be done.
Because my office hours are sometimes altered in order to attend post-graduate and training seminars, and because I volunteer at personal growth workshops and events, I recommend that you schedule definite appointments.
I am often fully booked and I don’t want you to be disappointed or miss out on the care you need, because I are unable to ‘squeeze you in’ for an adjustment at short notice.
If you need to change your appointment time, I would ask that you reschedule to a new time on that same day, or re-book within 24 hours.
This is about ensuring you meet the clinical frequency suggestions in the care plan you agreed to with me when you first began care. This repetition is so important, particularly in the early stages of chiropractic care.
When rescheduling to a different time on the same day, please give me enough notice (min. 4hrs).
PLEASE DON’T just cancel your appointment and get in touch later to make another time at some future date.
This diverts my energy – when I can instead be focusing on clients.
From time to time people do miss appointments.
I understand that life gets busy and unforseen issues can arise. I will call you to make sure you are okay; and then set a new appointment to keep your care on schedule.
I can have a waiting list of people wanting adjustments, so a missed appointment prevents someone else (it might be you one day) from getting their spine and nervous system adjusted. Please give me enough notice so I can offer a time you are unable to attend to someone else.
Cancellations or Missed appointments are charged the full fee for service (I may waive these fees in some circumstances).
Rescheduling appointments (within the minimum 24hrs notice we ask for) attracts a 50% charge.
If you consistently miss your appointments, I will discharge you from care, or refer you to another health professional.
Your investment in your health (fees) is payable at the time of service or in advance. We do not run accounts in our health centre.
We want your care – for you and your family – to be affordable and a stress-free addition to your ‘health-style’.
We offer pre-payment packages (attracting discounts) AND we accept payment on the day of your visit. We do prefer pre-payments, as these streamline your visit with us from an administrative perspective.
Packages are shareable between family members and can be used in conjunction with private insurance rebates should you wish to.
We accept cash, EFTPOS, Visa & Mastercard as well as direct deposit.
More on Payment Options here
Most private insurance funds do provide rebate for chiropractic care (you do need ‘Extras’ cover). We offer Hicaps to make you claim to your insurance fund easier.
It is useful though, to understand that these funds are not focused on preventative and proactive healthcare strategies (they are really ‘sick-care’ insurance, not ‘healthcare’ insurance), meaning that initial care programs may not be fully covered. What your rebates are, and up to what limit each year will differ according to what level of cover and extras you hold.
Details about specific types of appointments:
I re-test and monitor the progress of everyone I care for. I call this a ‘Progress Check.’
I want to know how well I am meeting your expectations, and check what has changed for you, as well as what hasn’t – yet!
These appointments are scheduled in our extended appointment times (outside ‘Prime Time’)
I don’t want anyone to think they are locked in, or that chiropractic is ‘forever’ – unless you want it to be so.
Touching base at a progress check is vital to see where you feel you’re at, to see if chiropractic is still right for you, and also, for me to collect objective measurements.
Under recent regulatory changes, doing regular progress checks, and defining formal ‘care-plans’ is actually now something we are required by law to do.
We aim to check in at least every 12 visits, or at a frequency that suits you.
It may happen that you have an appointment scheduled in ‘Prime Time’ but you wish to discuss something at length with me that will extend your appointment beyond the allocated time.
I’m sensitive to your needs. If you need an extended appointment, please let me know, so that I can give you my full and uninterrupted attention and focus.
Doing this allows me to maintain my schedule of Prime Time which is appreciated by other waiting clients.
Sometimes something really significant has occurred in your life.
An injury, a major stressful event, major emotional event or you feel like you’re approaching overwhelm. It’s important for me to know if this has happened. If so, I need to re-test your function and re-assess the outcomes we can expect working together. I may need to adjust your care plan. This is an ‘OOPS’ appointment, see below.
I can have times allocated at the end of each shift for emergencies.
If you feel you need an appointment urgently and cannot wait until your next adjustment, then please let me know.
Let me know you need an emergency appointment and I will do my best to accommodate this.
If you have begun a chiropractic care plan, but something unforseen and significant occurs,I need to reassess how frequently you are seeing me, or whether there is anything I need to change in my recommendations.
A significant physical injury or trauma; an emotional experience like death of a loved one, losing a job, a marriage breakdown, or increased stress load; a significant medical diagnosis – these are just some examples where an ‘oops’ visit would be important.
Help me to help you by making sure I am as fully informed as I need to be to provide you with the best care possible.
Getting the best Results:
I will outline a specific schedule of care for you based on your goals, your health history, how you have presented to me and your lifestyle.
This care plan is all about improving your spine and nervous system health and function.
In many cases intensive care is needed at first – to achieve a concentrated ‘stimulus’ to re-train the brain to do better and overcome bad habits. To learn new strategies. Your care-plan takes into the account all of the above factors and is designed to provide your spine with a specific number of adjustments within a certain period of time. If you keep to this plan, you are more likely to get the results we both want.
Assuming you accept and understand these recommendations, follow them!
If you have questions or something is not clear about your recommendations please ask.
Stick to your care-plan – this is for you to achieve the best possible improvements, especially when you first begin care.
Your care-plan will be regularly re-assessed and I will confirm with you if you are happy with your care and whether you want to engage in a further care-plan – this is commonly of lesser frequency as your body has changed and begun to heal.
As mentioned elsewhere, if you need to change your appointment we ask that you RESCHEDULE – ideally to a different time on that same day, or at least within 24 hours. Your progress under care is very important to me and if you do miss an appointment without advising me it may impact your ability to maintatin the frequency of care required to achieve best results for you.
A regular, systematic approach to care is vitally important if you are to get well . Each adjustment builds on those before and missing or postponing appointments can interfere with the re-training of your spine. My primary purpose when using chiropractic care is to help you get healthy, so I appreciate your cooperation in keeping your care plan as scheduled.
It seems obvious, but I do need to make this explicit. Your care-plan includes recommendations for frequency and duration of chiropractic adjustments AND there are other vital components that may be advised for you to get the best results in the fastest possible time.
I may give you homework – or as I prefer to call it, home-play!
It may be stretches, exercises or movement, using aids to improve posture, changing ergonomics or using a different pillow, or taking specific supplements.
If you choose not to do these, or not do these with the frequency I recommend – you WILL NOT get the results we both expect.
Give it a go. Work on making the right changes to your lifestyle to support your spine and nervous system to return to better function and more vibrant health.
Learning is KEY!
Being exposed to new ideas and information, being open to consider them and then implement them in your life is so important.
I present on different topics to help you learn more about how to live better.
One of the first, key presentations I call the ‘Better Results, Faster’ special appointment.
What’s the benefit to you?
I have found that people who take the time to learn more about their bodies, their nervous system and how it controls everything in life simply get better results, faster. This presentation focuses on chiropractic works and how it interacts with your body’s self-healing capacity. You don’t need to ‘believe’ in chiropractic to get amazing results, and yet, you do need to more deeply understand it to comprehend what we are doing and why; to understand how your body responds to chiropractic and what may be possible longer-term with chiropractic care as part of your ‘health-style’
I ask all of my new clients (and existing clients too) to attend this presentation as soon as you can (within the first 2 weeks of starting care). This is a complimentary service – it actually forms part of your care plan.
Guests of new clients are welcome too – I recommend inviting a loved one to come to the presentation with you.
It is still the case that many people start care with me because they present with a health concern or symptom that they don’t like.
My care is geared to find out why these concerns have come about and teach you ways to resolve them.
I don’t fix, cure or treat – your body does that…I help your body in its efforts.
Sometimes symptoms arise. Sometimes existing symptoms don’t immediately change or reduce. This is actually okay. Symptoms are a body’s attempt to send up a ‘flare’ and draw your attention to something that has been going on too long; something that needs to change.
I regularly see one issue seemingly resolve, only to be ‘replaced’ by another. This is what is called a ‘healing crisis.’ It can be an onion-effect of one layer resolving and then the body and mind bringing to consciousness the next most important issue to explore, resolve and change.
I do want to know what is going on for you, and I will seek lots of information on your first visit with me and subsequent progress check appointments, however day-to-day, please know that my focus is about assisting your spine and nervous system to improve its function such that the body is more able to use its resources to heal symptoms which may be present.
Legal Policies & Complaints:
Informed Consent is a vital part of any health encounter.
Your informed consent requires you to understand the risks, benefits and alternatives of any proposed care and willingly agreeing to receive such care.
I outline the important information for arriving at Informed Consent with me here.
Please read this information.
Also know that you can revoke your consent at any time.
All businesses in Australia are bound by certain privacy laws that cover a range of aspects of how we interact with you, our client.
My Privacy Policy can be found here.
Please familiarise yourself with it and how it sets out any remedy you may require if you feel we have breached our policy in any way.
I am here to look after you and to get you well as quickly as possible and/or move you further along your path toward a more vibratn life.
If there is anything that bothers you during the course of your care, such as the rate of your progress, any of our office policies, interactions with staff or percieved staff insensitivity or anything else, please immediately speak with me about it.
I appreciate your honest feedback as it will help me to provide you and others with the highest quality care.
While at our health centre:
Mobile Phones have become ever-present (almost ubiquitous) in our lives today.
Please help me work toward a mobile phone-free space (with the exception of music!)
TURN YOUR MOBILE OFF or to SILENT.
It is an opportunity to turn off, ‘tune out’ and disconnect for the time you are here.
To be PRESENT with yourself, to focus on your body and mind and start healing even before your adjustment.
Take the time to RELAX, BREATHE and maybe MEDITATE!
If turning your phone OFF is too big a step, please consider not texting, checking emails playing games etc. Focus on you!
I am very sensitive to cigarette and vape smoke. Please do your best with the following:
- Please make sure you don’t smoke for at least 30min before your adjustment
- If you have had a smoke, please make sure ensure you have freshened your breath and washed your hands.
Nicotine is a stimulant that pushes your body into Fight/Flight mode – it gets in the way of the healing effects from your adjustment!
