Very rarely is my office closed besides holidays as my partner and I try to make sure that our committments or vacation time are not in conflict. However, there are three times over the course of the year that we are both gone and the office is closed. 

So how do we deal with getting coverage?

We do not have another doctor come to our office but instead make sure that there are two other D.C.s in the community that our patients can contact for emergencies.  After making arrangements with the docs, we put their names and number on our answering machine with the date we will return.  Of course there is the standard message recommending they go to the ER for any emergency and contact the family doctor, etc.

The DC's we make arrangments with know that our office will accomodate them as well when they need our help for their offices.

When we return, if any of our patients were seen by another D.C., the progress notes for that visit are on the fax machine with a note on the cover letter stating the patient was instructed to contact "THEIR" chiropractor for follow-up.

This is the type of professional courtesy that needs to be shown to other D.C.s in your area and not seen as an opportunity to steal a patient. 

One time, I asked a new D.C. in the area if I could use his contact info for my patients while we were gone.  He saw one of my patients but never sent reports and continued to re-schedule the patient. 

After the patient recovered from that injury, she again returned to my office for regular treatment and informed me that the D.C. who was suppose to be covering for me told her that she needed to see him as long as it was for "this condition" or the insurance would not pay. 

Needless to say, there is no longer a professional relationship between our offices.

There are plenty of people out there who would benefit from chiropractic care so there is no need to try to take existing patients from other practices.