Stop losing money on Chiropractor (Locum) projects.
Send your first 3 contracts for free. One last minute clinic closure can wipe out your weekly profit and leave you stranded with unpaid travel expenses. Without a guaranteed daily minimum, you risk providing expert adjustments for a ghost town schedule while your overhead keeps running.
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Statement of Work
Ref: 2026-001 • Standard Business Template
Overview
This Professional Services Agreement serves as a legal framework for a Locum Chiropractor to provide temporary relief coverage at a host clinic. It establishes the practitioner's status as an independent contractor, ensuring they have the clinical autonomy necessary to treat patients while requiring strict adherence to the clinic's established safety protocols and administrative standards. By defining the scope of work and professional conduct expected, this document minimizes the risk of clinical errors and administrative disputes during the transition of care.
Key legal protections within this contract include comprehensive indemnification clauses, clear definitions of patient record ownership, and confidentiality requirements regarding clinic trade secrets and patient health information. It also explicitly outlines the compensation structure—whether a daily flat rate or a percentage of collections—and clarifies that the locum is responsible for their own taxes and licensing fees, thereby shielding the host clinic from unintended employment-related liabilities.
Technique Mismatch and Physical Strain
Being forced to perform high volume manual adjustments on a failing drop table or using a style that risks your own musculoskeletal health because the clinic failed to disclose their specific patient needs.
Documentation and Audit Liability
Inheriting messy patient files where the previous doctor failed to document medical necessity, potentially dragging your NPI into an insurance audit or clawback situation.
The Empty Bench Penalty
Traveling hours to a clinic only to find the staff failed to market your presence, resulting in a low patient volume that pays less than your gas money if you are on a percentage-only split.
What is a Chiropractor (Locum) contract?
A Chiropractor (Locum) contract template is a specialized legal agreement that outlines the terms of temporary clinical coverage. it covers essential details like adjusting techniques, daily guaranteed pay, malpractice insurance responsibilities, and EHR documentation requirements. It protects the locum from financial loss due to cancellations and clarifies clinical boundaries during the assignment.
Built from real freelance projects
This template is based on real-world scenarios across freelance projects where unclear scope, missing payment terms, and revision creep led to lost revenue. It is designed to protect your time, define expectations, and ensure you get paid.
Why Chiropractor (Locum)s need a clear contract
Chiropractic locum work involves high stakes clinical liability and physical labor that requires precise scheduling. A formal contract is necessary because unlike general office work, a locum is stepping into a regulated healthcare environment with existing patient records, specific EHR workflows like ChiroTouch or Jane, and established billing patterns. Without a written agreement, you might find yourself pressured to use adjusting techniques like Gonstead or Toggle Recoil that you do not practice, or worse, find yourself responsible for a backlog of unsigned SOAP notes left by the regular doctor. The contract defines the boundary between being a clinical provider and an administrative assistant, ensuring you are compensated for your specialized skills rather than being used for cheap labor during office downtime.
Real-world scenario
Dr. Miller drove 200 miles for a three day coverage gig at a busy family practice. The owner promised a high volume of patients and a percentage of collections. On arrival, Dr. Miller found the EHR system login didn't work and the front desk had accidentally deleted half the schedule for the week. Instead of the 40 patients a day he expected, he only saw 10. Because he had no written contract specifying a guaranteed daily minimum, he earned less than $400 for the entire trip. After deducting his hotel and fuel costs, he actually lost money. To make it worse, the clinic owner asked him to stay late to fix a broken traction table. Without a contract defining his role as a clinical provider only, Dr. Miller felt he had to help just to ensure he got paid his meager earnings at all.
🛡️ What this contract covers:
- ✓Phase 1: Pre-service clinical handover, including clinic protocol review, EHR system training, and patient file briefing.
- ✓Phase 2: Delivery of chiropractic adjustments, diagnostic assessments, and maintenance of accurate SOAP notes for all treated patients.
- ✓Phase 3: Final engagement report including a summary of patient progress, outstanding billing codes, and transition of care to the permanent practitioner.
Best practices for Chiropractor (Locum)s
Establish a Guaranteed Daily Minimum
Never work on a pure percentage basis. Set a flat floor rate that covers your time and travel regardless of patient show rate.
Define Adjustment Styles Upfront
Specify which techniques you use, such as Diversified, Activator, or Thompson, to avoid being asked to perform unfamiliar or unsafe protocols.
Mandate Independent EHR Access
Require the clinic to provide a unique user login for their software to ensure your digital signature is legally distinct from the owner's.
Legal Disclaimer: MicroFreelanceHub is a software workflow tool, not a law firm. The templates and information provided on this website are for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for malpractice insurance during the locum period?
The locum chiropractor is typically required to maintain their own professional indemnity insurance, although some clinics may choose to provide umbrella coverage if specified in the payment terms.
Can the locum chiropractor treat these patients at a different clinic later?
No, this agreement contains a non-solicitation clause that prohibits the locum from redirecting the host clinic's patients to their own practice or a third-party facility for a specified period.