What is the latest issue in chiropractic profession?and how chiropracters deal w!
Question: Pretty much the same as always. Discriminatory reimbursement by insurance companies. They will pay a DC a significant amount less for the same code as they pay an MD and PT ( at least where I practice). Then there is the constant skepticism that what we do does not work. There is a plethera out there in medical journals that says what we do does work. Of course, the MD's don't read those journals (Spine, European Spine Journal, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, among others). Competition with the physical therapists is growing. They have a plan to become THE musculoskeletal practioner of choice by 2020 and they have the cooperation to do it.
Internally we have the same battles that have been happening for decades. Some of our profession still believes in the "pinche nerve/bone out of place" hypothesis, and won't let it go despite the newest research. Participation in state and national associations are low, but then again, some DC's don't know which one to choose from because there is the "strait/subluxation" ones: WCA, ICA, FSCS; the "mixer" ACA, the "back pain only until a research paper comes out otherwise, until then I can't do anything" NACM, There are several more and DC can be overwhelmed, and to put fuel on the fire the WCA and the ACA are natural enemies of each other. There is more, but I will stop here.
How are we dealing with it? There are those of us who do belong to our state and national associations. Among those, some of us actively participate in them. Some in the profession are calling for the union of the ICA and ACA (fat chance). I know of one group that is planning a split, I don't have any details, but they said they will announce it soon. Our schools are getting more money for research, and they are using it. They are embracing evidence based practices, I know my alma mater just built a multimillion dollar rehab building. Some in our profession hate it, but to keep with the times, active rehab along with our therapies is the most evidence based way to treat spinal conditions to date. We are working more and more with MD's and hospital's and PT's. Yesterday I found out that one of the local hospitals is going to have a vote to let chiropractors on staff. He told me that pretty soon they wan't to have chiropractors in the hospital to take care of patients.
I think I will stop because I have typed enough. I would see if I could get a hold of Dynamic Chiropractic, they are a pretty good nuetral source for the issues of the proffesion. Then there is chiroweb.com, amerchiro.org, etc.
Answers: Pretty much the same as always. Discriminatory reimbursement by insurance companies. They will pay a DC a significant amount less for the same code as they pay an MD and PT ( at least where I practice). Then there is the constant skepticism that what we do does not work. There is a plethera out there in medical journals that says what we do does work. Of course, the MD's don't read those journals (Spine, European Spine Journal, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, among others). Competition with the physical therapists is growing. They have a plan to become THE musculoskeletal practioner of choice by 2020 and they have the cooperation to do it.
Internally we have the same battles that have been happening for decades. Some of our profession still believes in the "pinche nerve/bone out of place" hypothesis, and won't let it go despite the newest research. Participation in state and national associations are low, but then again, some DC's don't know which one to choose from because there is the "strait/subluxation" ones: WCA, ICA, FSCS; the "mixer" ACA, the "back pain only until a research paper comes out otherwise, until then I can't do anything" NACM, There are several more and DC can be overwhelmed, and to put fuel on the fire the WCA and the ACA are natural enemies of each other. There is more, but I will stop here.
How are we dealing with it? There are those of us who do belong to our state and national associations. Among those, some of us actively participate in them. Some in the profession are calling for the union of the ICA and ACA (fat chance). I know of one group that is planning a split, I don't have any details, but they said they will announce it soon. Our schools are getting more money for research, and they are using it. They are embracing evidence based practices, I know my alma mater just built a multimillion dollar rehab building. Some in our profession hate it, but to keep with the times, active rehab along with our therapies is the most evidence based way to treat spinal conditions to date. We are working more and more with MD's and hospital's and PT's. Yesterday I found out that one of the local hospitals is going to have a vote to let chiropractors on staff. He told me that pretty soon they wan't to have chiropractors in the hospital to take care of patients.
I think I will stop because I have typed enough. I would see if I could get a hold of Dynamic Chiropractic, they are a pretty good nuetral source for the issues of the proffesion. Then there is chiroweb.com, amerchiro.org, etc.
Think about this: What would you pay to avoid a deadly disease like a heart attack or cancer? The biggest problem is that if you don't already have a disease, you are not mentally challenged to try to prevent it, and yet that's exactly what chiropractic is all about. People understand "get sick, take a pill" but they can't quite grasp 'keep your spine free of pinched nerves to avoid problems that might potentially occur years later".
Another big issue is getting patients (the same as all medical professionals). Chiropractors also have an image problem because when prospective patients ask an MD if it is legitimate, the MD invariably says no. (Keep in mind MDs don't like others muscling in on their turf.) Some people don't like the sensation of being adjusted. Finally, chiropractors often have to deal with many insurance companies that are weak in the coverage of those services.
The issues haven't changed much - trying to educate the public that thinks the solutions for all its problems lies in a bottle of pills or potions.
chiropractic works very well, but can't fix everything obviously. For any back or neck problem, I would recommend first going to the chiropractor, and then seeing the Medical doctor if they can't help. Otherwise you will just get pills and maybe PT if you're lucky but that often doesnt' help much.
Issues are changing with insurance, etc, and there are always sharks as in any business trying to manipulate the system to get rich.
It can still be a great profession if you really want to help people.
Best luck.