American Hospital Association to Survey Administrators on Chiropractic Services

What percentage of American hospitals include chiropractic care? We'll soon know.

For the first time, the American Hospital Association (AHA) will include a question about chiropractic services in their 1998 hospital survey. The survey was mailed to every American hospital in December 1998.

The hospital will be asked if chiropractic services and complementary medicine services are:

1. owned by my hospital or a subsidiary;
2. provided by my health system (in my local community);
3. provided by my network (in my local community); or
4. provided through a formal contractual arrangement or joint venture with another provider that is not in my system or network(in my local community).

Including chiropractic in the survey is the result of nearly a year of negotiations between Rand Bard, DC, chairman of the ACA's hospital relations committee, and the director of health care information for the American Hospital Association.

"When the surveys are completed and returned and tabulated we will at last have the best possible source for obtaining further data about chiropractic participation in American hospitals," explained Dr. Rand Baird. "The chiropractic profession and various health care researchers will be able to use this stepping stone as a basis for so many additional opportunities," he added.