The National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company (NCMIC), through the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER), has funded a $76,523 RAND Corporation study on patient compliance of doctor recommendations.
The list of co-investigators involved in this project is impressive indeed. Ian Coulter, Ph.D., a sociologist, is currently a researcher at LACC, a health consultant at RAND, and is a past president of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC). Ronald Hays, Ph.D., is a psychometrician at RAND with expertise in evaluating self-reported patient satisfaction with health care and patient adherence. Robin DiMatteo, Ph.D., a University of California at Riverside psychologist affiliated with RAND, is also an expert in the field of patient adherence.
The study is surveying 150 chiropractors and 1,500 patients in the greater Los Angeles area. Patients will complete two self-report surveys approximately one month apart assessing patient adherence, satisfaction with treatment, and health-related quality of life. This information will help doctors in developing effective intervention strategies when confronted with patient non-compliance.
"The importance of this study," said Arnold Ciancuilli, D.C., president of NCMIC, "is to indicate to our doctors that the ability to communicate in an empathetic manner is not only critical to healing, but to the prevention of malpractice. This kind of study allows the profession to see if it is living up to its primary care role in the doctor/patient relationship."
Recent laws in New Jersey and California represent a disturbing trend that will negatively impact a practice’s ability to collect monies from patients, as well as expose them to significant penalties if the practice does not follow the mandatory guidelines to a T. Please be aware that a similar law may be coming to your state. The time to act is before the law is passed.
Each year, ICD-10-CM is updated on Oct. 1. For 2026, there are 74,179 total codes, with 487 additions, 28 deletions and 38 revisions. Code changes are based on date of service, not the claim submission date. Services performed on/after Oct. 1 must use the new codes. While no changes affect the common spinal or extraspinal codes most frequently used by DCs, several updates may still affect your claims – particularly for comorbidities, referred pain, or trauma cases.
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Southern California University of Health Sciences has entered into an agreement with Pacific College of Health and Science whereby PCHS’ San Diego and Chicago campuses – including students, faculty, staff, and academic programs – will join SCU effective May 2026, pending regulatory approval. Founded in 1986 as Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, PCHS is not only the largest acupuncture / herbal medicine school in the U.S., but also offers integrative health curriculum in holistic nursing and massage therapy.
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