Chiropractic: "Too Much Value to Become a Relic"
Dear Editor:
In a recent edition of the Dynamic Chiropractic publication, volume 23, number 6, an article ran about the Florida board of Governors voting down a chiropractic school at Florida State University. [Editor's note: See "Florida Board of Governors Votes Down Chiropractic School," March 12, 2005 issue.] In this article, the author did a very good job explaining the political landscape and gave several reasons why the chiropractic school was blocked, most of which dealt with political reasons.
In a related article dealing with the blockage of chiropractic at FSU, in the same issue of Dynamic Chiropractic, Donald M. Petersen Jr. posed the question, how did we go from a "grand celebration" to an absolute disaster? In the same issue of DC, the Institute for Alternative Futures released a report that paints four different scenarios of chiropractic in 2015 that ranged from very positive to very negative. In scenario 2, they point to the decline of the profession due to the plummeting of consumer demand and managed care cutting coverage for DCs. They also listed several solutions to shaping the future that is more beneficial to chiropractors. [Editor's note: See "FSU - Lessons to Be Learned," and "Predicting the Future of Chiropractic," available online at www.chiroweb.com/archives/23/06.]
I would like to take the time to address the fact that unless something is done to change the landscape of chiropractic in the United States, then scenario 2 - the decline of the profession - may indeed occur. I'm afraid to say that the handwriting is already on the wall, so to speak. In a recent poll in the January 29, 2005 edition of DC, 93.2% of chiropractors polled believe that chiropractic has a public relations problem. Furthermore, a survey done for the Campaign for Chiropractic in November 2004 stated that 47% of those polled had never used chiropractic, and while this is a bad statistic, the fact that 13% of those polled did not utilize chiropractic services anymore is extremely troubling.
Perhaps the most ominous sign of problems is a survey that appeared in a peer-reviewed journal called Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, volume 11, number 1. This article looked at the utilization of various complementary and alternative medicines over a five-year period, from 1997 to 2002. The study found that the utilization of chiropractic decreased from 9.9% (19,582) to 7.4% (15,226), a decrease of 2.5 percentage points. This is despite the fact that in 1997, 55.8% of those in the study had insurance coverage and in 2002, 63.4% had insurance coverage, an increase in coverage of 7.6%.
So, what does this tell us? It says that despite that fact that more people had chiropractic insurance coverage in 2002 than in 1997, utilization of chiropractic dropped by 2.5 percentage points. It suggests that as a profession, we can no longer blame managed care or the insurance industry for our problems. We must remember that the profession grew steadily for years with no insurance reimbursement. It did so because the public demand allowed it to grow. People were willing to pay out of pocket for chiropractic services because they believed that it worked and liked the results. The public demand for chiropractic outweighed the legal and political opposition that it faced.
Unfortunately, today that may be changing. It is clear from the defeat at FSU that the medical profession, with all of the political influence that they can buy, is simply not willing to ally itself with chiropractic. Remember that Karen Wendland, the executive director of the Capital Medical Society, said, "The affiliation will serve to legitimize the unscientific and even antiscientific philosophies associated with chiropractic. They have their place, but it's not in science based medicine." It is also clear that several independent reports and studies have predicted the possibility of the decline of the profession, and that according to the CAM study, the utilization of chiropractic services has declined from 1997 to 2002.
So, what can we, as a profession, do to fix the public relations problem and ensure that the profession continues to grow? First of all, we must support our national, state and local political groups that fight politically on our behalf. This can be done by donation of money, or if you cannot afford to donate money, donate your time, or write letters to raise awareness in our profession. We must support the new doctors in our professions by offering more mentoring relationships. We must stop making associate doctors work in poverty while they slave away to get the established doctor out of debt. This sends the wrong message to the public and fosters distrust among practitioners. We also need to begin to refer to other chiropractors who have specialized. For example, refer MVA patients who need rehab to a DC who specializes in rehabilitation, instead of a physical therapist, or refer the parents of a child to a DC who specializes in pediatrics, instead of the pediatric MD, if we do not feel comfortable treating children. This sends the message to the public that we have our own specialists, and that we trust them over MD specialists. We must stop self-limiting our scope of practice. This devalues our services in the eyes of the public, and we must stop belittling other professions; this only makes us look small, not them.
Lastly, we must do everything we can to educate not only our patients, but also the general public about the value of chiropractic. We must turn a public relations problem into the driving force for growth that we once had. I'm sure that many of you have seen restaurants and retail stores come and go. The reason they went out of business is because public demand for them dropped and there was simply not enough business to support them. Let's not let our profession go the way of the out-of-fashion retail store; it has too much value to become a relic of the past.
Jarod W. Adlington BS, DC
Huntington, West Virginia
"We Are About Health, Not Catastrophic Care"
Dear Editor:
When will we stop trying to seek acceptance from the most corrupt and dangerous organization in the world, medicine? Some years ago, a study spanning approximately 50 years showed that spinal manipulation was fatal about 50 times (and two of those deaths were performed by a barber in India), while the Miracles of Modern Medicine kill a low average of 200 Americans daily, to a high estimate of 2,000 daily. Do the math, docs - that's a low of 3.5 million deaths to a high of 35 million deaths over a 50-year period. Talk about a holocaust! And we are still looking for acceptance from the drug pushers who pander Vioxx.
The drug companies and medical doctors are losing the battle. More patients pay out of pocket and go to alternative healers than go to MDs. We always have and always will have better treatment protocols. It's time we look within for guidance, and by that I mean our pioneer leaders like George Goodheart, Victor Frank, Scott Walker, Norman Hansen, John Amaro, Tim Francis, and many, many more. You know who they are. They teach the techniques that our schools were too timid to include in their curriculums ... the classes you take to become a better healer. Chiropractic is great and these pioneers give us even more tools to help humanity.
My father in law, a plastic surgeon, retired early because he was tired of begging to the insurance companies. With all the outsourcing of jobs and insourcing of illegal immigrants, the middle class and their insurance are on its way out. I would love to see the chiropractic profession do a nationwide boycott of the insurance programs. We are about health, not catastrophic care, which is what insurance was originally about.
William Kent Renas, DC, FIAMA
Front Royal, Virginia
"May You Find Your Pot of Gold"
[Editor's note: The following letter is directed toward Dr. John Triano, whose article, "Valuing the Golden Rules," appeared in the Feb. 12, 2005 issue: www.chiroweb.com/archives/23/04/20.html.]
Dear Dr. Triano:
I read with interest your February 2005 article in Dynamic Chiropractic. Of most importance are honesty, integrity and loyalty to ourselves and to our patients. It is refreshing to see a leader in our profession take a stand, as you have done.
While I was greatly disturbed that you were unable to speak at the orthopedic seminar last summer, I was grateful to have your handwritten notes, which were presented. I had been looking forward to meeting you personally.
Nevertheless, may you find your pot of gold at the end of your rainbow.
Duane S. Marasco, DC, CCSP, DABCO
Washington, Pennsylvania
