The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is pleased to announce that Anthony Hamm, DC, FACO, president of the ACA Council of Delegates, is the first doctor of chiropractic to be elected co-chair of the American Medical Association's (AMA) Health Care Professionals Advisory Committee Review Board (HCPAC). The HCPAC develops recommendations on relative values for new and revised CPT codes for non-MD/DO services. Dr. Hamm's two-year term begins in September.
In his role as HCPAC co-chair, Dr. Hamm will also serve on the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC). The RUC makes annual recommendations on relative values regarding new and revised services to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and performs broad reviews every five years of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS), which determines Medicare provider reimbursement.
"ACA strongly supported Dr. Hamm's nomination to this position given his clinical and socioeconomic experience and expertise in making appropriate recommendations for CPT codes across specialties," said ACA President Rick McMichael, DC. "This historic event is consistent with the ACA's commitment to the delivery of high quality patient care by doctors of chiropractic within multi-disciplinary practice settings."
Dr. Hamm has extensive experience and expertise in health care reimbursement issues, including CPT coding and the RBRVS system. He has served as the chiropractic adviser to the AMA RUC/HCPAC; taught coding, documentation, Medicare and risk management to the chiropractic profession for the past nine years; and contributed as an author to the ACA's Chiropractic Coding and Compliance Manual.
Dr. Hamm also was invited in 2008 by Quality Insights of Pennsylvania to offer advice on the development of quality measures for the CMS Physician Quality Reporting Index (now PQRS), is an adviser for the Cigna Government Services Medicare Administrative Contractor, and serves as a board liaison to ACA's Performance Measures Workgroup.
Dr. Hamm, who also serves as the ACA's North Carolina Delegate, directs a private chiropractic practice in Goldsboro, N.C. He received his doctor of chiropractic degree from National University of Health Sciences and has earned diplomate certification from the American Board of Chiropractic Orthopedics and the American Board of Forensic Professionals.
Source: American Chiropractic Association
When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
It is estimated that 61% of patients with CTS avoid taking surgical options due to postoperative complications and costly surgical procedures. Chiropractic care offers a comprehensive and effective treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, addressing the condition from multiple angles. Recent studies also have unveiled a game-changing adjunct to chiropractic treatments for CTS: nerve flossing.
Some doctors thrive in a personality-based clinic and have a loyal following no matter what services or equipment they offer, but for most chiropractic offices who are trying to grow and expand, new equipment purchases help us stay relevant and continue to service our client base in the best, most up-to-date manner possible. So, regarding equipment purchasing: should you lease, get a bank loan, or pay cash?
