The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved the Spine IQ Low Back Pain Registry as a qualified clinical data registry for the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) in 2016. The nonprofit Spine IQ's registry and other QCDRs "provide the data needed to increase the quality and consistency of spine care delivery in ways that really matter to patients," according to Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, chief executive officer.
The registry includes 21 performance measures: 17 existing PQRS measures and four new measures: patient satisfaction, change in pain intensity, change in pain interference and repeat X-ray imaging. The Spine IQ website (www.spineiq.org) explains the significance of the low back pain registry and its value to DCs, the chiropractic profession and the patients you serve:
"Clinical data registries are computer-based networks that collect data from clinicians in order to describe the natural history of disease, determine the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness of health care services, and to measure/monitor safety and quality. Registries are increasingly used by health care professions to establish the value of the care they provide and will become even more important as the world moves towards performance-based payment systems."
What Are the Benefits of Joining a Clinical Registry?
The stated goals of Spine IQ are "to increase the patient-centered value of spine care by leveraging the primary spine practitioner (PSP) model, quality benchmarking, PSP education, and spine care research through the use of clinical data registries." The website includes information on all of the above goals and how doctors of chiropractic can participate.
"We believe that there is a tremendous opportunity to increase the quality and value of spine care through the use of a primary spine care practitioner model, said Anthony Hamm, DC, FACO, Spine IQ chief clinical officer and board chairman.
To learn more about qualified clinical data registries, a reporting mechanism introduced for the PQRS in 2014, visit www.cms.gov. To learn more about the Physician Quality Reporting System, read "Not Using the PQRS?" by Susan McClelland in the Oct. 15, 2013 issue of DC.
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?
