Chiropractic Instead of Opioids: Million-Patient Study
Dynamic Chiropractic Staff
Could 1 million patients help end the opioid crisis, position chiropractic as a front-line pain-relief service and in so doing, effectively change the face of health care? The Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters (CCGPP) / Clinical Compass certainly hopes so. With one study already completed and pending publication, a second, significantly larger study is about to get underway that, like the first, will investigate how chiropractic care impacts opioid and medication use.
Dr. James Whedon, director of health services research at Southern California University of Health Sciences and recent appointee as co-chair of the policy committee of the Integrative Complementary Traditional Health Practices section of the American Public Health Association, will serve as principal investigator on the second study, as he did on the first. Performance Health is providing significant financial support to the Clinical Compass, with funds earmarked for this second study, which is set to begin by year’s end and should yield reportable data within 18 months.
"This second study will have a massive impact on patients, providers of health services, payers and policy makers," said Jay Greenstein, DC, chairman of the Clinical Compass. "We will not just be moving the needle with this study, we will be changing the game on how healthcare is delivered in our country, and be a major force in reducing opioid addiction."
The first study, conducted last year and involving more than 12,000 LBP patients, found that patients who visited a chiropractor were significantly less likely to fill an opioid prescription and accrued dramatically lower annual charges for opioid prescriptions compared to non-recipients of chiropractic care.
To learn more about the Clinical Compass and access research-based clinical practice guidelines spearheaded by the Compass, visit www.clinicalcompass.org.
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