What Is the Chiropractic Summit?

The Chiro.Org Blog

The Chiropractic Summit was created in September 2007 in recognition of the profession’s desire for unity. The first Summit meeting, held in Washington, D.C., was comprised of 13 organizations; three years later, the Summit has 41 members, representing leadership from education, research, regulatory bodies, political action, practice management, chiropractic media and national associations. Within the Summit, there are four key committees: Communications, Documentation, Finance, and Government Relations.

The Group has since released a white paper titled:

“The Path To Change in the US Healthcare System: The Chiropractic Perspective”.

The Executive Summary states:

The leadership of the chiropractic profession is united in its belief that effective national heath care reform will only achieve maximum benefit for the American people when coupled with a broad transformational paradigm shift to a forward thinking and progressive health system that focuses upon comprehensive wellness care, healthful lifestyle choices and disease prevention. We believe that such reform is urgent in the face of the looming provider shortage and the unprecedented demands our aging population will place on the system.

Decision makers should seek to affirm and expand patient freedoms to allow for full direct access to the providers and health care pathways of their choice. Every patient should have the right to choose and be reimbursed for all health care services from doctors of chiropractic without barriers and limitations that unfairly restrict their freedom of choice. Arbitrary anti-competitive barriers only serve to drive up costs, limit patient choice and erode the quality and timeliness of care by steering patients to more expensive hospital, surgical and pharmaceutical care.

In a properly reoriented health delivery system – one that places an appropriate emphasis on wellness and preventive care – chiropractic care would rightly be viewed as an essential element of any health plan seeking to provide an adequate range of basic health care services.

The chiropractic profession recommends that this new system include three pillars vital to the health reform movement. The essential services provided by a doctor of chiropractic address these three pillars:

  • ACCESS:   Extend health care access to the estimated 45 million uninsured Americans that currently have little or no reliable access to comprehensive health care services. America has over 65,000 doctors of chiropractic, who are providers of cost effective health care for patients of all ages, with all its broad-body implications for health. Research clearly demonstrates that procedures utilized by doctors of chiropractic are effective and supports chiropractic’s maximum utilization in addressing the nation’s
    current health care crisis.
  • COST:   Reduce the current high cost of health care services and health care insurance coverage. Limit future cost increases to rates that more closely match the overall inflation rate of the nation’s economy by reducing errors, encouraging the utilization of cost effective care pathways, enhancing patient choices, stressing patient responsibility for health and prevention and other urgent changes. Scientific evidence powerfully supports the safety, effectiveness and cost savings of chiropractic care. Chiropractic care is especially important in improving function, joint mobility and quality of life for beneficiaries through the use of conservative methods which reduce reliance on expensive drugs and surgery.
  • QUALITY:   Significantly improve the quality and effectiveness of health care services being delivered now and in the future. Doctors of chiropractic are especially well
    qualified to play an integral role in the needed shift to a health delivery system that is appropriately focused on essential evidence-based wellness care and disease prevention services.