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The Concierge Practice

By John Wiens DC|September 16, 2010|Health Care|

Sources: Modern Medicine, How to set up a concierge practice
The Health Care Blog

Doc, you realize your office is a lot like Disney World,” an unhappy patient quipped to Mark R. Wheeler, an internist in Louisville. “It’s a three-hour wait for a 20-second ride.”

“That comment spoke volumes about what was going on in my practice,” says Wheeler. “I was always behind. My patients weren’t happy, and neither were my staff, my family, or me.”

Today, Wheeler is a changed man, calling his partner, internist John Varga, and himself “two of the luckiest physicians on the face of this earth.”

The turning point came last September when the two physicians officially opened OneMD—a retainer or concierge-style practice that caps the number of patients at 300 per doctor. In return for a $4,000 annual fee ($6,000 per couple), patients get 24/7 access, reduced in-office waiting time, house calls, an enhanced yearly health exam, and other gold-plated services not generally covered by insurers. About 200 patients to date have enrolled—and the practice is “right on the fringe” of profitability.

“We don’t claim to be practicing better medicine,” says Wheeler, “but the fact that we can spend more time with our patients means they’re going to get better care.” (more…)

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The Council on Chiropractic Education Accreditation Standards Draft for 2012

By John Wiens DC|September 14, 2010|Guidelines|

In the 2012 draft of the Council on Chiropractic Education’s Accreditation Standards one of the bullet points in their mission statement reads, “Serving as a unifying body for the chiropractic profession.”

In a September 1st, 2010 document to interested parties on the Life West Chiropractic College website titled “A discussion of a limited number of changes in the CCE’s 2007 version of the Standards for Doctor of Chiropractic programs and proposed revisions to the same”, college president Dr. Gerald Clum seems to disagree with that statement. He summarizes his concerns thusly,

Concern: The items outlined above indicate an attempt to move the profession:

Toward the Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine perspective

Away from any use of the term subluxation

Toward the inclusion of drug therapy

Away from being a drugless discipline

Toward a generalized common definition of primary care as used in primary care medicine

Away from any definition of chiropractic and what a chiropractor does

And so, the thorny issue of unity never goes away. Do we move forward into a world that knows only “chiropractic medicine” or do we maintain that chiropractic is and always should be “separate and distinct”? Or, can we have it both ways? One thing is sure. If we continue to confound the public as to our identity we will never see the numbers of patients to which we believe we are entitled.

Relevant documents…

CCE home page

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Giant chiropractor delivers cervical adjustment…

By John Wiens DC|September 7, 2010|Humor|

…and then grants 3 wishes.

Source Who Needs Photoshop

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Study of Spinal Manipulative Therapy for Neck-Related Headaches

By Frank M. Painter|September 4, 2010|Headache, Research|

Study of Spinal Manipulative Therapy for Neck-Related Headaches

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Previous research suggests that spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) may be helpful for various types of chronic headaches, including cervicogenic headache (CGH), which is associated with neck pain and dysfunction. In a recent randomized controlled trial, NCCAM-funded researchers from Western States Chiropractic College and other institutions evaluated the dose (number of treatments) and relative efficacy of SMT in a group of 80 patients with chronic CGH. (more…)

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Neck Pain Commentaries: Part 4

By Frank M. Painter|September 3, 2010|Editorial|

Neck Pain Commentaries: Part 4

The Chiro.Org Blog

We conclude this series by reviewing a brilliant group of 3 consecutive studies comparing popular forms of treatment for chronic spinal pain (NSAID use, acupuncture, and spinal adjusting).

Editorial Commentary:Lynton G.F. Giles, DC, PhD, a researcher at the National Unit for Multidisciplinary Studies of Spinal Pain at the University of Queensland, published the first of 3 studies in 1999. This pilot study involved 77 patients who reported to the Townsville General Hospital, Queensland, Australia with complaints of chronic spinal pain (either neck, mid back or low back). These patients were randomized to receive either NSAIDs, acupuncture, or spinal adjusting as the active form of treatment. [1]

Care was provided for 4 weeks, followed by assessment of improvement. The outcome measures included:

(1) Oswestry Back Pain Disability Index,
(2) Neck Disability Index, and
(3) three visual analogue scales of local pain intensity.After the period of 30 days, the spinal manipulation group was the only intervention that achieved statistically significant improvements. (more…)

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Neck Pain Commentaries: Part 3

By Frank M. Painter|September 2, 2010|Editorial, Research, Safety|

Neck Pain Commentaries: Part 3

The Chiro.Org Blog

Today we will review a trial that Kaiser’s reviewers obviously ignored so that they could deny benefits for cervical adjusting.

Editorial Commentary:

First off, this article should have been very easy for their reviewers to find. Look at the title:

“The Benefits Outweigh the Risks for Patients Undergoing Chiropractic Care for Neck Pain”

This study was a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study. Patients with neck pain of any duration, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, were recruited in a practice-based study. Data were collected on the patients and from the chiropractors at baseline, the first 3 visits, and at 3 and 12 months.

Clinical outcome measures included

(1) neck pain in the 24 hours preceding the visit,
(2) neck disability,
(3) treatment satisfaction,
(4) global assessment, and
(5) adverse events. (more…)

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