According to Dr. Deed Harrison (Chair of PCCRP), “The PCCRP guideline is the most comprehensive evaluation of the chiropractic and biomedical literature on the topic of the utilization of X-ray in a Chiropractic setting. PCCRP Contains a thorough review of the reliability, validity, clinical utility and risk-benefit ratio of numerous radiographic views, including all standard views and specialty Chiropractic views like the Nasium, Vertex, and Base Posterior.”

Also, according to Dr. Harrison, “The extent of evidence contained in the PCCRP (nearly 2000 references) robustly refutes the contention that radiography in the Chiropractic profession should be used for Red Flag conditions only (suspected tumor, infection, fracture, etc).”

Some of the key topics that are reviewed in the PCCRP Guideline include:

• Guidelines for the use of radiography in the assessment of subluxation of adults and children;
• Biomechanical definitions for 6 subluxation displacement categories with supporting evidence from the literature;
• Discussion of the risk benefit ratio associated with the use of radiography in Chiropractic practice, including the radiation hormesis vs. the linear no threshold (LNT) theory;
• Comprehensive reviews of the literature on the reliability and validity of measurement of the biomechanical component of the subluxation through line drawing mensuration, as well as the reproducibility of patient positioning for radiographic views;
• Evidence based foundation for video fluoroscopy and digital motion X-ray;
• Reviews and rates the evidence on post-treatment use of radiography, in addition to follow-up radiography to assess the effectiveness of the Chiropractic methods employed and the long-term stability of the improvements achieved;
• Legal issues of Chiropractic radiography usage as determined by the existing State Law.

The PCCRP serves as a clinical guide, specifically for Chiropractors, on the utilization of X-ray, versus adopting/supporting the guidelines written for the use of X-ray in a medical setting. It is anticipated that the PCCRP document will provide supporting evidence which may assist Chiropractors using methods that rely upon X-ray analysis to determine appropriate management and to assess the effectiveness of the care plan for a variety of patient populations.

Although, the PCCRP is officially a sub-committee of the International Chiropractors Association (ICA), the guideline committee members were a diverse group and included individuals such as Dr. Christopher Kent (one of the 5 Principle Investigators) and Dr. Dan Murphy. Of importance, the PCCRP was reviewed and endorsed by numerous Chiropractic political associations, organizations and leaders of Chiropractic Technique Methods:

National Organizations

International Chiropractors Association
World Chiropractic Alliance
Federation of Straight Chiropractors and Organizations (FSCO)
Council on Chiropractic Practice (CCP)
Norway Chiropractic Association,
Ukraine Chiropractic Association

State and Provincial Associations

Arizona Chiropractic Society
Chiropractic Awareness Council of Ontario
Chiropractic Diplomatic Corps
Chiropractic Fellowship of Pennsylvania
Connecticut Chiropractic Council
ICA-California (ICAC)
ICA-Indiana (ICAI)
Massachusetts Chiropractic Society
Michigan Association of Chiropractors (MAC)
Nevada Chiropractic Association
Virginia Society of Chiropractic
Washington State Chiropractic Association
Wyoming Chiropractic Society

Technique Methods

ASBE
Atlas Orthoganality
Blair
CBP
Gonstead
Grostic
NUCCA
Orthospinology
Pettibon
Toftness

If you would like a copy of the PCCRP Guideline you will be able to access these at http://www.ngc.gov/ in the coming weeks or you can contact the ICA at www.chiropractic.org for a printed bound copy.

To learn more about PCCRP, the principle investigators, the esteemed committee members and the international panel of reviewers assembled to guide and facilitate the creation of the guidelines, please visit the PCCRP website at http://www.pccrp.org/.

At this point, most confirmed cases in the United States have been mild and there have been no confirmed fatalities.  However, in Mexico there has been a high case fatality rate among young adults, 25-44, with atypical pneumonia, which has similarities with the 1918 flu pandemic.

The media is reporting that the 1918 pandemic was composed of a recombination of H1N1 seasonal flu and H1N1 swine flu. What you won’t hear reported in the main stream media is how chiropractic care afforded life saving relief to so many back in 1918.

The 1918 flu epidemic swept silently across the world bringing death and fear to homes in every land. More than one hundred million people died. In 1918 almost nothing was known about prevention, protection, treatment or cure of influenza. The whole world stood at its mercy, or lack of it.

Strangely enough, around that same time, chiropractic, the only American born health care profession, was close to extinction only 23 years after its discovery. In the time just after the end of World War I, laws against slander were so lenient that medical doctors were allowed to openly attack the chiropractic profession without any regard to truth, legality or the best interest of the patients.

Because medical doctors were making it so hard to have a practice, chiropractors were making mostly house calls. In 1918, chiropractors in Wisconsin began going door-to-door adjusting anyone who had the Flu.

As a result, an amazing thing occurred. Those who were adjusted by a chiropractor didn’t die.

The news about Chiropractic swept across Wisconsin and eventually the whole country. Within a short period of time, chiropractic became so well known as the best defense against the flu that chiropractors were being called “Flu Doctors”.

Out of this epidemic, the young science of chiropractic enjoyed a new measure of enthusiasm and respectability. If there had been any lack of enthusiasm among the doctors of chiropractic, or a depleting of the sources of new students, the epidemic took care of that. These chiropractic survivors of the flu epidemic were confident, assured, determined, and ready to fight any battle that came up. The effect of the epidemic becomes evident in interviews made with old-timers practicing in those years. The refrain comes repeatedly, “I was about to go out of business when the flu epidemic came – but when it was over, I was firmly established in practice.”

Why?

The answer is reasonably simple. Chiropractors got fantastic results from influenza patients while those under medical care died. Statistics reflect a most amazing, almost miraculous state of affairs. The medical profession was practically helpless with the flu victims but chiropractors seemed able to do no wrong.

[1] In Davenport, Iowa, 50 medical doctors treated 4,953 cases, with 274 deaths. In the same city, 150 chiropractors including students and faculty of the Palmer School of Chiropractic treated 1,635 cases with only one death.

In the state of Iowa, medical doctors treated 93,590 patients, with 6,116 deaths – a loss of one patient out of every 15. In the same state, excluding Davenport, 4,735 patients were treated by chiropractors with a loss of only 6 cases – a loss of one patient out of every 789.

National figures show that 1,142 chiropractors treated 46,394 patients for influenza during 1918, with a loss of 54 patients – one out of every 886.

In the same epidemic, New York health authorities (who kept records of flu as a reportable disease) showed that under chiropractic care, only 25 patients died of influenza out of every 10,000 cases; and only 100 patients died of pneumonia out of every 10,000 cases. This comparison is made more striking when viewed in the following table:

Influenza

—————————————Cases               Deaths

Under medical care                10,000             950

Under chiropractic care         10,000             25

Pneumonia

—————————————Cases               Deaths

Under medical care                10,000             6,400

Under chiropractic care         10,000             100

The same epidemic reports show that chiropractors in Oklahoma treated 3,490 cases of influenza with only 7 deaths. But the best part of this is, in Oklahoma there is a clear record showing that chiropractors were called in 233 cases where medical doctors had cared for the patients, and finally gave them up as lost. The chiropractors saved all these lost cases but 25.

Statistics alone, however, don’t tell the whole story.

Dr. Helen B. Mason [DC], whose son, when only a year old, became very ill with bronchitis explains: “My husband and I took him to several medical specialists without any worthwhile results. We called a chiropractor, as a last resort, and were amazed at the rapidity of his recovery. We discussed this amazing cure at length and came to the decision that if chiropractic could do as much for the health of other individuals as it had done for our son we wanted to become chiropractors.”

Dr. M. L. Stanphill [DC] recounts his experiences: “I had quite a bit of practice in 1918 when the flu broke out. I stayed in Van Alstyne (Texas) until the flu was over and had the greatest success, taking many cases that had been given up and restoring them back to health. During the flu we didn’t have the automobile. I went horseback and drove a buggy day and night. I stayed overnight when the patients were real bad. When the rain and snow came I just stayed it out. There wasn’t a member of my family that had the flu.”

When he came to Denison, he said, “I had a lot of trouble with pneumonia when I first came. Once again I took all the cases that had been given up. C. R. Crabetree, who lived about 18 miles west of Denison, had double pneumonia and I went and stayed all night with him and until he came to the next morning. He is still living today. That gave me a boost on the west side of town.”

And when interviews of other old timers are made it is evident that each still vividly remembers the 1918 influenza epidemic. We now know about 100 million persons around the world died of the flu with about 500,000 Americans among that number. But most chiropractors and their patients were miraculously spared. Even today, we repeatedly hear about those decisions to become a chiropractor after a remarkable recovery or when a close family member given up for dead suddenly came back to vibrant health.

Some of these heroic chiropractors who served faithfully during the 1918 crisis went on to become the major characters thrust upon the profession’s stage in the 20′s and 30′s and they had the courage, the background and the conviction to withstand all that would shortly be thrown against them [including being thrown in jail for practicing medicine without a license]. The publicity and reputation of such effectiveness in handling flu cases also brought new patients and much acclaim from people who knew nothing of chiropractic before 1918.

Chiropractic’s journey into health care took a huge leap forward thanks to its incredible effect on thousands of Americans during the flu crisis. [2,3,4] When you get adjusted, you increase immune function, among many other benefits. An increase in immune function is important for everything from the cold and runny nose to influenza, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention the great enhancing effects on a healthy individual. This is why everyone should have their spine checked and adjusted if needed. An adjustment may stimulate your immune system to better fight off any challenge, including influenza.

Remember, regular visits to your chiropractor will assure that your body is always operating at 100% of your optimal health potential. And that is good news.

References

1. Rhodes WR: “The Official History of Chiropractic in Texas.” Texas Chiropractic Association. Austin, TX. 1978.

2. Kent C: “Neuroimmunology — an update.” The Chiropractic Journal. August, 2001. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/2001/aug/aug2001kent.htm

3. Kent C: “Neuroimmunology and chiropractic.” The Chiropractic Journal. October, 1995. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/1995/oct/oct1995kent.htm

4. Kent C: “The mental impulse-biochemical and immunologic aspects.” The Chiropractic Journal. February, 1999. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/1999/feb/feb1999kent.htm

The video was produced by the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. The event description and brochure can be found here:
http://www.ah.ouhsc.edu/rehab/continuing_education.asp

The video of the presentation is now being used to educate the future doctors of physical therapy who will soon begin to graduate from more than 187 doctorate physical therapy degree programs in the US. The curricular use is described here:
http://blog.myphysicaltherapyspace.com/2008/03/extra-extra-the.html

Clearly the Neck911 leader is finding wide acceptance. This type of malicious, slanderous assault on the chiropractic profession delivered by a medical doctor to medical doctors is a possible violation of the AMA antitrust settlement which resulted from the Wilke v. AMA trial.

Chiropractic America has taken up the legal challenge to defend chiropractic in the past (Chiropractic America v. LaVecchia and Chiropractic Alliance of New Jersey v. Parisi), and prevailed in each of these cases. But we have since resolved to focus all of our efforts on public relations and advocacy and to leave the legal challenges to the organizations within the profession which are better suited to deal with legal and legislative issues.

We are grateful to all of those who are helping us to make chiropractic part of the American public’s thought process. As we grow, so does our ability to spread the word on our members’ behalf and give chiropractic its deserved place in the hearts and minds of the American people. The best defense is a strong offense and we are on the offensive, spreading the chiropractic message.

]]> http://chirounity.com/12/md-violating-ama-antitrust-settlement/feed/ 1 http://chirounity.com/3/chirounity-launches-to-unite-chiropractors/ http://chirounity.com/3/chirounity-launches-to-unite-chiropractors/#comments Wed, 21 May 2008 05:31:28 +0000 admin http://chirounity.com/?p=3 Chiropractic America has launched a new website to provide free local search optimization as well as behavioral statistics of online health seekers to chiropractors. The mission is to see to it that those seeking information via the internet are introduced to a subluxation based chiropractor when they seek a chiropractor online. For far too long, consumer understanding of chiropractic has been shaped by the medical profession and the segment of the chiropractic profession that most closely duplicates the allopathic medical model.

Our 113 year history of drugless health care has never been communicated effectively to the public. Until now. By providing free instruction on how to increase visibility in the major search engines and take full advantage of the incredible opportunity which the Internet provides, we free up chiropractor’s resources previously spent on individual websites, yellow page advertising and other out-dated marketing methods. The savings can then be used to reach out to the 95% of the population who are unaware that the health of their spine has a major impact on their overall health and wellbeing. Pooling the resources of thousands of leading chiropractors, we have created a powerful marketing engine to educate health care consumers nationwide about the importance of spinal health, motivate them to seek chiropractic care, and direct them to exclusive local partner practices.

A series of instructional videos has been developed which will provide information and instruction on how to minimize advertising expense while maximizing results. The term “Unity” has been bantered about for many years in our great profession. But never before has a comprehensive plan been put forth to unify like minded chiropractors behind a common, cooperative marketing program like that which we have created. Chiropractic marketing is in need of an adjustment. When the power of the chiropractic adjustment meets the power of the Internet to reach a global audience with our message of hope and healing, the new patient problem will be solved once and for all.

The case was decided in favor the Chiropractic Alliance of NJ and this illegal practice was halted. Louis Parisi, the longtime director of the Fraud Division under whose tenure this practice became commonplace, resigned shortly thereafter. Richard Jaffe Esq., a Houston health care attorney who led the fight stated afterward that this was the first time the RICO Act had been successfully used against a governmental investigative body. “Dateline NBC” did a feature story on this lawsuit as it resulted in the reversal of similar laws disproportunately attacking chiropractors in 17 other states.

On the heels of this monumental victory, The Chiropractic Alliance of New Jersey was incorporated as the Whole Health Chiropractic Network (later renamed Chiropractic America) in 1994 with the goal of extending beyond advocacy to promotion of the profession. The vision was to create a unifying public relations and advertising campaign that would be both affordable for all doctors and reach millions of prospective patients with the chiropractic message.

It all began when The Chiropractic Alliance of New Jersey was formed in 1992 to advocate for the chiropractic profession. Almost instantly they had an impact, filing a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit against the New Jersey Department of Insurance, Fraud Division and the state’s 12 largest insurance carriers (Chiropractic Alliance of New Jersey v. Parisi). Their lawsuit was designed to stop the practice of using uninvestigated and unsubstantiated allegations of insurance irregularity to essentially extort civil fines from chiropractors and other healthcare practitioners. (Most chiropractors, despite having done nothing wrong, would choose to pay the fines rather than face the prospect of the Division significantly disrupting or shutting down their practices to conduct a baseless investigation.)

The case was decided in favor the Chiropractic Alliance of NJ and this illegal practice was halted. Louis Parisi, the longtime director of the Fraud Division under whose tenure this practice became commonplace, resigned shortly thereafter. Richard Jaffe Esq., a Houston health care attorney who led the fight stated afterward that this was the first time the RICO Act had been successfully used against a governmental investigative body. “Dateline NBC” did a feature story on this lawsuit as it resulted in the reversal of similar laws disproportunately attacking chiropractors in 17 other states.

On the heels of this monumental victory, The Chiropractic Alliance of New Jersey was incorporated as the Whole Health Chiropractic Network (later renamed Chiropractic America) in 1994 with the goal of extending beyond advocacy to promotion of the profession. The vision was to create a unifying public relations and advertising campaign that would be both affordable for all doctors and reach millions of prospective patients with the chiropractic message.

Chiropractic America developed a marketing strategy for chiropractors that mirrored the highly successful 1 800 DENTIST program which was redefining dental care in the United States. Company founder, Gary Pomeroy, knew that public relations, advertising and a unified national strategy were needed if chiropractic was ever to gain the mainstream acceptance it so rightfully deserved. This was the first national marketing/public relations effort for chiropractic ever created and was one of many firsts for the profession that Chiropractic America accomplished.

On February 27th, 1995, the first full page, full color chiropractic ad ran in People magazine. For the first time in history, national media exposure benefiting the profession of chiropractic with a strong positive message about the benefits of care and a national 1-800 referral service was directing patients to participating chiropractor’s offices from New York to Hawaii. The battle to get these ads placed in Time Warner and other major publications was hard fought, but tenacity paid off. Full page, full color ads in People, Newsweek, Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Woman’s Day, Country Living, Home Magazine, Working Mother and others followed and continued through 1998.

In March 1996, Chiropractic America built the first chiropractic website, www.ChiroUSA.com. The site won several awards including the Looksmart / Microsoft award for creative sites. The ChiroUSA site was honored as being one of the first 450 database driven websites in the world. This award included a feature story in Reader’s Digest which gave the site national exposure at no cost to the member doctors. This was the first national public relations coup for chiropractic, Chiropractic America and its members: free national PR.

Throughout 1996, Chiropractic America produced dozens of 30 and 60 second television spots. The commercials were produced by Chiropractic America and Intermedia Inc. of Los Angeles and featured chiropractic patients directly from member practices along with Mark Victor Hansen, Joe DiAngelis (Mr. Universe), Judy Norton of the Walton’s and other celebrity chiropractic patients. Hundreds of commercials aired nationally on cable networks from 1997 to 1999. The first ever nationally aired, network television, prime time commercials for chiropractic ran during the NBA playoffs June 10th,12th, 14th and 17th 1998 followed by the US Open Championship, the Michigan 400 Nascar race and the Pennzoil 200 Indy car race later that same month.

Also in 1998, radio commercials were added to the effort. The commercials were written and produced by Gary at the WABC Studio in New York. More than 1,000 commercials aired on nationally syndicated radio shows including Dr. Laura, Ken Hamblin, Sean Hannity and many others.

That same year, Gary negotiated the first national major media sponsorship for chiropractic. Chiropractic America and New York’s WABC radio, the top syndicated news/talk radio station in the country co-sponsored Chiropractic Awareness Month in January and 160 radio spots aired on topics that included: chiropractic care for the prevention of illness and injury; pain relief; treating the source of disease through chiropractic care; and the vertebral subluxation and its related dangers. The spots were written and produced by Gary and were read on air by WABC radio hosts. Others were co-written and recorded for broadcast by Dr. Bob Hoffman and Drs. Stuart and Theresa Warner. In addition, WABC ran 12 public service announcements per week promoting Chiropractic Awareness Month.

While working diligently to promote chiropractic, Chiropractic America became aware that the New Jersey legislature wanted to rein in the increasing cost of automobile insurance. Their solution was to pass the Auto Insurance Cost Reduction Act on May 19, 1998. The new law established care paths that greatly restricted those injured in motor vehicle accidents from accessing chiropractic care. Under that mandate, people injured in auto accidents were restricted to four visits.

The care paths were developed by Price, Waterhouse and Coopers (PWC), a large accounting firm which used a team of “three individuals with medical degrees, two nurses, and one MBA.” There were no chiropractors on the PWC team.

On November 4, 1998 Chiropractic America, filed suit against New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman, the commissioner of the Dept. of Banking and Insurance Jaynee LaVecchia, and the assistant commissioner for legislative and regulatory affairs to block the state’s new auto insurance reform law from going into effect (Chiropractic America v. LaVecchia).

Richard Jaffe Esq. again led the judicial battle for Chiropractic America. “This case has national significance,” Mr. Jaffe told the Houston Business Journal. “It will determine who makes treatment decisions: the doctor and the patient, or the state government and the insurance companies.”

And it did in fact have national significance. After a lengthy court battle, this case was finally decided in the US 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Chiropractic America was victorious and the insurance reform law was blocked.

Also in 1998, Chiropractic America successfully convinced the Florida Attorney General to reverse a rule that would have severely limited chiropractor’s ability to participate in any form of collective advertising. This time he was able to protect the rights of chiropractors without taking it all the way to the US Supreme Court. By testifying and presenting valid arguments, he was able to stop the rule (Rule 64B2-15.001 Florida Administrative Code) in its tracks.

Unfortunately for Chiropractic America and for chiropractic, by this time managed care was dramatically shifting financial realities and focus within the profession. By 1999, Chiropractic America’s membership numbers had begun to drop significantly. The advertising-oriented model that had been so helpful for the profession in the early to mid-1990s was no longer enough to overcome the realities of survival in a managed care driven healthcare system, and many chiropractors were forced to restrict their investment in marketing in order to afford other expenses of practice management.

In 2005, at the urging of another longtime friend, Gary was convinced that the timing was right for the effort to be revived – and that in fact it was needed more than ever before. There had been no market growth for some years and the reputation of the profession was lagging. Shortly thereafter, Gary found out he had cancer.

Gary spent the last few months he was able to work attending Parker Seminar in Las Vegas, meeting with leaders both inside and outside chiropractic in Colorado, Utah, Florida, Massachusetts and other locations garnering support for a reinvigorated and refocused Chiropractic America.

The results is a new website, www.YourSpine.com that serves as a central base to aggregate the power of thousands of doctors nationwide to promote spinal health and chiropractic. The new site is written for consumers as a spinal health advocacy and patient education resource. A program has been designed to place the site at the top of the search engine results for hundreds of health related web queries, thereby placing information about the benefits of chiropractic care in the hands of internet users at the exact moment they are in need of care.

The nation’s leading healthcare public relations firm, the Feinstein Kean Healthcare division of Ogilvy PR Worldwide has been retained to drive the message of chiropractic into the mainstream media. Establishing this relationship was literally the last act of Gary’s long and productive career as a servant to the chiropractic community. Additionally, national co-sponsorship arrangements are in negotiation that will continue and expand the tradition established through Gary’s earlier efforts.

Gary’s life work has been to spread the message of chiropractic. He inspired that passion in me, and I will continue the valuable work he began through Chiropractic America. Like many others involved with the chiropractic profession, I am indebted to Gary for his tireless efforts, and grateful for all he accomplished.

Garrison Younger Pomeroy
6-14-1957 to 11-28-2006