Health Talk by Susan Martin

Each year millions of Americans will visit a chiropractor to get relief from headaches, back pain and everything in between. Chiropractors are a dedicated group of professionals yet they face unique challenges.

The biggest challenges facing chiropractors today is managed care. We are expected to be able to pay our staff and overhead, and make a decent living on $25 per visit with a limit of 6 visits per patient without taking x-rays. I realize that the abuses of the 80's brought us here but I am being unfairly punished since I wasn't one of the abusers even though I have been in practice since 1974,” says Linda Seim, DC of www.seimchiropractic.com

Dr. Gary Harcourt of Harcourt Chiropractic in York, PA adds,“ Having a "Fair Playing field" when it comes to insurance coverage. We offer so many services and are licensed to provide those services in our state carriers will not cover those services when provided by a chiropractor. Medicare is a prime example. Lack of public education is also a huge challenge for our profession. There are so many people who could benefit from what we offer. There are a multitude of reasons why the situation exists yet millions of people could have better health if they understood and utilized chiropractic. I am convinced that if each profession could recognize the value and benefit of what we each do and refer patients to those other professions who can truly help the patient in the most conservative way, we'd all be a lot better off. The patients needs should come first, not politics, not turf battles, not insurance issues. The patient should be the prime focus. What a concept!! I am also convinced that if enough people understood the benefits of chiropractic we would have a severe shortage of Doctors of chiropractic in this country. Our profession has had much infighting and spent time and resources which could have been better used to promote the benefits to the general public.”

According to Dr. Serge Nerli 718-961-1253 ,“The biggest challenges facing Chiropractors today are:

1) trying to survive in a managed care environment as a solo practitioner,

2) struggling to get paid by third party payers whose only interests are profits, and

3) rising competition from physical therapist, massage therapists and acupuncturists

Dr. Tracy Watson www.carychiropractic.com believes the biggest challenge is to continue to improve my skills so I can help those who seek my help both faster and more affordable which leads to more referrals I earn.

I see several major challenges to myself and the profession. These are a combination of ignorance, apathy and greed. The public in general does not truly know what Chiropractic does and why. To the majority of people, we take care of back pain. Unfortunately, the public does not even know exactly what is meant by back pain. To them, this is a problem that occurs right about where the belt is. My patients are generally amazed to learn that the back starts up at the base of the skull and goes down to where one sits. They also do not fully understand why I do not prescribe drugs to them to fix the problem, since that is what their Medical doctor has been doing for them for years. Why won't Chiropractors take the time to talk to the public without the promise of immediate new patients? That is point two. Apathy. Too many Chiropractors want to stay out of the spotlight. I attended one seminar, where the Doctor giving the lecture, repeatedly told the Chiropractors in attendance, what ever you do, stay in the middle. If fees range from $25-$50 for an office visit, charge in the mid $30's. If the average treatment time is 7 - 12 visits, stay at 9 or 10. Whatever you do, do not draw attention to yourself. I shudder to think how many times he had been sued. Once Chiropractors get their license, they seem to prefer to stay quiet. Modern medicine is again working to destroy Chiropractic. Let's get back to health care for the people, not the wallet,“ says Daniel K. Jacobs, D.C. of West Bloomfield, MI

Dr. Buddy Touchinsky www.bmfchiro.com told us that the biggest challenges he faces as a chiropractor are:

1. Declining reimbursement from insurance companies along with higher co-pays and deductibles for patients.

2. Since the above is also happening to large hospital networks and medical groups, they are feeling the pinch too and have resorted to more aggressive marketing and are sure to keep patients within their network, referring to their specialists rather than an independent practitioner such as myself. I've had doctors that I know will refer patients away from me because "I never would have heard the end of it from the hospital if I would have told the patient to keep seeing you".

3. Overly restrictive care plans from insurance companies - Insurance companies are using guidelines to improperly reduce approval of care and diagnostic testing. It definitely affects quality of care when they wont pay for procedures that patients need, especially since most patients can't or won't pay for the unapproved procedures.

As a chiropractor, the biggest challenges and uphill battles are in educating and re-educating the public on how important a healthy spine is to the body's whole wellness. We continually provide workshops, seminars, talks and educational events at various venues in an effort to share essential information and statistics on the critical value of a healthy central nervous system. Our mission at Freedom Chiropractic is to create an environment of health, transformation and abundance for our patients, their families and our community. We are committed to providing excellence in corrective and wellness care so that everyone can experience and share the freedom of lifetime optimum health says,” Kristen C. Kells, D.C., Freedom Chiropractic Colorado Springs, CO 80918, 719.533.0303

Dr. Bryce Koelling said,” The biggest challenge facing us is the education of people in that there's a natural way to approach your health, and it's not always a need for another drug like the advertising on TV states. We don't suffer headaches because we lack aspirin in our diet. Chiropractic addresses the "circuit breaker box" for each person, which is the spine. That's it. It's simple. Too simple for most. To learn more, please visit http://www.drbryce.com

Self destruction - the profession must finally become unified in order to have a clear concise description of chiropractic - the general population still does not think of us as a "real doctor." National Strength and Conditioning Association Chairman Dr. Steven Horwitz. His website is www.youcanbefit.com