With a movement toward more preventative health and wellness care and non-invasive medicinal treatments by the general population, the chiropractic profession has been moving into the limelight even more than ever.
Just in the last three decades, there have been exemplary changes in the Doctor of Chiropractic profession that makes it even easier to receive treatment.
New Coding to Ensure Reimbursement Codes are describing chiropractic manipulative treatment (CMT) for created for specifically for reimbursement. These codes were added to the Common Procedural Terminology or CPT book and allowed the Chiropractic field to describe primary services that led to an increase in reimbursement within the Medicare payment system and more.
Increased Representation of Chiropractic Medicine at the National Level
More and more, Chiropractic Doctors are being invited to contribute to health care policy making. To date the chiropractic community has representatives on the:
- Advisory Committee for the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- American Medical Association’s Relative Value Update Health Care Professional Advisory Committee,
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Board of Governors Increased Federal Funding for Chiropractic Research and Educational Institutions
Over the past 30 years, the federal government has promised approximately $80 Million in funding to chiropractic colleges to better evaluate the benefits of chiropractic care. The funding has provided the research to assist in the delivery of higher quality chiropractic care.
Increases in Research Publications
Even just thirty years ago, there was essentially no scientific literature on the effectiveness of chiropractic treatments. Now, there are approximately 200 articles and reports presented annually and six chiropractic journals that are part of the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed search engine.
Increased Visibility Courtesy of Sports Professionals
Doctors of Chiropractic are now included on the medical teams provided at the World games, Olympic games and more. Additionally, each of the 32 teams making up the National Football League provide chiropractic treatment and care to their players.
Many of these players have spoken out publicly about the benefits of the chiropractic treatments they’ve undergone and praised them and the providers for the work they do.
Chiropractic Care is Expanding Globally
There are now less chiropractic college within the United States than there are in other places across the planet and 85 different countries are represented members of the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC). This organization represents the chiropractic profession to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Doctors of Chiropractic are More Frequently Found in Multi-Disciplinary Medical Facilities
As more medical offices open that provide multiple treatments and care options under one roof, Chiropractors are increasingly being included in these types of center. Additionally, more than 200 doctors of chiropractic are working with the Department of Defense and other organizations to provide treatment to active duty and Veteran military personnel.
Chiropractic Care is Now Recommended by the American College of Physicians
Most recently, the American College of Physicians has released a statement that chiropractic care is recommended as a first line of defense for lower back pain.
And the Work Continues
As the future of chiropractic professions unfold, more research and education will continue to bring to light the importance and benefits of chiropractic care as a preventative measure and as a treatment for a variety of health issues.
