Ethics and Jurisprudence

Chiropractic Incomes

Curious about chiropractic incomes? Here are a few numbers from the Chiro/Eco survey. I wish the terminology were clearer about "salaried" chiropractors vs. "owner-operators". There will be some new numbers out shortly re 2006 data.

Healthcare Issues

Here's a list of the top 10 healthcare issues for 2006 according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers Health Research Institute. I can see several place in this list where the chiropractic profession could offer serious solutions. See if you can come up with the chiropractic implications of several items.

Scope of Practice

Our old friend New Jersey is in the news for having a new scope of practice proposal before the legislature. You can read in brief the proposed changes, which include allowing acupuncture, nutrition, extremities, etc. What do you think?

Standard of Care

We have recently talked about standard of care as it relates to malpractice suits, and you will remember that the role of an expert witness in a trial is to state the standard of care and render an opinion as to whether the standard was upheld or not. Here's an interesting article proposing another method of establishing standard of care. Taking a poll? What do you think?

DCs vs. PTs

Our recent discussion about scope of practice and whether Physical Therapy is within the realm of chiropractic is dealt with by Dr. Bob Braille in this artcle. I think you'll enjoy what he has to say. Feel welcome to post your comments on this matter. It's an issue that our profession needs to deal with, and it may not be totally played out until long after you are in practice.

Who Pays for Healthcare?

With 45 million people in America uninsured and generally out of the loop for basic healthcare, there is general concern in many venues about the state of healthcare in this country. Among the solutions proposed is the notion that the federal government owes US citizens some provision for basic healthcare services, and should expand Medicare type services to everyone in the country. As always, the devil is in the details, and few have come up with an answer that has even the remotest possibility of actually working. Here's a short video with a proposal for a federal intervention.

Digest of news that may be of interest!

As providers of healthcare services I think it is important for DCs and student DCs to have some little idea of what is going on in the general field of healthcare. Most of us are too busy to follow very many journals, therefore, we concentrate on information about our own areas of interest. I have found it helpful to periodically take a look at newsletters like this one from NCMIC to get the brief Reader's Digest version of what's happening in our profession and other health professions. This particular report tends to emphasize what's good about chiropractic and what's bad about medicine, but you can apply the concepts of critical thinking to draw your own conclusions. It's just a quick scan of the world, and if you find something interesting, you can follow the links.