“…regular utilization of chiropractors as primary care physicians reduces the need for hospitalization by 60.2%, hospital days by 59%, pharmaceutical usage by 85%, outpatient surgeries and procedures by 62% and overall global health care costs by more than 50%.” Chiropractors could single handedly solve the healthcare crisis.

Richard L. Sarnat M.D. is a board certified physician, now specializing in Integrative medicine. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Washington University and was also nominated for Rhodes and Oxford scholarships. A graduate of Rush Medical College, he completed his residency at Northwestern University. He is the co-founder, President and Executive Medical Director of Alternative Medicine Integration Group, L.L.P., an outcomes-based medical management company promoting the integration of CAM modalities along with conventional medicine in a managed care setting.

Objective

Our initial report analyzed clinical and cost utilization data from the years 1999 to 2002 for an integrative medicine independent physician association (IPA) whose primary care physicians (PCPs) were exclusively doctors of chiropractic. This report updates the subsequent utilization data from the IPA for the years 2003 to 2005 and includes first-time comparisons in data points among PCPs of different licensures who were orientated toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Methods

Independent physician association incurred claims and stratified random patient surveys were descriptively analyzed for clinical utilization, cost offsets, and member satisfaction compared with conventional medical IPA normative values. Comparisons to our original publication’s comparative blinded data, using nonrandom matched comparison groups, were descriptively analyzed for differences in age/sex demographics and disease profiles to examine sample bias.

Results

Clinical and cost utilization based on 70274 member-months over a 7-year period demonstrated decrease of 60.2% in-hospital admissions, 59% hospital days, 62% outpatient surgeries and procedures, and 85% pharmaceutical costs when compared with conventional medicine IPA performance for the same health  maintenance organization product in the same geography and time frame.

Conclusion

During the past 7 years, and with a larger population than originally reported, the CAM-oriented PCPs using a nonsurgical/non pharmaceutical approach demonstrated reductions in both clinical and cost utilization when compared with PCPs using conventional medicine alone. Decreased utilization was uniformly achieved by all CAM-oriented PCPs, regardless of their licensure. The validity and generalizability of this observation are guarded given the lack of randomization, lack of statistical analysis possible, and potentially biased data in this population.

If you’re looking for more information on chiropractic care and its great benefits or want to schedule a consultation, turn to the staff at Red Wing Chiropractic Clinic PA led by Dr. Jay M Greenberg. Visit the clinic’s website to learn more about our services or call (651) 388-8294.