Essential, Effective, and Ethical

 

As many people know, and 100 Year Lifestyle has written, Chiropractors were named part of the essential critical infrastructure workforce in an advisory memorandum written by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 28, 2020. For many families who consider their chiropractor to be their primary caregiver, this acknowledgement was confirmation of what they already knew. However, what they knew then and still know today is that chiropractors are not only essential. Chiropractors are essential, effective, and ethical. Can all healthcare providers make the same claim?

Effective

When it comes to effective, according to 2021 statistics comparing US healthcare to other high-income countries, the answer would be no. In fact, the U.S. ranked last despite spending more of its gross domestic product on healthcare as compared to countries like Australia, Norway, and the Netherlands. The U.S. ranked last in access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes.

The U.S. did, however, rank second on measures of care process. What exactly is care process? It is defined as including measures of “preventive care, safe care, coordinated care, and engagement and patient preferences.” What does that encompass specifically? It includes screenings, talking with providers about nutrition, smoking, and alcohol, and – of course – vaccinations. And the U.S. nailed it when it comes to the use of computerized alerts regarding medications.

Meanwhile, people in the U.S. are still becoming addicted to prescribed drugs, dying of preventable or lifestyle induced diseases, and dying or having their lives irrevocably altered by medical mistakes. How do you define effective?

Ethical

Every profession has its own ethical code from building contractors to healthcare providers – including chiropractors. In the case of physicians, the American Medical Association’s Code of Ethics is widely recognized as being the most comprehensive professional code for physicians. The AMA code was adopted in 1847. This is the same organization that from 1963 until 1987 had a Committee on Quackery focused almost entirely on chiropractors. The committee was ultimately brought down by Illinois chiropractor Chester Wilk and four other doctors of chiropractic who filed a lawsuit. In the lawsuit documentation it was stated that:

The Committee worked diligently to eliminate chiropractic. A primary method to achieve this goal was to make it unethical for medical physicians to professionally associate with chiropractors… In 1966, the AMA’s House of Delegates passed a resolution labeling chiropractic an unscientific cult.

The judge ruled that the AMA was  guilty of having conspired to destroy the profession of chiropractic. In her 101 page opinion, the judge ruled that the AMA and its co-conspirators had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by organizing a national boycott of doctors of chiropractic by medical physicians and hospitals using an ethics ban on interprofessional cooperation.

In that 24 year period of time the AMA and other defendants actively but covertly tried to undermine chiropractic educational institutions. They also tried to hide evidence of the uses and benefits of chiropractic care, undercut insurance programs for patients of chiropractors, and subvert government inquiries into the efficacy of chiropractic care. In short, they participated in a large scale disinformation campaign to discredit the chiropractic profession

Careers were ruined and lives were ruined as the health of the public was put on the back burner by the same organization that supposedly wrote the book on medical ethics.

Is this behavior you would define as ethical?

Chiropractic Care

Today chiropractic care includes pediatrics, family care, generational care, sports chiropractic, brain health, nutrition, injury care, wellness care, animal chiropractic, mental health, and more.

Most insurance companies and Medicare cover a portion of chiropractic services. Additionally, the Veterans’ Health Administration, Defense Department, and hospitals throughout the US have included chiropractic services in their patient care. However, even when not covered many people choose to pay for their ongoing care out of pocket. Why? Because they value the proven benefits they receive.

The allopathic medical system has been experiencing radical upheaval and patient distrust, particularly since the pandemic. Meanwhile, the chiropractic community continues to thrive and grow. This is happening as chiropractic colleges step in to teach not only technique but leadership. They encourage communication, research, informed consent, the Hippocratic Oath, and conservative care first. This is why chiropractic care is one of the safest professions on record with professional liability carriers. And chiropractors are continuing to grow as the main healthcare provider for families around the world.

Trust

As you navigate these turbulent times, consider all your options and reconsider all your choices. Do this particularly when it comes to the care of yourself and your family. Regardless of your intentions, if you aren’t creating health but only moving from one crisis to the next, take a look at that process. If you aren’t making any changes in your self-care or lifestyle, yet expecting things to change or get better, you probably aren’t dealing with the problems directly. Not seeking help from a wellness team because you don’t have people in place that you trust, that’s something that needs to be dealt with immediately and directly.

Chiropractors exist to serve you. They want to assist you in your journey to support and benefit from your body’s innate intelligence. The benefit? Healthy longevity, and the energy, resources, and desire to enjoy every minute.

Make this the year that you commit to yourself. Find a 100 Year Lifestyle provider near you and begin your journey today. Find out for yourself what essential, effective, and ethical looks like and the difference that it will make in your life.