Objective
To describe chiropractic care using data collected at the time of each patient visit.
Methods
Random samples of chiropractors licensed in Arizona and Massachusetts were recruited
to participate in interviews about their training, demographics, and practice characteristics.
Interviewees were then recruited to record information about patient condition, evaluation,
care, and visit disposition on 20 consecutive patient visits.
Results
Data for 2550 chiropractic patient visits were recorded. Care for low back, head and
neck pain accounted for almost three quarters of visits. Extremity conditions and
wellness care accounted for approximately half of the remaining visits. Spinal and
soft tissue examinations were the most frequently reported diagnostic procedures (80%
and 56% of visits, respectively), and high-velocity spinal manipulation techniques
were the most frequently reported therapeutic procedures (almost 85% of visits). Rehabilitation
exercises, thermal modalities, electric stimulation, and counseling/education/self-care
were each performed during approximately 25% of visits. Approximately 85% of patients
seen were self-referred, whereas only approximately 5% came from medical physicians.
Approximately 35% of visits had an expected source of payment directly from the patient.
Approximately 80% of visits ended with a plan for the patient to return at a specified
time.
Conclusion
These findings are consistent with the findings of previous studies and confirm that
chiropractors use conventional patient assessment approaches with specific attention
to spinal and musculoskeletal procedures, infrequently incorporating interventions
commonly associated with other complimentary and alternative care providers. These
findings illustrate that diagnostic assessment and follow-up are integral to chiropractic
clinical encounters and offer a baseline for best practices development. The data
also offer insight into chiropractic use and may be of interest to chiropractic leaders
and education planners for professional development purposes.
Key Indexing Terms
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Article info
Publication history
Received in revised form:
July 13,
2005
Received:
April 4,
2005
Footnotes
Sources of support: No external funding was provided for this research.
Identification
Copyright
© 2005 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
