The Role of Chiropractic Care in the Patient Centered Medical Home

CARMICHAEL, Calif. (Aug. 22, 2011) – The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising public awareness of the value of chiropractic care, announces the release of its hallmark white paper, “The Role of Chiropractic Care in the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH).” Prepared by Discern Consulting, and with the input and support of a high-profile team, including Mark Zeigler, DC, president, Northwestern Health Sciences University and board member of the F4CP; Steve Kraus, DC, DIBCN, CCSP, FASA, FICC, CEO, founder, Future Health and member of the F4CP; John Hollingsworth, M.D., M.S., and assistant professor, University of Michigan Health Systems; Tom Evans, M.D. and president, Iowa Healthcare Collaborative — and a panel of F4CP leadership — this paper documents the value of chiropractic care in the next phase of healthcare delivery.

“The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) creates an opportunity for Primary Care Providers (PCPs) and Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) to work together and maximize results in the healthcare delivery process,” says Dr. Zeigler.  “Supported by a collection of evidence-based literature establishing the clinical and cost efficiency of chiropractic, this paper signifies the added value of integrating chiropractic care within the PCMH.”

The PCMH model provides all-inclusive, improved primary care, with a fresh approach that redesigns the way primary care is delivered and financed.  By creating physician-directed care teams that collectively take responsibility for delivering care to patients over their lifetime, the PCMH aims to streamline care, avoid redundancies, enhance clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, and utilize the services of licensed health care practitioners in ways that best serve patients and extend the range of PCPs.

“This paper not only confirms the position of a DC as a member of a PCMH care team, but also demonstrates settings where the DC occupies the leading role,” says Dr. Zeigler. “Since federal legislation includes the participation of DCs but does not mandate it, the chiropractic profession may have been at risk for being shut-out of this evolving primary care setting.  But thanks to this Foundation initiative and publication of the white paper, DCs now have the groundwork to position their practices for inclusion and long-term success.”

Dr. Zeigler emphasizes that the Foundation wants DCs to take advantage of these opportunities and become an intricate member of a PCMH care team in their local communities.

“This paper can serve as a starting point for a productive conversation between individual practices and regional PCPs,” he says, noting that DCs should visit www.f4cp.com to attain a copy of the paper which will be an essential tool in securing their position within the medical home model.  “We will also be preparing a full action plan for DCs to utilize in their communities and urge the profession to be on the look-out for guidance from the Foundation – including webinars and toolkits.”

Public and private sectors have established some 27 multi-stakeholder medical home pilots underway in 18 states, and many more are set to launch later this year.  DCs are recognized as physicians under The Joint Commission, and considered to be eligible members of PCMH care teams under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

According to the leading consultant on the white paper, Guy D’Andrea, MBA, CEO of Discern Consulting, who will be presenting the paper during a featured workshop at the National Business Coalition on Health Fall Forum, November 7-9, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. “This document is a step forward for the chiropractic profession, since it not only is the first to introduce and solidly articulate the value of integrating chiropractic care within the PCMH, but also provides guidance for DCs in the next chapter of healthcare delivery.”