Category: Patient Education

Hello again and welcome to the third part of my seven part series.

In this issue, we will look at the dental hygiene model and discuss how the practice of dentistry went from a group who primarily provided a removal service for dead and decaying teeth to a very professional and well-trained group of doctors who have developed the strongest wellness-based health care system in the world.

It is a little known fact that the American Medical Association’s defense against quackery was, at the very least, co-written by dental professionals and more likely co-funded. It is absolutely certain that some of the same companies and industries that count on the perpetuation of the “drug and cut” sick care system are also deeply interested in the perpetuation of the dental hygiene model, as well as the “drill and fill” system of acute dental care. Which industry do you think was and will forever push for the fluoridation of water and toothpaste—possibly the chemical and drug companies? The point I am trying to make is, it was not the dental association, in and of themselves, that was able to capitalize on the social value system they have created of twice a year dental checkups and twice a day brushing and flossing. I’m not saying that there is necessarily anything wrong with the idea of taking good care of your teeth and gums. In fact, I believe that it is one of the best things we can do to ensure we keep our choppers for as long as possible.

The dental health field has undergone many changes and evolutions in the past century and, through these adaptations, they have realized that, for dental health to improve, public consciousness and professional responsibility must be the cornerstone of their efforts.

I can’t pin down the exact year that dental professionals started providing dental hygiene education in schools, but most of you reading this article will remember having the dentist or hygienist bring little red tablets to your classroom. After chewing them, your teeth turned red in some places, right? You all know what that meant. If you said plaque, you are correct. Do any of us have any idea what plaque is or if it is desirable? Of course you know what it is, that it is not desirable and, more importantly, you know it is not good for children. If you have children, what is the biggest battle you are all willing to fight before bed each night with them? Yes—brushing their teeth. Why do we do that? Because we learned well and understood the message and teachings we were provided in school.

Here is a statement from Cheryl Chapman at the University of Arkansas Little Rock when talking about their dental hygiene program: “Without the dental hygiene program, these children would not have dental exams. When we take the vans to the schools to load up for a trip to UAMS, those kids fight over who gets to go to the dentist.” ^© 2003 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)

I believe that, if we do the right thing and take the professional high road, we will someday be afforded the same opportunities that dentistry enjoys today. It is about more then teaching children. It is about creating the level of consciousness for a whole society where the importance of spinal and nervous system balance is recognized as being so important that you are sought after to bring health and wellness information to the children in your community. In any community, the most valued and honored group of citizens are the children. More time, energy, and money are spent on this segment of the population than any other. Isn’t it a shame that the leadership in your community is ignorant to the fact that you offer more to the future of your community than any other health care professional can?

In the next four segments, I will focus on how you can highlight your skills, knowledge, and leadership to become a valued and respected resource for your community and increase the utilization of chiropractic and serve more people. We will talk about civic, economic, and social leadership and help you understand why this is so important to you, your community, and chiropractic.

Dr. Slocum is a 1993 graduate of Logan College in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a fourth generation chiropractor, the eleventh member of his family to practice chiropractic.

Dr. Slocum and his partner, Rok A. Morin, D.C., are co-creators of Learning Curves™, a three-tier community education and marketing program for the chiropractic profession. Drs. Slocum and Morin lecture on a national basis to chiropractors encouraging them to spread awareness of chiropractic in their communities. Go to www.learningcurves.us, e-mail [email protected] or call 1-800- 613-2528 for more information.

 

If you read part one of this seven-part series, you will know that I proposed our profession focus its energy and attention on the development of a generational value system, highlighting the importance of a balanced spinal and nervous system as an integral aspect of maintaining health and creating wellness in one’s life. You will also likely remember that, in the body of that piece, I mentioned briefly the American Medical Associations’s curriculum on quackery developed and implemented in 1964. I will begin this segment where I left off and fulfill the promise of highlighting one of two different models that have been used by dentistry and medicine to very effectively shape the collective consciousness of society, and I will begin to highlight a model for chiropractic to do the same.

I will go out on a limb and assume that there isn’t a single reader of this column who hasn’t heard of the historic case Wilk vs. A.M.A. And, if you are like most, including myself, you understood or at least felt that this was a defining moment in chiropractic history where we won a decision that would end the unfair and undeserved persecution by the tyrannical zealot’s of the “scientific” medical establishment. It is like Greek mythology for most of us. We have heard the stories and used them as a beckoning call for the advancement of fair and equal rights in the healthcare system, but most today can’t possibly understand what it was really like when chiropractors were being jailed for helping end the suffering of citizens who were the victims of medical malfeasance while, at the same time, being held up as “cultists” and “quacks.”

Through a very good friend of mine and a mentor, Dr. John Reader, I have had the opportunity to possess the actual course material and “supporting” documentation developed by the A.M.A.’s Department of Health Education, titled Defense against Quackery a resource for Teachers. This very interesting and, I would say, irresponsible and eye-opening resource guide contains:

1) Four separate curricula including:

• General information for teachers

• A sample teaching unit for the elementary student

• A sample teaching unit for the junior high student

• A sample teaching unit for the high school student and adult groups

2) Five different pamphlets specifically used to support the danger of quackery; one of the titles, The merchants of menace, copyrighted A.M.A. 1964

3) A ten-page article, titled “The Scientific Brief against Chiropractic.” The New Physician 1966

4) A six-page document, titled Educational Background of Chiropractic School Faculties. JAMA Sept 16th 1966

5) A 35-page publication, titled Facts On Quacks, copyrighted by the A.M.A. in 1966.

If you do the math on this, you will realize that the individuals who developed these materials and were pushing this agenda are now between 65-100+ years old. And the audience they were reaching out to is now age 48-63, and their children are now approximately 24-47 years of age and their children are now the same ages that this propaganda was aimed at influencing in the first place.

I believe that the material I have was a very small piece of a much bigger initiative. The anti-quack propaganda machine was very effective at creating a generational value system or, at the very least, a level of fear and ignorance that affected the health care decisions of more than one generation. In fact, it is still very common for chiropractors to hear things like, “I wish my mother would come in; she just doesn’t believe in chiropractic;” or, “I know you could help my aunt Mildred, but she thinks chiropractors are quacks.” It even affects the baby-boomers and will continue to affect their children and grandchildren if they hold true to the ideals and beliefs of their parents.

In closing, I hope you can see the link between early education and the development of social norms, beliefs, and value systems. It is an interesting fact that the group that was directly targeted with this “defense against quackery” was the generation split between the baby-boomers and their parents. In fact, the people that primarily decide on public law and the direction healthcare “reform” is going happen to be the same people. Here are some facts to consider: The average age of the U.S. Congress—56 years old; the U.S. Senate—60 years old; U.S. Representatives—55 years old; and a U.S. CEO 56.3 years old.

The next generation of decision makers is in school now and they are waiting for leadership and direction. They are waiting for their leader to show up. Who will it be? You?

Dr. Slocum is a 1993 graduate of Logan College in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a fourth generation chiropractor, the eleventh member of his family to practice chiropractic.

Dr. Slocum and his partner, Rok A. Morin, D.C., are co-creators of Learning Curves™, a three-tier community education and marketing program for the chiropractic profession. Dr.’s Slocum and Morin lecture on a national basis to chiropractors encouraging them to spread awareness of chiropractic in their communities. Go to www.learningcurves.us, e-mail [email protected] or call 1-800- 613-2528 for more information.

 

Creating a generational value system around the concept of spinoneural hygiene is essential for the growth of chiropractic. I am convinced that, for chiropractic to move forward and establish its rightful place in the health care delivery system, we need to have a model that becomes an integral part of society’s overall value system.

The question that I pose first is: What is the perceived purpose of chiropractic from a societal standpoint, and what is its value based on that perception? You see, you can’t have one without the other. The intrinsic value of any product or service is based on its perceived purpose and the relative cost or ease of obtaining the product or service.

I believe that we are stuck in the quagmire of our own marketing and propaganda (not to mention the American Medical Association’s curriculum on quackery that was taught in schools, starting in 1964). We will get to that later in the series though.

You see, we as a profession grew from nothing more than an idea and a burning desire to the second largest health care system in the world in a period of time equal to, roughly, sixty-five years. The initial growth of chiropractic is the most amazing fact about the history of Chiropractic. Now, consider this: for all intents and purposes, we have not grown significantly since the 1960-70’s. Sure, we see more people, because there are more people here; but, statistically, and based on percentages, chiropractic has been in a holding pattern for decades.

It is very obvious why chiropractic stopped moving forward from it’s humble beginning as an obscure health care system deeply based in philosophy and supported by a set of thirty-three principles to where it is today: an ill-defined and divided profession without a common unifying voice or identity. The reason we have stopped growing is, in a large part, the effect of chiropractic’s shifting message of purpose—from one of health and wellness as it relates to the individual and the relationship of the spine and nervous system in the development and maintenance of potential, to one of consumerism and insurance benefits, relegating chiropractic’s purpose as one of a treatment modality for acute injury and symptomatic palliation. I believe that our reliance on the third-party system of reimbursement was the beginning of the end of the growth of our profession. I don’t think that insurance benefits are a bad thing; I think that our sole reliance on the insurance and third party pay system is a bad thing. For chiropractic to grow from where it is today to where we could, should and would have been, we need to go back to the fundamentals or the truth about chiropractic—where we explain that, yes, chiropractic adjustments are a safe and effective program of care for the short term acute care needs of a sick society; however, the chiropractic wellness model is not a sick care allopathic model of treating illness or injury, but a comprehensive wellness model that is defined by our philosophy, principles and, yes, even science. It is time to end this tiresome and loosing fight to gain market share in a sick care system and start highlighting our role as lifestyle and wellness coaches and mentors in our communities. We need to develop long term relationships of leadership from a societal, civic and health care perspective. Our founding fathers would ask for nothing more than for us to hold up our beloved profession and be proud to share it with the masses.

In the following segments of this series, I will be highlighting two different models that have been used by dentistry and medicine to very effectively shape the collective consciousness of society, and suggesting a model for chiropractic to do the same.

Dr. Slocum is a 1993 graduated of Logan College in St. Louis Missouri. He is a fourth generation chiropractor, the eleventh member of his family to practice chiropractic.

Dr. Slocum and his partner Rok A. Morin, D.C., are co-creators of Learning Curves™, a three-tier community education and marketing program for the chiropractic profession. Dr’s Slocum and Morin lecture on a national basis to chiropractors encouraging them to spread awareness of chiropractic in their communities. Go to www.learningcurves.us, e-mail [email protected] or call (800) 613-2528 for more information.

Most people wonder where in the world the past year has gone, and now here it is…2005.  Many people make New Year’s resolutions that begin on January 1st.  Perhaps to eat healthy?  Maybe to exercise more?  How about reducing stress?  So many good intentions are there….  And, believe it or not, these resolutions almost always have at least something to do with health, fitness, wellness, weight loss, feeling better, or increasing the quality of life.  People want to feel better, weigh less and have more energy.  They start each year with an idea about what they want, but they do not know how to stick to their resolutions.

Why not help the people who truly want to improve their quality of life actually DO IT!  As our society embarks into the New Year, still entrenched in the medical and pharmaceutical viewpoint of “health”, we should stop to consider that there is a possibility of making a difference. 

We are the health care providers that can make a wellness based society more of a reality.  Though chiropractic philosophy varies according to personal values, school attended, and books read on the subject, there are a few common threads that “sew” our profession together.  One of those threads is INNATE.  Innate intelligence is basically the belief that the body can heal itself, given that it is free of nerve interference.  Innate does not in any way suggest that medications heal the body.  As chiropractors, we know this and, yet, we are not reaching the public.

The public still perceives that we are “cracking backs” and treating pain.  They are not aware that chiropractors are able to enhance their quality of life.  It is up to us.  By increasing public awareness of the miracles of chiropractic, especially those miracles that have nothing to do with pain, more people will consider chiropractic care as opposed to medicine.  Imagine how many potential chiropractic miracles there are out there who have no idea they should see you?
 
The question then becomes, “How does the public find out how chiropractic care fits in to their New Year’s resolutions?” 

There is one simple answer:  As a profession, we need to educate the public.  Yes, chiropractic has tried for years to educate the public.  However, it is not reaching the masses.  We know we do more than crack backs.  We do more than relieve pain.  Chiropractic is the answer to so many people’s  health concerns and, at the same time, the answer to many people’s wellness concerns.
 
 The way to target the mass population with regard to our profession, especially during this time of high perception of the concept of wellness, is to promote our profession as a wellness profession.

In the year ahead, it is likely that a similar number of patients will see a chiropractor due to some type of injury or pain.  This would lead to a similar year of patient visits, and a similar year of new patients.  Imagine what would happen if you educated each and every one of your patients’ family members, and friends regarding the other benefits to chiropractic care.  Some ways to do this is through testimonials from other patients.  Every office should have a means of having their patients read testimonials; you can make your own book, or use a published book like Improving Your Health Pro-Actively or Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul. This is a fountainhead of referrals!

Wouldn’t the average chiropractor increase his or her belief in their own profession by reading these stories of chiropractic success?  Help the public by doing your part. Help them understand that what they don’t know may be hurting them or a family member or friend.  Here’s to a healthy, happy and prosperous 2005!

Dr. Maurice A. Pisciottano, Executive Director of Pro-Solutions for Chiropractic, is a practicing chiropractor, noted lecturer, author, researcher and teacher.  He is well known for his practice management expertise and new patient development programs.  He has devoted the past 14 years to the development of the instrumentation and the computerization of chiropractic treatment and documentation.  Worldwide, Dr. Pisciottano has trained over 10,000 chiropractors and treated over 650,000 patients with the Pro-Adjuster^®.  He regularly lectures at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, IA, and at Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, MO.  Dr. Pisciottano is an honors graduate from the Palmer College of Chiropractic.  He can be reached at Pro-Solutions for Chiropractic in Pittsburgh, PA, at 1-877-942-4284.