Open Letter to Medical Doctors

Dear Doctor:

With the US Federal Governments’ approval research money is now being awarded to chiropractic schools and other research institutions to find out just what it is that makes chiropractic spinal manipulation, or the chiropractic adjustment as we call it, get such good results and is so beneficial to peoples’ health. Chiropractic is now included in all US health insurance plans and with the advent of modern scientific research equipment and protocols answers to this are slowly but finally starting to be found.

Today, many chiropractors are authors or co-authors with other health providers on a variety of topics and are beginning to publish in mainstream scientific journals as well as in the peer-reviewed chiropractic literature.

In 1989, the US Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) funded the Back Pain Outcome Assessment Team (BOAT), which included chiropractors on the advisory committee.

A small number of chiropractors serve as peer-reviewers and advisers for the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the U.S. Department of Defense, where they interact with other health providers and scientists in appropriate scholarly tasks.

Chiropractors are increasingly involved in multidisciplinary practices and in managed care organizations. In fact, chiropractors have established their own managed care organizations, mostly in the form of independent practice associations (IPAs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and are gaining market share. Additionally, chiropractors have served as reviewers and consultants for the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the Health Services Resource Administration, the Department of Defense, and the Health Care Financing Administration. All of this is a far cry from the American Medical Association's prejudice and ignorance of the past.

Even the medical doctors themselves are changing their opinion of chiropractic. Recent survey data suggest that a significant proportion of medical physicians perceive value in chiropractic. 49 percent of US East Coast family practice physicians surveyed found chiropractic to be "legitimate medical practice," and that 56 percent had made referrals to a chiropractor. Similar results in a survey of family physicians in Washington State were also found. In Canada, 62 percent of medical physicians refer patients with musculoskeletal pain to chiropractors and that 9.5 percent of medical practitioners are chiropractic patients themselves.

But even though many medical doctors believe chiropractic has value, few feel well informed about it and many would like to learn more. For example, while 70 percent of the general practitioners in Nova Scotia felt chiropractic to be useful and 58 percent made referrals to chiropractors, only 10 percent admitted knowledge of chiropractic. Education, it seems, is a life long pursuit.

This letter is to introduce myself as a resource to you and your patients.  I am a Chiropractic Physician with postdoctoral training in clinical hypnotherapy, clinical thermography and personal injury.  I am current in the most recent guidelines for treatment for the injured patient and can easily communicate to you if your injured patient could benefit from Chiropractic treatment.

However, in my 20 years of practice I have found that some of my more interesting cases have come by referral from the Medical profession.  You may routinely see patients with spinal problems, some of which do not respond to your treatment protocol and are not candidates for surgery.  Even those that are considered for surgery deserve a conservative trial of a non-drug treatment program to determine if the often unnecessary and unsuccessful surgical intervention can be avoided. It is these cases that I would like to make myself available.

In a time of rampant drug abuse and chemical dependence, whether it is physical or psychological, many of our patients are not suited for pharmacological treatment of their health problems. These patients are better treated in a non-drug environment. Chiropractic care offers one of the best non-drug approaches to patient care available today. Consider these special patients when deciding on a treatment protocol.

You will receive a timely written and/or verbal report regarding the initial consultation and any subsequent treatment. Your patient will be referred back to you after consultation or treatment for your management with any recommendations I may have for any additional therapy or cautions about follow-up care.

Considerable research has been done that defines the benefits and importance of utilizing chiropractic for appropriate patient care. Please feel free to contact my office for additional information or to discuss a patient in question. I look forward to being of service.

Sincerely,

Glendon Leister, D.C., C.Ht.