A Democratic senator and a Republican governor are both attempting to exempt their respective states from following certain provisions of the new healthcare reform law, signaling what could emerge as a trend of states trying to distance themselves from the federal health reform act.

  • Nearly half of all Americans -- 48% -- took at least one prescription drug
  • Among those 60 and older, 88.4% took at least one Rx medication, as did nearly a quarter of those under 12 (22.4%)
  • Those who use two or more prescription drugs rose from 25% to 31% over the decade from 1999 to 2008, and
  • those using five or more jumped from 6% to 11%.
  • More than three-quarters of those 60 and older used two or more prescription drugs and 36.7% took five or more.
  • "Overall, total spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. was $234 billion in 2008 -- more than double the amount spent in 1999, the researchers said."
Read more in this article.


The TBCE Enforcement committee is scheduled to meet 9-14-10 at 9:00 am...

The past 12 months have been good - very good - for the chiropractic profession in terms of data supporting the efficacy of chiropractic care.  This report, from the Chirocode Institute, reports on several of the most significant pro-chiropractic studies...



Unlike the usual figures reported during the national health reform debate and the promotion of "tort reform", new studies report that the costs associated with medical malpractice are roughly 2.4% of a more than $2.3-trillion tab. "It represents a small fraction of total health care spending. Yet in absolute dollars, the amount is not trivial."

Dr. Patrick Massey of the Chicago Daily Herald shares a column and points out several interesting facts:

  1. "Nontraditional" medicine is the most common form of medical therapy used for back pain.
  2. The most common "nontraditional" therapy used was chiropractic, and it achieved the best response among patients.
  3. Over half of the patients using "nontraditional" medicine also made use of traditional medicine.
  4. Traditional medicine is more expensive than "nontraditional" medicine.
  5. Patients want the best of ALL therapies regardless of their origins.

When a healing art such as chiropractic is so widely used; when it achieves such great success; when its education is the same or greater than "traditional medicine"; when it must integrate its care and management of patients with "traditional" or mainstream medicine should it really be considered "alternative medicine?"  Should it really be considered an "outsider" to "traditional" medicine?  Or should it be viewed as a part of "mainstream medicine", albeit a minority member.

Dr. Richard Edwards, a chiropractor from Oklahoma, is the US's third bouble hand transplant recipient.  Read more in this article.

The Insurance Committee of the TCA reports that the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) reported several items of interest, including there have been 59 complaints year to date with workers compensation and have resulted in an additional $15,000 paid out to doctors of chiropractic.

Texas Department of Insurance has a simple web complaint form for all forms of complaints. JUST CLICK HERE.

The Insurance Committee notes that "If you have a complaint, they need to be filed to get them on record. This is something that the TDI is requesting from us, and not something we are making up. It only takes a minute to file your complaint. You need to file them by the dozens if you have that many complaints."  They certainly don't hesitate to complain to your regulatory agency.

Half of patients with early spondylarthropathy -- and particularly men with active ankylosing spondylitis -- also have low bone mineral density (BMD)...

The mind-body activity of tai chi improved the symptoms of fibromyalgia without any safety concerns," and that "compared with an educational and stretching intervention, tai chi led to a greater overall improvement in fibromyalgia after 12 weeks..

"...US Senators released S. 510, a bipartisan agreement called the FDA [US Food and Drug Administration] Food Safety Modernization Act. This move guarantees full debate on the bill this September."

"...Senators allege that the bill would empower the US Food and Drug Administration to order product recalls, increase the frequency of plant inspections, and require all facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food to have preventive control plans in place to prevent adulteration of food products."

Chiropractors are making a quiet, but significant contribution to our nation's health. Few people outside of our profession know how much public health work we do every day in chiropractic practice. And how would they know? Chiropractors tend to speak 'chiro-ese.'"

"...we would be doing our profession a huge favor if we learned and used the language of health when speaking about what we do.
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Featured Columnists
The Language of Health Care
09/06/2010 - 6:00 a.m. CDT Guest Author
Guest Author

Chiropractors are making a quiet, but significant contribution to our nation's health. Few people outside of our profession know how much public health work we do every day in chiropractic practice. And how would they know? Chiropractors tend to speak 'chiro-ese.'"

"...we would be doing our profession a huge favor if we learned and used the language of health when speaking about what we do.
[Read More]
There is no Alternative Medicine
09/01/2010 - 5:09 p.m. CDT No Author

There is no alternative medicine. There is only scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine supported by solid data or unproven medicine, for which scientific evidence is lacking.  There are three piles:
  • You have a test or treatment that has itself been tested and found to be safe and effective. Use it; pay for it.
  • You have a test or treatment that has been found to be unsafe or ineffective. Don't use it; don't pay for it.
  • You have a test or treatment that is scientifically plausible, meaning not preposterous. Test it AND then put it into one of the other two piles."
This... [Read More]

Your House is On Fire!
08/26/2010 - 12:00 p.m. CDT Guest Author
Guest Author

Guest Editor Dr. Clem Martin shares his perspective on chiropractic.
[Read More]