(post below comes from the Health Sciences Institute)
Here's a curious dilemma...
Say you're in charge of the most prominent public health agency for a Big Country.
So a flu comes along that looks like Bad News. Most of the experts are predicting the Bad News Flu will be huge, maybe deadly.
What do you do? You fire up drug companies to develop a Bad News Flu vaccine, pronto. And to make sure they're motivated, you order 190 million doses of the vaccine.
Ka-ching! Now you've got their attention. And you've got the public's attention too. People start to get nervous. Will there be enough vaccines? Will they arrive in time to be useful? Do we need to get more than one dose? Is it safe for kids? Is it safe for everyone?
Funny thing. While you're busy answering all those questions, you find out the Bad News Flu doesn't really seem to be kicking in. In fact, your records show there's some other virus out there that isn't Bad News, but sort of seems like Bad News.
Well now. Would it be so bad to let everyone think it's Bad News? You've bought a gajillion vaccines. You can't let those go to waste. And you SURE can't admit you got it all wrong. So...
Roll up your sleeves, Big Country! Time for your shots.
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Bizarre behavior
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Last July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised state health officials to do two things. 1) Stop testing patients for H1N1. 2) Stop counting cases of H1N1.
The official line from CDC went like this: We already know it's an epidemic. So we're not going to waste time running tests to tell us what we already know.
Still, someone at CBS news thought that was sort of odd. So they asked CDC officials to be more specific about why they took this unusual action at the very time H1N1 was being touted as a dangerous pandemic.
Seems like we'd want to keep close tabs on something like that!
The CDC didn't respond to CBS. So the network contacted health officials in all 50 states to get H1N1 statistics that had been gathered until July when the CDC told them to stop.
Here are H1N1 numbers from three states:
California tested 13,704 flu patients – 2% had H1N1
Alaska tested 722 flu patients – 1% had H1N1
Georgia tested 3,117 flu patients – 2% had H1N1
Hmmm. Does that sound like an out-of-control pandemic to you? And you have to wonder: What are the chances the CDC was unaware of these numbers?
But there's something else going on here. Most of those "flu patients" didn't have H1N1 or the seasonal flu. Health experts told CBS that the patients appear to have had some sort of upper respiratory infection that wasn't actually an influenza.
And here's where it gets downright fishy.
According to the CDC you're immune from H1N1 if you've already had a bout with the virus. But CDC officials are advising those who were told they had H1N1 to go ahead and get the H1N1 vaccine. The exception would be those patients who have confirmation from a lab that they actually did have H1N1. But, of course, many don't have lab confirmation because the CDC called off testing.
Amazing. If CDC officials had set out to purposely mismanage their "control" of H1N1, they couldn't have done a better job.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Wellness Care Evidence?
A recent article in a national publication offered advice on how to choose a chiropractor. [1]
The reader was admonished to "suspect brainwashing" if wellness or maintenance care was recommended. The author regurgitated the tired old bromide that "There is no scientific evidence..." This claim must be refuted.
The World Health Organization defines health as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." [2]
Given this broad definition of health, epistemological constructs borrowed from the social sciences may demonstrate health benefits not disclosed by randomized clinical trials. Health benefits such as improvement in self-reported quality-of-life, decreased health care costs, behaviors associated with decreased morbidity, and patient satisfaction may be evaluated using such methods.
Blanks, Schuster and Dobson [3] published the results of a retrospective assessment of subluxation-based chiropractic care on self-related health, wellness and quality of life.
This is, to my knowledge, the largest study of its kind ever undertaken regarding a chiropractic population.
After surveying 2,818 respondents in 156 practices, a strong connection was found between persons receiving Network care and self-reported improvement in health, wellness and quality-of life.
95% of respondents reported that their expectations had been met, and 99% wished to
continue care.
Coulter et al [4] performed an analysis of an insurance data base, comparing persons receiving chiropractic care with non-chiropractic patients. The study consisted of senior citizens over 75 years of age. It was reported that the persons receiving chiropractic care reported better overall health, spent fewer days in hospitals and nursing homes, used fewer prescription drugs, and were more active than the non-chiropractic patients.
Rupert, Manello, and Sandefur [5] surveyed 311 chiropractic patients, aged 65 years and older, who had received "maintenance care" for five years or longer. Chiropractic patients receiving maintenance care, when compared with US citizens of the same age, spent only 31% of the national average for health care services. There was a 50% reduction in medical provider visits.
The health habits of patients receiving maintenance care were better overall than the general population, including decreased use of cigarettes and decreased use of nonprescription drugs.
Furthermore, 95.8% believed the care to be either "considerably" or "extremely" valuable.
Rupert [6] reports that 79% of chiropractic patients have maintenance care recommended to them, and nearly half of those comply. In an online survey with 3018 respondents by Miller, [7] 62% responded affirmatively when asked, "Although you feel healthy, would you follow your family member's lead and visit a doctor who focuses on wellness and prevention just so you can stay feeling that way?"
Clearly, there is a growing body of evidence that wellness care provided by doctors of chiropractic may reduce health care costs, improve health behaviors, and improve patient perceived quality of- life.
I just love this article as it is a clear, non-emotional, straight forward, factual representation of what is possible with wellness. Now more than ever, I see that people want something that works, and we are grateful to share that the results at Chiropractic Today are better than ever.
We thank you for being the type of people who choose pro-activity over fear; and choice over circumstance. I know that is what we want for our family, and for you and your family as well.
We appreciate you.
References
1. Andersen GD: "Food for thought 2002: how to choose a chiropractor." Dynamic Chiropractic
2002;20(3).
2. World Health Organization: The first ten years of the World Health Organization. Geneva:
WHO, 1958.
3. Blanks RHI, Schuster TL, Dobson M: "A retrospective assessment of Network care using a
survey of self-reported health, wellness and quality of life." Journal of Vertebral Subluxation
Research 1997;1(4):15.
4. Coulter ID, Hurwitz EL, Aronow HU, et al: "Chiropractic patients in a comprehensive homebased
geriatric assessment, follow-up and health promotion program." Topics in Clinical
Chiropractic 1996;3(2):46.
5. Rupert RL, Manello D, Sandefur R: "Maintenance care: health promotion services administered
to US chiropractic patients aged 65 or older, Part II." Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics 2000;23(1):10.
6. Rupert RL: "A survey of practice patterns and the health promotion and prevention Attitudes of
US chiropractors. Maintenance care: Part I." Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics 2000;23(1):1.
7. Miller S: chiroviewpresents.com. Survey says? 2/6/02.
The reader was admonished to "suspect brainwashing" if wellness or maintenance care was recommended. The author regurgitated the tired old bromide that "There is no scientific evidence..." This claim must be refuted.
The World Health Organization defines health as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." [2]
Given this broad definition of health, epistemological constructs borrowed from the social sciences may demonstrate health benefits not disclosed by randomized clinical trials. Health benefits such as improvement in self-reported quality-of-life, decreased health care costs, behaviors associated with decreased morbidity, and patient satisfaction may be evaluated using such methods.
Blanks, Schuster and Dobson [3] published the results of a retrospective assessment of subluxation-based chiropractic care on self-related health, wellness and quality of life.
This is, to my knowledge, the largest study of its kind ever undertaken regarding a chiropractic population.
After surveying 2,818 respondents in 156 practices, a strong connection was found between persons receiving Network care and self-reported improvement in health, wellness and quality-of life.
95% of respondents reported that their expectations had been met, and 99% wished to
continue care.
Coulter et al [4] performed an analysis of an insurance data base, comparing persons receiving chiropractic care with non-chiropractic patients. The study consisted of senior citizens over 75 years of age. It was reported that the persons receiving chiropractic care reported better overall health, spent fewer days in hospitals and nursing homes, used fewer prescription drugs, and were more active than the non-chiropractic patients.
Rupert, Manello, and Sandefur [5] surveyed 311 chiropractic patients, aged 65 years and older, who had received "maintenance care" for five years or longer. Chiropractic patients receiving maintenance care, when compared with US citizens of the same age, spent only 31% of the national average for health care services. There was a 50% reduction in medical provider visits.
The health habits of patients receiving maintenance care were better overall than the general population, including decreased use of cigarettes and decreased use of nonprescription drugs.
Furthermore, 95.8% believed the care to be either "considerably" or "extremely" valuable.
Rupert [6] reports that 79% of chiropractic patients have maintenance care recommended to them, and nearly half of those comply. In an online survey with 3018 respondents by Miller, [7] 62% responded affirmatively when asked, "Although you feel healthy, would you follow your family member's lead and visit a doctor who focuses on wellness and prevention just so you can stay feeling that way?"
Clearly, there is a growing body of evidence that wellness care provided by doctors of chiropractic may reduce health care costs, improve health behaviors, and improve patient perceived quality of- life.
I just love this article as it is a clear, non-emotional, straight forward, factual representation of what is possible with wellness. Now more than ever, I see that people want something that works, and we are grateful to share that the results at Chiropractic Today are better than ever.
We thank you for being the type of people who choose pro-activity over fear; and choice over circumstance. I know that is what we want for our family, and for you and your family as well.
We appreciate you.
References
1. Andersen GD: "Food for thought 2002: how to choose a chiropractor." Dynamic Chiropractic
2002;20(3).
2. World Health Organization: The first ten years of the World Health Organization. Geneva:
WHO, 1958.
3. Blanks RHI, Schuster TL, Dobson M: "A retrospective assessment of Network care using a
survey of self-reported health, wellness and quality of life." Journal of Vertebral Subluxation
Research 1997;1(4):15.
4. Coulter ID, Hurwitz EL, Aronow HU, et al: "Chiropractic patients in a comprehensive homebased
geriatric assessment, follow-up and health promotion program." Topics in Clinical
Chiropractic 1996;3(2):46.
5. Rupert RL, Manello D, Sandefur R: "Maintenance care: health promotion services administered
to US chiropractic patients aged 65 or older, Part II." Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics 2000;23(1):10.
6. Rupert RL: "A survey of practice patterns and the health promotion and prevention Attitudes of
US chiropractors. Maintenance care: Part I." Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics 2000;23(1):1.
7. Miller S: chiroviewpresents.com. Survey says? 2/6/02.
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