Jeff has been receiving Chiropractic treatment from Dr. Ted Forcum, D.C. of Tigard, Oregon. Dr. Forcum is one of 4 chiropractors that were members of a 62-person healthcare group who treated over 400 U.S. Olympic athletes in Beijing. “Without Chiropractic care, I doubt that I would ever have been able to reach these levels or been able to train at such an intense level,” said Hartwig.

Following his first Olympic experience, Jeff went on to set the American pole vault record in 1998 when he cleared the bar at 19 feet, 9 inches. Fortunately, he didn’t have to jump quite this high to qualify for Beijing, when his vault of 18 feet, 8 inches made him the oldest member of this year’s team.

Jeff credits some amazing results from Chiropractic as the reason he is able to continue competing: “The first time I was treated by a chiropractor was akin to a miracle. It was a much better option than simply using conventional medicine because my injuries healed faster and my whole body felt better.”

The history of Chiropractic being available to help athletes like Jeff goes back to the year 1980 and the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York. Since then, chiropractors have joined with medical doctors, massage therapists and certified athletic trainers to provide health care services to America’s gathering of elite athletes.

“Chiropractic fulfills a niche need, not only by treating injuries but also by aiding in recovery and positively impacting athletic performance,” said Dr. Forcum. “Chiropractors promote active care and treatment with a commitment to healthy progression and rehabilitation.”

Jeff had to be pleased, at the age of almost 41, to be a member of the U.S. team and to participate

in Beijing. However, being a competitive athlete, his performance in the Olympic pole vault qualifying round that left him only 4 inches short of making it into the finals had to be somewhat disappointing. His best vault in Beijing was 18 feet, 2 inches and it took 18 feet, 6 inches for 12 of the 38 competitors in the field to make the final round of jumping.

Now, with the 2012 Olympic Games planned for London looming just 4 years away, it will be inter­esting to see if Jeff might have one more appearance left in him. With Chiropractic services available to him and an elite athlete’s desire to keep on competing, only time will tell.

Source: The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress. “Jeff Hartwig, Oldest American to Qualify for the Olympic Team in Pole Vaulting, Attributes Success to Chi­ropractic Care.” August 2008. http://www.f4cp.com/press_releases/PoleVaulter.htm

Certainly the biggest athletic stage that involved chiropractors in 2008 was the Olympic Games re­cently completed in Beijing. Four U.S. based chiropractors played a major role in the 62-person health and fitness contingent that helped the US achieve the most Olympic medals of any country competing in the games.

Chiropractic care is particularly important to athletes on the world stage where fractions of a second determine the difference between a place on the medal stand and going home empty-handed. Also vital is the Chiropractic approach to drug-free care in a world where every Olympic athlete is subject to drug testing. “Chiropractic takes a non-invasive, drug-free approach to healthcare, a position that is now highly regarded among Olympic athletes and their trainers,” said Ted Forcum, DC, of Tigard, Oregon. “Chiropractic care is particularly valuable for pain management and offers athletes highly effective solu­tions for achieving optimal performance without the use of prescription drugs.” Chiropractors Amor Adams of Oakland, Ernie Ferrel of Santa Barbara, and Michael Reed of Colorado Springs made up the Olympic Chiropractic team.

At another venue, a group of chiropractors have been involved in helping a highly competitive team of disabled veterans compete to the maximum level in such grueling events as triathlons, marathons and 10K runs. Team Semper Fi, a triathlon team made up of disabled war veterans, recently completed in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon Series where they performed alongside able-bodied athletes. The events included swimming from Alcatraz Island to the city of San Francisco, biking 18 miles and finishing off with an 8 mile run.

One brave competitor, Eric Frazier, whose spine was paralyzed in combat and now propels his bicycle with his hands and arms said, “After any race, my upper body is in pain because I do it all with my hands and arms. Following Chiropractic care, I find that I perform better.” Another athlete, Dan Lasko, who lost his left leg below his knee in Afghanistan. said, “When it comes to triathlons, Chiropractic has helped out tremendously. I see my chiropractor before the event and a few days later. It just makes me a better athlete overall.”

Bill Morgan, DC, is the staff chiropractor for the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Mary­land, and is also the leader in providing care to the veteran’s group of athletes. “I salute the brave fighters who have overcome so much to compete in these athletic events,” said Dr. Morgan. “I can think of no greater honor than to provide care for those injured while in the service of their country.”

Sources: The World Chiropractic Alliance. “Chiropractors Play Important Role in Olympics.” September 2008. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.orecj/2008/seph.htm and The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress. Press Release. “Chiropractic Care Helping Heroes Realize Their Potential in Triathlon Series.” September 2008. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080904/20080904005998.html?.v=1

Payment to doctors was an important part of the Act to Promote Cost Containment, Transparency and Ef­ficiency in the Delivery of Quality Health Care. The bill contains a section that requires pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing companies to report any gifts to healthcare professionals of $50 or more. The state Department of Public Health will record such payments and make them publicly available on the state’s website: http://www.mass.gov.

State Senator Mark Montigny was one of the first to compliment the governor on signing this bill into law. He had been the author of earlier legislation aimed at banning all such gifts. The legislation that did pass at the $50 mark represented a compromise between members of the state’s House of Representatives and the Senate.

“Biased marketing and financial inducements are destructive to the sacred doctor-patient relationship,” Senator Montigny said. “Cost controls, disclosure and transparency are imperative as we demand universal ac­cess to quality healthcare. I commend the governor for standing firmly on the side of the patient and the tax­payer.”

Many states are getting more involved in working to control the rising costs of healthcare and it is likely that more restrictions will be forthcoming on the doctor and pharmaceutical industry relationships in the fu­ture. Massachusetts has taken the lead in implementing such reforms according to Senate President Therese Murray. “Massachusetts is known around the world for cutting-edge, top notch healthcare and medical re­search. We are leading the way, and this legislation allows us to continue that leadership, while proving the best healthcare possible for the people of the Commonwealth.”

Governor Patrick added his thoughts on the expectations he has for doctors and suppliers as a result of this bill. “This measure will set a marketing code of conduct to help ensure healthcare providers make choices about prescription drugs and medical devices for their patients based on therapeutic benefits and cost-effective­ness.”

Also included in this bill along with the transparency measures were an adoption of uniform billing and electronic health records, incentives for medical students and nurses to continue their education, and awards to hospitals who wish to upgrade their computer technology. It also gives the state more influence over curtail­ing the rising cost of health insurance.

Source: The State of Massachusetts Office of the Governor.
“Governor Patrick Signs Bill Enhancing Quality, Cost-Effectiveness and Transparency of Health Care.” August 2008.
http://www.mass.govfipageID=gov3pressreleasediL=18t1.0=Homedtsid=Agov3dtb=pressreleasedtf=080811_dr_gifts&csid=Ag

When some billboard display or a media attack against Chiropractic occurs, a simple question to ask in determining who is behind it might be, “Who has the most to lose when people begin to seek out Chiropractors in droves?

The answer to that question comes from Terry A. Rondberg, DC, who is president of the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA). “In recent years, Chiropractic has made tremendous inroads into the American healthcare system. The increased popularity of a wellness approach that doesn’t rely on drugs and surgery is very threatening to some elements of our society. They have a huge finan­cial interest in eliminating Chiropractic.”

In 1990, the American Medical Association (AMA) was found guilty in federal court of conspir­ing with other medical organizations in a “lengthy, systematic, successful and unlawful boycott” designed to eliminate Chiropractic as a competitor, according to the WCA. Many healthcare offi­cials say that, although barred from many of the illegal practices formerly used, the drug and med­ical industry still engage in anti-Chiropractic campaigns. The general consensus is that many of the operations are being conducted using anonymous “front” organizations, such as the stroke vic­tims group, for instance.

One such advertisement, likely paid by such a “front group” in Connecticut, asks, “Have you been injured by a Chiropractor?” The ad directs readers to a website of an organization calling itself the “Chiropractic Stroke Victims Awareness Group.”

Contrary to this message, medical research has shown Chiropractic to be extremely safe, partic­ularly when compared to medical treatment. The incidence of stroke following Chiropractic adjustments has been estimated at fewer than 1 to 3 incidents per million adjustments. One 28-year study that reviewed some 110 million cases, showed conclusively that the risk of stroke from a Chiropractic adjustment is so small as to be statistically insignificant, says the WCA.

The safety of Chiropractic is made even more obvious when compared to the 100,000 deaths each year attributed to medical treatment and drug errors, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Source: The World Chiropractic Alliance 2007 http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/media/strokemyth.html

Broadly, personalized medicine is defined as using information about a person’s genetic makeup to tailor strategies for the detection, treatment or prevention of disease. It can specifically refer to the use of a medicine only after it has been shown to be compatible with, or not dangerous to, a patient’s specific genetic makeup.

Such testing, called pharmacogenomic testing, is rarely performed at present, and most hospitals and few physicians have access to such technology. But side effects from prescription drugs kill more than 100,000 people a  ear, according to The Journal of the American Medical Association, and experts say that many such deaths could be prevented by prescribing a drug only after genetic testing on a patient has shown it to be safe for that patient.

Testing could reveal a polymorphism (a common variation or mutation in DNA) or some biomarker (a molecular marker associated with some biological function) that shows susceptibility to a specific drug. Armed with this knowledge, physicians can tailor drug treatments for each patient and avoid trouble.

Legal Trouble, Not Health Trouble

Although personalized medicine appears to offer more predictable outcomes and overall better healthcare, it is the threat of medical malpractice lawsuits that will drive its development and wider use, according to many legal experts.

Healthcare consumers (and their lawyers) are going to become more familiar with the existence of the technology, and failure to use it will lead to a new class of litigation when faulty diagnostics and prescription drug side effects lead to patient injury or death.

“Individuals injured by adverse drug effects are increasingly likely to bring lawsuits alleging that they have a polymorphism or biomarker conferring susceptibility to the drug that should have been identified and used to alter their drug treatment,” wrote Gary Marchant, executive director of the Center for the Study of Law, Science & Technology at Arizona State University (ASU), in the article “Legal Pressures And Incentives For Personalized Medicine,” published in the current issue of Personalized Medicine, a journal of Future Medicine.

The incorporation of personalized medicine into everyday clinical practice faces significant hurdles, the authors wrote. These include scientific uncertainty about the validity of data, social concerns about the potential uses of genetic information, and economic concerns about the costs and benefits of pharmacogenomics.

These concerns are likely to slow the pace at which it becomes a part of medicine, but the authors assert, the risk of liability for not employing pharmacogenomic testing may speed the pace of its adoption.

While drug manufacturers, health insurers, and even pharmacists face some liability risks, physicians are most at risk for lawsuits alleging that they did not recommend genetic tests before prescribing drugs that may harm patients with genetic vulnerabilities. “Physicians are the sitting ducks in this new class of litigation,” says Marchant, “both because they lack the legal defenses available to other parties, and many doctors have not received the training in genetics they need in the new world of personalized medicine.”

Already, a number of filed lawsuits claim physicians can be liable for not recommending or performing certain genetic tests, and that, even when they do, they can be held negligent in the performance of the tests, and the interpretation and communication of them.

The next step, predict Marchant and his colleagues, will be lawsuits for failing to recommend genetic tests before prescribing medications, and the first such lawsuits have already been filed against a drug manufacturer.

“If significant liability does occur, its effect will be dramatic, as potentially liable parties will need to undertake immediate and significant changes to protect against large legal liabilities,” the authors concluded. “Manufacturers and healthcare providers, and the attorneys representing them, should start preparing now for preventing and defending a new class of personalized medicine lawsuits.”

SOURCE: http://www.futuremedicine.com

Supporting the trend are specialized travel agencies springing up with connections to hospitals and clinics in Europe or Mexico, as well as more exotic locations all over the world such as India, Thailand and Costa Rica.

Among the well-to-do, a tummy tuck or face lift at a foreign hospital is often combined with sight-seeing in Bangkok or Bangalore, hence the nickname medical tourism” for this growing phenomenon. But working-class people seeking affordable surgery or major dental work are flocking to foreign hospitals.

The overseas healthcare phenomenon has resulted from the soaring costs of medical care in the United States coupled with the increasing number of Americans who are either under-insured,carry very high deductibles, or who lack any medical insurance at all. The cost of traveling to a hospital in a foreign city, plus the surgery, plus hotels and for family members, usually adds up to a small fraction of the cost of just the surgery itself in the USA.

About 100 foreign hospitals are accredited by the international arm of the group that accredits U.S. hospitals. Six countries have accredited hospitals, including Bangkok’s famed Bumrungrad International Hospital, five in India and eleven in Singapore. At Bumrungrad, 125 doctors are board-certified by U.S. specialty groups. Bumrungrad has fountains, white marble floors and a Starbucks in the lobby. In 2005, it treated 58,000 Americans, a 25 percent increase
over the year before.

Hospitals in India treated 150,000 foreign patients in 2005, according to IndUShealth, a Raleigh, N.C., company that arranges overseas surgery. Costs for medical care are routinely 70 to 80 percent less in India compared with the United States.

“It’s just one of the many ways in which our world is flattening,” said Arnold Milstein, chief physician at N.Y.-based Mercer Health & Benefits in a New England Journal of Medicine story. “These patients are not ‘medical tourists’ seeking low-cost aesthetic enhancement, they are middle-income Americans evading impoverishment by expensive, medically necessary operations.”

Some insurance companies already cover foreign healthcare. Blue Shield of California and Health Net of California offer low-cost policies covering care in Mexico. Florida-based United Group Programs offers a plan covering a major hospital in Thailand that will save employers more than 50 percent on major medical costs and slash employees’ out-of-pocket expenses to zero. Many businesses are apparently sitting up and listening.

Sources: www.indushealth.com, www.medicaltourism.com, www.bumrungrad.com.