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October 2006, Vol. 16, No. 4
Table of Contents
Do 90% of Acute Low Back Pain Episodes Resolve Within Two Months Regardless of Treatment Rendered? • Blues Already Using CCGPP to Cut Claims! • CBP® Annual Awards • Chiropractic, Disease, Adjustments and Other Voodoo! • Effective Initial Exam • It's Don's Opinion • Letters to the Editor • Neurosurgeon Heralds Posture Pump® MRI Study • New PCCRP X-ray Guidelines Will Protect Your Rights • Association of NJ Chiropractors OPEN LETTER to the CCGPP • PosturePrint® Head Manuscript Accepted by JMPT • Research Corner • The Benefits of Short Duration Whole Body Vibration • Triano and CCGPPs Will Give You Six Visits Part II • PostureRay™: Digital X-ray Digitization and Analysis has Finally Arrived
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The New PCCRP X-ray Guidelines Will Protect Your Rights
by Deed E. Harrison, DC
After his undergraduate pre-chiropractic courses at the University of Utah, Dr. Deed Harrison graduated from Life-West in 1996. He is co-author of more than 50 peer-reviewed, indexed, research articles. These include 32 in JMPT, 3 in Chiropractic Technique, and 15 at major Index Medicus journals. He is a Reviewer for an Index Medicus Orthopaedic journal. He is a certified instructor for CBP® Seminars, has written three new CBP® text books, and is Vice-President of CBP® Nonprofit, Inc. He has a private practice in Elko, Nevada.
At the RAC Conference in March 2006, I was approached by one of the authors of some new X-ray “Red Flags Only” Guidelines to be a reviewer. I stated that I would if I could write the Biomechanical Assessment of Subluxation Section. I was told that there was no such section and there would be no such section. After a debate with this person for approximately an hour, I realized that he and his fellow authors were denying the existence of hundreds of publications (some of which I authored) that support routine x-ray usage in clinical practice.
Upon returning home, I immediately enlisted the help of my father, Dr. Christopher Kent, Dr. Joe Betz, and Dr. Paul Oakley. We enlisted the additional help of 20 other DCs for a Panel Committee and 28 other DCs for a Panel of International Expert Reviewers. I also enlisted the help of two colleagues who jointly hold DC and MD degrees. (see the “buttons” at the top of the web site entitled www.pccrp.org)
We termed our new X-ray Guidelines “PCCRP” for Practicing Chiropractors’ Committee on Radiology Protocols. After working for five months day and night, we had 1,963 references and 14 Sections. Section 14 is the summary. We discovered that a small group of DACBRs and academicians are trying to restrict chiropractic privileges to “Red Flag Only” X-ray usage. This restriction is unfounded and unwarranted. Also, Chiropractors have broad X-ray privileges mandated by State and Federal legislation in all 50 States and in Canadian provinces. It is absurd for a group within our profession to try to write guidelines that counter State and Federal Laws or reduce legislated privileges.
The PCCRP guideline committee performed a comprehensive literature search and prepared the 350 page document. The PCCRP guidelines are the Evidence Based Support for subluxation analysis via x-ray as performed by a large percentage of practicing chiropractors.
Do you want to be outside the ‘standard of care’ for taking ‘routine’ x-rays for subluxation assessment and post-treatment radiographs? If not, please review the PCCRP guidelines and COMPLETE THE SURVEY in the UPPER RIGHT HAND TAB ON THE HOME PAGE.
There are two Internal and five External Reviews that are being performed to improve the PCCRP guidelines. The purpose of placing the PCCRP draft on this web site is for profession-wide review (1 of the 5 External Reviews) and to seek comments to improve the PCCRP guidelines. We ask you, the reader, to provide your name and email as we do not wish to have non-DC reviewers and we will discount multiple surveys from the same source.
So far we have 340 surveys, and we need ALL Chiropractic Clinicians to evaluate the PCCRP X-ray guidelines and complete the survey for us in THE UPPER RIGHT HAND TAB ON THE HOME PAGE. Without a large number of completed surveys from Practicing Chiropractors, these guidelines will not have great impact.
The PCCRP committee did their part and now it’s time for Practicing Chiropractors to assist by completing the SURVEY at www.pccrp.org.
Besides the Chiropractic Colleges, we are hoping that all National, International, Provincial, and State Associations and State Boards will adopt these PCCRP X-ray Guidelines. If you wish to consider endorsing or adopting the PCCRP X-ray Guidelines or to evaluate the guidelines in their entirety with a more comprehensive approach, please contact the PCCRP Chair for instructions. You can email the chair at info@pccrp.org or drdeed@ideal spine.com .
It is time that the Chiropractic Technique Leaders stand together and demand that the rights of their Technique followers be protected. In that regard, already the PCCRP X-ray Guidelines are supported by approximately 75 percent of the profession because the following Technique Leaders support PCCRP:
1. Atlas Orthoganality
2. Blair
3. CBP®
4. Gonstead
5. Grostic
6. NUCCA
7. Orthospinology
8. Pettibon
9. Toftness
Already these PCCRP X-ray Guidelines have served their purpose (to protect the rights of Practicing Chiropractors). DCs in Tasmania, Arizona, and Iceland have used these PCCRP Guidelines successfully to enable their attorneys to defend them in Board situations in which the Boards/Governments claimed over utilization of x-ray.
The PCCRP Committee and Panel members have done their part, now it’s time for you to do your part: (1) fill out the survey at www.pccrp.com and (2) have your State and National Associations adopt these PCCRP Guidelines.
Deed E. Harrison, D.C., completed his undergraduate pre-chiropractic courses at the University of Utah and graduated from Life-West Chiropractic College in 1996. He has authored more than 80 peer reviewed manuscripts in a wide variety of index medicus journals and has co-authored three CBP® Text Books. He is a peer reviewer for several scientific journals including: Spine, Clinical Biomechanics, European Spine J, Clinical Anatomy, and the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is a member of the orthopedic society: The International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS). Dr. Harrison is the lead instructor for CBP® Seminars, and is Vice-President of CBP® Nonprofit, Inc. He maintains a clinical practice in Elko, NV.
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