Thanks to the generosity of TCA members and the entire Texas chiropractic community, we raised $51,394.68 for the Chiropractic Development Initiative (CDI), exceeding our goal of $50,000.00. The money raised will help with the legal expense for TCA’s participation in the TMA vs. TBCE lawsuit. Yet again, TMA has targeted the chiropractic profession, this time challenging the definition of musculoskeletal and subluxation and, more importantly, YOUR right to diagnose. The game is far from over. The loser will certainly appeal and the fight will continue. To everyone who has made a donation to CDI, thank you for getting into the game. If you haven’t contributed yet, you can make a donation online. Check out this video from CDI Committee Chairman Dr. Jeff Williams.

The appeals court has rendered its decision in the TAAOM (acupuncture association) v. the TBCE. This brief synopsis of the court’s ruling calls for both parties to decide whether to continue appeals or return to trial to decide one last "point of law."

Whether you want to decrypt chiropractic specialty designations, start a new business, avoid common new doctor mistakes, or create a better customer service atmosphere for your practice, this issue of the Texas Journal of Chiropractic offers something of interest.

October 1 marks the one-year anniversary of the switchover to ICD-10. To be in compliance, clinical documentation must contain sufficient detail to code at the required level of specificity that CMS will soon demand. "As of Oct. 1, 2016, providers will be required to code to accurately reflect the clinical documentation in as much specificity as possible, as per the required coding guidelines...Beginning Oct. 1, all CMS review contractors are able to use coding specificity as the reason for an audit for a denial of a reviewed claim."

Need a Medicare refresher or the one-time required hours? Worried about patient privacy and, even worse, a possible $50,000 HIPAA violation? Or, perhaps you just want to improve your technique and knowledge. You can achieve all of these goals at TCA’s fall one-day seminars across the state. TCA has extended special pricing. If you register by phone at (512) 477-9292, you’ll save nearly half off the registration fee for DCs.

Nearly two-thirds of the country’s common physicians say that they feel overworked. More than half say that patient face time has decreased, and over 40 percent still feel the need to take on additional work. About 40 percent also feel that their work/life balance is askew, and more than half have contemplated leaving their profession. Perhaps if medical physicians would embrace the assistance of the over 60,000 DCs in the United States, they would feel less overworked and out of balance.

SGR, MACRA, PQRS and more government acronyms from Medicare make it easy to get confused. Need help in decoding just what it is that Medicare wants? Then attend this Sep. 24 seminar at the Texas Chiropractic College.

The aim of this study was to assess and compare the knowledge of fourth-year medicine, PT, nursing and podiatry students in carpal and tarsal bone anatomy. It concluded that fourth-year students from the PT and podiatry programs correctly identified a higher number of carpal and tarsal bones than students from the nursing and medicine schools.

A medical physician known as "the king of nursing homes" was sentenced to two years in prison for receiving kickbacks from a scandal-ridden hospital in Chicago. The 69-year-old MD had "monetized an extremely vulnerable patient population by directing them to a hospital he consistently criticized as substandard for the sole reason that he benefited financially," federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors also described him as someone driven by "callous greed."

A medical health economist, in a recent study, concludes that there is a vaccine crisis in this country, a dangerously thin supply of vaccines. The majority of childhood vaccines in the U.S. are purchased by the federal government, and of 22 vaccines reported there were 24 "shortages" over a nine-year period. His solution? Pay more money for vaccines. A 10 percent increase in the price of a vaccine was associated with a one percent reduction in the chance that this vaccine would experience a shortage the following year. So, to ensure a 100 percent chance of no shortage of vaccine the government should increase payment by 1000 percent?! Really?

Costs for healthcare in the U.S. were driven by directly purchased goods and services, followed by nurse and physician compensation. Management and IT compensation increased 35.3 percent, while purchased goods and services increased 118.3 percent. Physician and nurse compensation increased by 80.5 percent, more than for other healthcare practitioners.

Roughly 1.3 million Texans bought health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. They will have fewer, more expensive coverage options in 2017, as health plans continue to announce they will no longer sell their products in Texas. Another Texas insurance company announced it would partially withdraw from the Texas market, joining Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Scott and White on the list of companies that recently announced they would abandon the marketplace created by President Obama’s signature health law.

The Parker Experience is celebrating 65 years of excellence in chiropractic seminars and we couldn’t think of a better way to do that than with you. We’re not only coming home, but we’re offering great celebration pricing. Even bring your staff­—at a very special rate!

SEP. CALENDAR

Knowledge of the candidates' physical fitness has come from letters released by their personal physicians.

E-prescribing for controlled substances rose more than 600 percent in 2015. Seventy-seven percent of all U.S. prescriptions were digital in 2015, up from 67 percent in 2014 and 58 percent in 2013.

Chiropractic care is very cost effective. This study shows that charges for both lower back patients were significantly lower for DC patients. When care involved referral for services, care was on average $1600 less uncomplicated for low back pain and $1885 less for complicated low back pain.

Back pain is increasing.The prevalence of back pain has increased by 29 percent, whereas chronic back pain increased by 64 percent. To the extent that the growth in chronic back pain is caused, in part, by an aging population, the growth will likely continue or accelerate.

Federal health officials are calling on healthcare providers to do more to prevent, recognize, and treat sepsis before it can cause life-threatening illness or death. About 80 percent of patients develop infections outside of a hospital. These may lead to sepsis, and it is good for providers to know the signs and symptoms of sepsis. Six of the key signs and symptoms of sepsis are "not widely known." Each year, from 1 to 3 million people in the United States are diagnosed with sepsis. The mortality rate from sepsis is between 15 percent and 30 percent.

The average person looks down at a smartphone 221 times a day for a total of about three hours and 15 minutes – about once every four minutes for 16 hours straight, spending almost 1,200 hours – 50 days – staring down at a screen.

When using electronic health records, you have to recognize that there are three entities in the room, not just two. Review this article to find ways to make your exam room computer become a part of the treatment team.

Section 5 of the FTC Act requires that advertisers have a reasonable basis to support their express and implied advertising claims before they are disseminated to ensure that such claims are truthful and non-deceptive. Advertisers must also have rigorous, scientific support to substantiate claims for products that purport to prevent or treat health or disease-related conditions. Basically, if you claim to improve health you better have legitimate peer reviewed data to backup your claims.