In a ridiculous response to a state representative of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), the ACA doubles down on their decision to adopt the so called Choosing Wisely Guidelines asserting that the response has been "overwhelmingly positive". They make this bogus claim despite the fact that numerous schools, and state and national organizations have come out against against it, several clearly evidenced based responses have been made to it and there are existing and current best practice guidelines that contradict it. The ACA is operating on "alternative facts" now. Only now they have a large purveyor of "independent" medical examinations backing them up.
They go on to write that the adoption of the Guidelines sends ". . . a strong message to the rest of health care regarding our profession’s commitment to patient-centered, evidence-based care."
They go on to warn:
"We’ve made clear our mission to be an advocate of evidence-based care. And we’re well into the next phase of aligning the work we do for members to reflect these decisions as well as the direction of modern health care."
One wonders if they wrote that with a straight face.
We are posting the full text of the letter below.
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CLICK HERE for more on ACA & Choosing Wisely
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Full Text of ACA Choosing Wisely Response
Thank you for contacting us about your concerns regarding the Choosing Wisely recommendations for patients.
As you may know, ACA has made a commitment to leading a modern movement of chiropractic care based on higher standards and a focus on patient outcomes. As always, we will continue to work with insurers to advocate for patient access to chiropractic care for patients. Participation in the Choosing Wisely campaign is just one step in the process.
Choosing Wisely is a collaborative effort with the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation to produce a set of recommendations that patients can use to start conversations with their doctors about their care. ACA’s recommendations were developed by our own Committee on Quality Assurance and Accountability and approved by the ACA Board of Governors, after careful review and examination of the most current scientific evidence on management and treatment options.
More than 80 practitioner groups have published recommendations as part of Choosing Wisely. Each has arrived at its recommendations collaboratively. Our participation makes clear that, just as cardiologists and emergency room physicians recognize the importance of working with informed patients, so do chiropractors.
If you haven’t yet, please read ACA’s Choosing Wisely recommendations. Their purpose is to encourage important conversations between patients and doctors. The recommendations were not created as oversight for chiropractors; they were created by chiropractors to help patients ask better questions and, together with their doctors, determine the best care possible.
The recommendations, as important as they are, are not the only commitment that defines chiropractic. The past few years have been a time of important changes for ACA. Our leadership made meaningful decisions that will define our future: We’ve realigned our governance model to be more modern, efficient and effective. We’ve made clear our mission to be an advocate of evidence-based care. And we’re well into the next phase of aligning the work we do for members to reflect these decisions as well as the direction of modern health care.
The response to the new ACA has been overwhelmingly positive, and so has the response to ACA’s Choosing Wisely recommendations—which send a strong message to the rest of health care regarding our profession’s commitment to patient-centered, evidence-based care. We appreciate the support we have received from the start. ACA’s efforts to facilitate collaboration between doctors and patients are becoming standard practice.
