The Only Constant is Change

As the chiropractic profession continues to grow and change, so does the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). As an organization that strives to represent all doctors of chiropractic, the ACA has taken it upon itself to blaze trails and make changes that best serve the interests of its members and the chiropractic profession.

For example, 10 years ago, having DCs treat military personnel and veterans was little more than a political aspiration. Today DCs are treating military personnel at 42 military treatment facilities; an additional 26 veterans’ facilities are setting up chiropractic treatment models.

Additionally, the profession is seeing a steady growth in the number of DCs functioning in various capacities within hospital settings. There has been a rapid growth of chiropractic inclusion in interdisciplinary health care centers, ranging from primary care to specialty boutiques (eg, spinal care centers).

More and more established health care services have sought inclusion of DCs, largely because research and data exist that reflect chiropractic’s effectiveness, cost efficiency, safety (with minimal side effects), and lastly, but most importantly, patient satisfaction.

The current trends in health care are creating a demand for accountability and transparency. In other words, health care consumers (including employees and payors) are seeking documented evidence that a particular type of treatment is effective and produces positive outcomes. They want to know what they can expect for the money they pay; what kind of return on investment a procedure will have on the health and well-being of their employees or family members; and they want to know if pay-for-performance incentive plans bring about better quality of care or if they shortchange consumers.

But even more significant, and in keeping with these trends, are the demands being placed on individual doctors and chiropractic organizations to present data that reflects accurate scientific information regarding chiropractic care outcomes.

With an escalating demand for scientific data and information, it has become increasingly evident that the ACA needs to provide its members with research-based resources. Over the past few years, the ACA has been transitioning the Journal of the American Chiropractic Association (JACA) into a peer-reviewed, indexed journal; however, the focus remained on clinical management of patients and their conditions. ACA members indicated that there remained a need for more primary research like that presented in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT).

With this in mind, James Edwards, DC, immediate past chairman of the ACA board, had several discussions with James Winterstein, DC, president of National University of Health Sciences (NUHS), about having the JMPT serve as the official ACA scientific journal.

Beginning this January, ACA members will have the best of both worlds: access to JACA in an online version and a free or greatly reduced subscription to JMPT.

JACA Online will continue to provide clinical, peer-reviewed articles as it has for many years, and it will now be housed in a fully searchable online database. It will be accessible 24 hours a day, with access available at no charge to ACA members. Nonmembers will be able to access the database for a fee. JACA Online will continue to be indexed by those organizations that have come to recognize its credibility and value to the profession.

JMPT will continue to provide excellent scientific content. At the moment there is some confusion in the profession concerning ACA’s relationship with JMPT. Some are under the impression that ACA will now be controlling the content of the JMPT under this new agreement—this is untrue.

JMPT remains the property of NUHS, and because JMPT is a scientific publication, it is important that it remains free of political influence in order to maintain its scientific integrity. The JMPT follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) guidelines; therefore independence is one of the items required of the journal and its contributors. Both ACA and NUHS agree, however, on the great benefit of making this journal available to ACA members, and it is to this end that the arrangements have been made.

By adding the ACA membership to the JMPT subscription base, we have strengthened the readership of the journal and provided ACA members with an excellent source of up-to-date scientific information. The JMPT remains the leader in publications of chiropractic scientific information and will continue to provide its readers with content that directly relates to current and future research.

I hope you will be as pleased with these changes as the ACA Board of Governors, House of Delegates, and staff are in bringing them to you.

For more information about the American Chiropractic Association and its work on behalf of the chiropractic profession, or to learn how to become an ACA member, please visit www.acatoday.com or call (800) 986-4636.