Study Results Have Important Implications for the Chiropractic Profession

A comprehensive study from Abt Associates of Cambridge, MA, convened two expert panels—one interdisciplinary (consisting primarily of allopathic physicians) and the other of chiropractors. Both panels concluded that with respect to a list of 53 primary care functions found to occur daily in medical offices, chiropractors are capable of making diagnoses in 92% of these activities and making therapeutic contributions in more than 50% of them. The study confirms other recent findings that between 60-90% of diagnoses seen in outpatient primary care settings can be handled by certain alternative providers.