{"id":8413,"date":"2017-06-05T05:38:38","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T10:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=8413"},"modified":"2022-03-21T15:13:39","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T20:13:39","slug":"doctor-chiropractic-physician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/05\/doctor-chiropractic-physician","title":{"rendered":"My Doctor Is A Chiropractic Physician"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019m not setting out to intentionally antagonize my fellow MDs and DOs who read these Health Tips. No acrimonious outrage, please, before I explain. Then feel free to splutter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not writing this for the medical profession. This is for the rest of you, living in a country that spends 17% of its GNP on healthcare but ranks 37th<\/sup> in the world in providing that health care for its citizens, behind Slovenia but proudly ahead of Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re clearly doing something wrong and maybe one of our mistakes is who we\u2019ve chosen for our primary care providers (PCPs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After you finish reading, if you\u2019re unhappy with your PCP–because of long waits in her office, inattentive and hurried encounters, too many prescriptions, always a referral to specialists–you might consider your other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, at its core the American Medical Association is basically a very strong union, probably the toughest in the history of the US. Any good union, regardless of whether it\u2019s made up of welders or physicians, tries to stifle the competition. Thus, in the guise of patient \u201cprotection\u201d the AMA has historically blocked homeopaths, acupuncturists, chiropractors, herbalists, naturopaths, and midwives from patient care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not a radical choice
<\/strong>Today, selecting a chiropractic physician as your PCP is really not as radical as it sounds. On the Blue Cross\/Blue Shield of Illinois website, answering the question \u201cWhat types of doctors serve as PCPs?\u201d it\u2019s clearly stated \u201cdepending on your benefit plan, a PCP may also be a nurse practitioner, midwife, or chiropractor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have yet to come across a BC\/BS IL plan that doesn\u2019t allow chiropractors to act as primaries. If Blue Cross is willing to pay for this kind of health care, they must have done some research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding nurse practitioners (NPs), it\u2019s my thinking that they, along with chiropractic physicians, should take over primary care medicine everywhere in the US. We currently have two NPs at WholeHealth Chicago and this week I\u2019m wooing a third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was over at Weiss Hospital just a year ago this week, recovering from a broken hip and some annoying complications<\/a>, I kept having to fill in a blank that asked for the name of my PCP and each time I would scrawl Paul Rubin, DC<\/em>, my associate here at WholeHealth Chicago. (At least I didn\u2019t have to struggle to remember his address and phone number.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A couple of people noticed this and asked, \u201cDo you, an MD, really use a chiro as your primary care doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I heard the question, I was blissfully afloat in sea of morphine, and with breath that tasted like a hairy little rodent had crept into my mouth, slept for awhile, peed, and departed, I managed to mutter an affirmative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I\u2019m alert enough to explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n