June 2007

Use of chiropractic, other CAM,
reduces healthcare costs

Patients visiting chiropractors and other holistically-oriented physicians who serve as primary care providers (PCPs) have lower utilization costs and higher patient satisfaction levels than patients treated by conventional medical doctors, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics

The study tracked data from an Independent Physicians Association (IPA), where chiropractors serve as first-contact, primary care physicians.

Researchers directly compared cost and clinical utilization data from an integrative CAM IPA with conventional medical IPA data from members enrolled in a traditional health maintenance organization (HMO). The recent report analyzed data from 2003 to 2005, and is a follow-up to the original report published in 2004, which compared data from 1999 to 2002.

Researchers found that over the course of the seven-year study, patients visiting chiropractors and other CAM-oriented PCPs had 60 percent fewer hospitalizations, 62 percent fewer outpatient surgical cases, and 85 percent lower pharmaceutical costs when compared with total network HMO utilization rates and costs. The chiropractors and other CAM doctors treated and managed cases ranging from upper respiratory tract infections and allergies to headaches, orthopedic, and other medical conditions.

In addition, patients reported on the quality of care they received through the use of annual patient satisfaction surveys. On average, data from patients enrolled between 2003 and 2005 demonstrated a high degree of satisfaction (96 percent, 94 percent, and 91 percent, respectively). Integrative CAM patients consistently rated their experiences more positively than members enrolled within the HMO’s conventional medical IPAs.

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