March 15, 2017—To formally launch the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress’s (F4CP) national campaign, Save Lives. Stop Opioid Abuse. Choose Chiropractic, the F4CP held a formal briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, March 14. The purpose of the briefing was to inform members of the medical community of the key role doctors of chiropractic can fulfill in combating the U.S. opioid epidemic.
Opening remarks by Kent Greenawalt, Sherri McAllister, DC, and Laura Carabello, on behalf of the F4CP framed the presentation, which was then given by prominent representatives of the medical profession to the members of the press in attendance, including Politico, Fox News, NBC Universal, Christian Broadcasting News, Arkansas Online, Kaiser Health News and more. The event was also webcast by invitation. The lead presenter was Marc Siegel, MD, a professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine, who is also a popular media guest on XM radio and a Fox News medical correspondent.
After Siegel outlined the scope of the opioid crisis, its history, and how chiropractors offer a key solution in the non-pharmacologic approaches to pain management, other MDs, PhDs, and directors for various pain-management and medical organizations followed suit and underscored precisely where and when the medical community should refer patients for conservative care and coordinate with chiropractors in the management of chronic and acute-care patients who would benefit from musculoskeletal therapy.
In addition, patient testimony was also given, notably by Jan Chambers, president of the National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association, who related her own positive outcomes obtained through chiropractic. The F4CP campaign, Save Lives. Stop Opioid Abuse. Choose Chiropractic, is a response to the fact that approximately 30,000 Americans die annually from opioid abuse and overuse, a number that has grown 300 percent since the year 2000. As one spokesperson at the event expressed the matter: “We see the same pattern repeat over and over: A person is prescribed an opioid medication, they become addicted to it, and eventually become heroin users.”
Other presenters at the event included:
- Wayne Jonas, MD, executive director of the Samueli integrative health programs
- David Thomas, PhD, program officer in the division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research of the National Institute on Drug Abuse
- Linda Porter, PhD, director of NIH’s Office of Pain Policy and co-chair of the National Pain Strategy and Federal Pain Research Strategy steering committees
- Larry Boress, president and CEO of the Midwest Business Group on Health and executive director of the National Association of Worksite Health Centers (Not in attendance due to weather)
- Myra Christopher, director of the Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy (Not in attendance due to weather)
The F4CP is asking for 5,000 doctors of chiropractic to contribute $200 each to support the campaign against opioid abuse. This is an opportunity to highlight the strengths and efficacy of chiropractic care and simultaneously address a major healthcare threat to the American public. To learn more and give, click here.
Source: Chiropractic Economics staff
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