HEALTH PROMOTION Standard Process gains from onsite chiropractic car One U.S. company has reported great gains in employee health thanks to its company-wide wellness program with chiropractic care as a core component, according to the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP). Wisconsin-based Standard Process established its onsite wellness program in 2007. The company will soon issue a report of the program’s comprehensive outcomes, which include a 90 per cent employee participation, as well as: • reduced health-care claims and direct costs • higher rates of employee compliance and commitment to health improvement • enhanced employee productivity, health, satisfaction and retention “On-site health clinics have become increasingly attractive among employers as a strategic tool to promote timely access to health-care services, contain costs and boost worker productivity,” said Dr. Gerard Clum, D.C. and spokesperson for F4CP. “Doctors of chiropractic are well-trained in general wellness and neuro-musculoskeletal disorders – leading causes of lost workdays and reduced efficiency – and are able to positively impact a more rapid return-to-work.” F4CP reports a growing number of employers with on-site health clinics now include doctors of chiropractic as active members of the staff. According to the foundation, inclusion of chiropractic services represents great potential for reduced health-care expenditures, and improved Patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. In 2008, Mercer reported one in three employers with 500 or more employees offered on-site or near-site health clinics. By 2015, experts expect on-site health clinics to grow from approximately 2,200 to over 7,000 across the U.S. – serving more than 10 per cent of the population under the age of 65. The Wellness Council of America recently gave the Platinum Well Workplace Award to Standard Process in recognition of the company’s leadership and innovation in workplace health promotion. Based on the success of its wellness program, Standard Process launched Cultivate by Standard Process, a new business unit that helps improve employee wellness, organizational efficiencies and the financial bottom line for companies through on-site wellness centres led by doctors of chiropractic. “The rising costs of health care and employee wellness are top of mind topics for executives across all industries. Through Cultivate and an on-site chiropractic expert, organizations of all sizes can realize tremendous employee and company benefits,” said Jerry Curtin, president and general manager of Cultivate by Standard Process. “As more evidence emerges further documenting the positive clinical and financial outcomes associated with chiropractic, I expect that an even greater number of employers will include chiropractic services within on-site clinics,” said Clum. Business Wire MARKETING 5 tips to improve your practice visibility online Digital marketing is a term that is becoming more and more important for professional service providers such as chiropractors. It’s critical to leverage the tools and resources available to bolster one’s online presence, drive traffic, capture leads and generate more clients to grow the business. Having a digital marketing strategy is one of the most cost efficient ways to do this. Here are five ways to produce the best results when implementing a digital marketing strategy. 1. CONTENT IS KEY The first place to search for inspiration for content is your own website. What questions do you get asked in your chiropractic practice but don’t already have a web page for? Are clients asking about treatments you don’t currently list on your website? Chances are, there are some gaps between the information on your website and the questions you get on a daily basis. Those inquiries are opportunities for new content for your website by way of answers. 2. BLOG WITH AUTHORITY Blogging establishes you as a credible thought leader in your profession, as well as an engaging personality that can help you stand out from your competition. The presence of a blog also improves your search engine rankings. If you’re already blogging regularly, you can focus your efforts on making your blog content more informative and thought provoking. Rather than thinking of a blog as a platform for promotion, look at it as a vital way of providing added value for your readers (potential or current patients). A great way to do this is by creating resource posts that provide essential information. For example, have you encountered new treatment techniques that have improved patient outcomes? You could also write about what clients should do in-between treatments, or what symptoms to look for before making a call to see a chiropractor. These types of posts also have a much longer shelf life than other topics. 3. DEFINE ROI AND MEASUREMENT Make sure you are defining your metrics properly. Having your website achieve top ranking was once a priority. But that doesn’t necessarily result in business. Having many followers or likes on your social media channels might look great. But those optics also don’t necessarily translate into clients. Ultimately you want business, you want leads and engagement, not optics. 4. BRAND IS IMPORTANT Remember, you are a brand, not just a business. Building that brand means increasing awareness, lead generation, and ultimately, the bottom line. In the digital marketing space, branding is critical. You want people to search for you and your practice by name because the more that people search for you by name, the more importance and authority search engines like Google attribute to your website. The result? Better performance in search Engine rankings and higher brand visibility. Ways to help your efforts include remarketing ads, banner and button buys, and boosting your social media presence by leveraging the channels available to you (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) in creative and impactful ways. 5. IMPORTANCE OF ONLINE REVIEWS Online review sites such as Yelp are increasingly the go-to resources before making a purchasing decision. You likely depend on these sites too before deciding on a restaurant. And sometimes, you may check out what others are saying about you. The amalgamation of ratings and testimonials is becoming a highly trusted gauge for potential clients looking to determine whether you provide the value and the service. Encourage your patients to leave reviews and be sure to extend thanks when they do. - Jeff Quipp HEALTH CARE Health-care costs rising for low-income households: study Out-of-pocket health expenses rose sharply from 1997 to 2009, with low-income households taking the hardest hit, a new study from Statistics Canada revealed. Low-income households saw their health-care-related costs rise by 63 per cent over that period, compared to an increase of between 36 and 48 per cent for higher earners, the report said. In 2009, households with the lowest incomes spent about $1,000 on health care, compared to almost $3,000 for top earners. While those numbers may not seem enormous, for a Significant portion of families in the lowest income tier that outlay represented more than five per cent of the household’s after-tax annual income. In 2009, nearly 40 per cent of households in the two lowest income brackets reported spending more than five per cent of after-tax income on health costs compared with 14 per cent of households at the top end of the income spectrum. The report said out-ofpocket health-care spending represented 5.7 per cent of after-tax income for the lowest income households,Compared to 2.6 per cent for the families at the highest end. The study raised concerns about whether expenditures at that level are sustainable for people in the lower income tiers, questioning whether they may lead to lower use of certain healthcare services. The three biggest components of out-of-pocket healthcare spending were dental care, prescription drugs and health-related insurance premiums. How a household distributed its out-of-pocket spending among those three components depended on where on the income spectrum The family was. In 2009 lower-income households spent more on prescription drugs than they did on dental care or insurance. For higher-income households, insurance was the biggest expenditure of the three. The authors of the study noted it has some limitations, including the fact that the survey from which the information was drawn collected self-reported data. Self-reported information is subject to what’s called recall bias – memory problems. - Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press INFORMATION Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics now available online The International Chiropractic Association’s Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics is making its peer-reviewed publication, the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics (JCCP), available online starting with the March 14 issue. The JCCP online version is available at www.jccponline.com. “We are excited to launch a more accessible venue for field clinicians who are interested in maternal and pediatric chiropractic,” said Sharon Vallone, a chiropractor and the editor of JCCP. “We are hoping that the open access format will also stimulate more scientific writing among chiropractors who work with this population and would like to share their research and clinical experience in a professional journal.” Co-editor and chiropractor Cheryl Hawk stressed the importance of enhanced capability for sharing research in chiropractic paediatrics. “The sharing of scholarly papers, of research big and small, even of practitioners’ case reports is vital to developing clinical trials and larger research projects,” said Hawk. “The availability of these papers can have a significant impact on providing the evidence for chiropractic pediatrics and also making a difference in patient outcomes.” Council chair Lora Tanis welcomed the new development and thanked the JCCP editors and council staff for their “expertise and talents to make this happen.” “The ICA Pediatrics Council is committed to Providing excellence in pediatric clinical education, but is also committed to providing resources that will help the chiropractic practitioner be a better, more informed clinician so the care he/she provides is always safe, appropriate and of a high standard. The JCCP is one such resource, and we hope Dcs will take advantage of this open access format to learn and keep current.” The Pediatrics Council was established by the International Chiropractors Association in 1992 to provide doctors of chiropractic with advanced education in the specialty of pediatrics. From the beginning, the Council has been in the forefront of pediatric education, establishing a threeyear board-certified diplomate in chiropractic paediatrics and providing clinical continuing education for Dcs at its annual conferences and symposiums in the U.S. and abroad.It supports research by providing the evidence for chiropractic pediatrics through the only peer-reviewed pediatrics journal in the chiropractic profession, and serves as a platform for the presentation of research papers at its educational events. TECHNOLOGY There’s an app for that Parker Seminars announced the launch of a new mobile application, available on the iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices, that will enable Parker conference attendees to customize and personalize their seminar experience. The new app will be available for chiropractic and wellness professionals to use at the Parker Seminars event in Charleston, South Carolina, this June. The free app is now available to download for future Parker Seminar attendees who wish to enhance their seminar experience by browsing speaker biographies, scheduling agendas in advance, accessing exhibitor info, or engaging with other seminar attendees both on-site and between seminars. The app enables participants to see complete seminar information on their mobile device, as well as register for any upcoming events. “We’re focused on giving attendees total control over their seminar experience,” said Dr. Mark Mandell, executive director of Parker Professional. “To us, that means the ability to best manage the seminar weekend on your own terms, and through whichever medium makes that easiest for you." Parker Seminars Charleston, South Carolina, the first to feature the new mobile app, will be held June 12-14, 2014 at the Charleston Marriott. The ‘Parker Seminars’ mobile app is available for Apple mobile devices through the App Store. Android devices can download the ‘Parker Seminars’ mobile app on Google Play. Seminar attendees without Apple or Android devices can access the mobile-friendly Parker Seminars website at http:// mobileroadie.com/m/seminars. RESEARCH Mayo Clinic study promises degenerative disc treatment Stem cell transplant was viable and effective in halting or reversing degenerative disc disease of the spine, a meta- analysis of animal studies showed, in a development expected to open up research in humans. Recent developments in stem cell research have made it possible to assess its effect on intervertebral disc (IVD) height, Mayo Clinic researchers reported at the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, held in Phoenix in March. “This landmark study draws the conclusion in pre-clinical animal studies that stem cell therapy for disc degenerative disease might be a potentially effective treatment for the very common condition that affects people’s quality of life and productivity,” said the senior author, Wenchun Qu, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Qu said not only did disc height increase, but stem cell transplant also increased disc water content and improved appropriate gene expression. “These exciting developments place us in a position to prepare for translation of stem cell therapy for degenerative disc disease into clinical trials,” he said. The increase in disc height was due to restoration in the transplant group of the nucleus pulposus structure, which refers to the jelly-like substance in the disc, and an increased amount of water content, which is critical for the appropriate function of the disc as a cushion for the spinal column, the researchers concluded. The researchers performed a literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases and also manually searched reference lists for original, randomized, controlled trials on animals that examined the association between IVD stem cell transplant and the change of disc height. Six studies met inclusion criteria. Differences between the studies necessitated the use of random-effects models to pool estimates of effect. What they found was more than 23.6 per cent increase in the disc height index in the transplant group compared with the placebo group (95 per cent confidence interval, 19.7-23. 5; p < 0.001). None of the six studies showed a decrease of the disc height index in the transplant group. Increases in the disc height index were statistically significant in all individual studies. Study authors commented it is time to turn attention to the much-needed work of determining the safety, feasibility, efficacy of IVD stem cell transplant for humans. “A hallmark of IVD degenerative disease is its poor self-repair capacity secondary to the loss of IVD cells. However, currently available treatments fail to address the loss of cells and cellular functions. In fact, many invasive treatments further damage the disc, causing further degeneration in the diseased level or adjacent levels,” said the lead study author Jason Dauffenbach, DO. “The goal of tissue engineering using stem cells is to restore the normal function and motion of the diseased human spine.” GLOBAL UPDATE Australian study probes exercise benefits for LBP The University of South Australia is set to begin a new study into low back pain, a condition which affects more than 80 million people globally. The study will investigate whether physical activity – specifically walking at an intensity based on how individuals feel – will assist people suffering from chronic low back pain, where their low back pain symptoms have persisted for longer than three months. Dr. Katia Ferrar, an Early Career Development Fellow with the School of Health Sciences at the University of South Australia, said the individual and community cost of chronic low back pain is staggering. “The lifetime prevalence of lower back pain in Australia is as high as 80 per cent – and 10 to 20 per cent of those sufferers go on to experience chronic lower back pain,” she said. “In addition to the pain, patients typically suffer various levels of physical disability and psychological distress. The pain is likely to disrupt their daily routine and reduce their capacity to participate in recreational activities. They may be unable to work and may be depressed.” Ferrar, who worked as a physiotherapist before completing her PhD in the University’s Health and Use of Time Group, said health Professional guidelines recommend physical activity as a management tool for chronic low back pain. However, adults with chronic low back pain present with unique barriers to physical activity which need to be overcome to facilitate long-term physical activity behaviour change, she said. Ferrar will examine if walking, self-regulated by how they are feeling, may provide an effective approach to increasing physical activity in people with chronic low back pain. “Research has demonstrated that if an exercise experience is pleasurable, people will be more likely to participate in it in the future,” she said. A key distinction to this intervention is that it’s based on how people feel. Basically if something feels better and people feel more in control, then they might do it more or make it a regular habit.” Study participants will include adults, 35 to 55 years old, who have suffered low back pain for longer than three months and are not sufficiently physically active. The study will involve an eightweek home-based walking trial. One group will receive some guidance regarding self-pacing their walking intensity and the other group will be encouraged to walk with no specific guidance on how to regulate their walking intensity. 12 Canadian BOOK New book touts personalized approach to health care Functional medicine expert Dr. Jeffrey Bland will be travelling to Toronto and several U.S. cities for special book signing events for his latest work, The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Illness for a Healthier, Longer and Happier Life. Sponsored by Metagenics, a nutrigenomics and lifestyle medicine company, the book launch and signing events take place beginning April 30 to June 20. Bland is scheduled to be in Toronto on June 5. These events are designed for health-care practitioners to learn about the future of medicine – health care rather than disease care – as seen through the eyes of Bland, known in the health-care community as the “father of functional medicine.” In his newest book, Bland introduces the reader to the medicine of the 21st century, one that is personalized to the specific needs of the patient to result in health – not just the treatment of the symptoms of disease. This form of health care, which Bland defines as functional medicine, focuses on the understanding of the cause of chronic illness and its treatment using a blended approach of lifestyle, diet, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. The Disease Delusion provides a personalized approach to the prevention and management of chronic illnesses through the application of breakthrough discoveries in health science made in the last 10 years – whether the concern is diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, dementia,Autism, obesity, chronic fatigue or pain, or a feeling of premature aging. At the book signing receptions, sponsored by Metagenics, Bland will give health-care practitioners an inside look at how his new book can help change patient focus to health care, along with an overview of his approach to personalized lifestyle medicine. The cost for each event is $60, which includes the book and an opportunity to get it signed by Bland. A portion of the registration fee will be donated to the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute, a non-profit organization that collaborates with leading medical experts, scientists, educators, advocacy groups, medical institutions, medical societies and legislative groups to Advance its mission to integrate the principles of personalized lifestyle medicine for the prevention and management of chronic illness into health-care systems worldwide. SENIOR CARE Alberta Budget 2014 takes care of seniors With the number of seniors set to grow by five per cent this year, Alberta’s Budget 2014 is increasing funding to programs designed to help seniors stay independent. Funding increases are targeted in a variety of areas, including home care, continuing care, supplementary benefits including optical and dental, and special needs assistance for people living on a low-income. “With the population of seniors continuing to grow, the government continues to take steps that ensure seniors have the supports they need to maintain their quality of life and stay close to family and loved ones as they age,” said Fred Horne, Minister of Health Targeted spending will add capacity to a number of seniors support programs, including: • Six per cent increase ($21 million) to the Alberta Seniors Benefit for a total of $353 million: • About 150,000 low-income seniors will continue to receive benefits; • 23 per cent increase ($6 million) for special needs assistance for items such as appliances, home repairs and medical expenses for a total of $31 million, to help ensure this unique program continues to be available to the most vulnerable seniors facing unexpected costs; • $11 million increase to the seniors supplementary health benefit for things such as dental and optical care for a total of $127 million; • 44 per cent increase ($12 million) for enhanced home care and rehabilitation services, for a total of $40 million: • $2 million will be used to help 1,000 more people go home from the hospital with enhanced home care support, and $10 million will be invested in continuing care research designed to make further improvements to quality and safety; • $20 million budgeted for the Seniors Property Tax Deferral Program. “Seniors are a very important part of this province, and Budget 2014 reflects that importance. It will help seniors to stay happy, healthy, and in their homes and communities, which is where they want to be,” said Dave Quest, associate minister of seniors. Budget 2014 also invests in infrastructure for the province’s continuing care system, including $252 million over three years for the Affordable Supportive Living Initiative to support the development of Affordable supportive living spaces across the province. The government is also investing $294 million over three years for other continuing care projects. In the last fiscal year, more than 150,000 seniors received almost $324 million in financial assistance through the Alberta Seniors Benefit. More than 88,000 seniors received a total of $69 million in dental benefits, and 37,266 received a total of $7.5 million in optical benefits. More than 26,000 seniors received $22.8 million in financial assistance through the Special Needs Assistance for Seniors program. The number of home care clients in 2012/13 was 108,855. This is an increase in home care clients since 2010/11 of 8. 3 per cent. From 2010/11 to 2012/13 home care spending increased by 24.4 per cent.