organization process. Therefore, provincial chiropractic organiza- tions can and should immedi- ately become familiar with their province’s participants and pro- cess, keeping in mind that health reform is largely a provincial gov- ernment function. • Individuals and chiropractic organizations should seek and identify grass roots patient-based patient safety organizations as these are often made up of vic- tims and their families/friends who are committed to the cause of advocacy and improved mea- sures. Examples include The Empowered Patient, a group based in British Columbia. • Our profession is, in fact, a leader in safety and improved outcomes. Indeed, a poster presentation or an appropriate presentation on the issue of safety and outcomes at future conferences is more than warranted. • Chiropractic participation means the acknowledgment and free discussion of the known risks and outcomes of the various treatments offered by chiroprac- tic doctors. The limited nature of these risks is already identified in public literature, as well as the substantive literature on the out- comes of spine adjustment. • Chiropractic participation can and should take the lead in the matter of informed consent. The profession’s legal and internal history with respect to informed consent issues is unparalleled and should serve as a founda- tion at patient safety conferenc- es, in particular patient-based safety conferences. The public should know that when seeking care from any health profession- al, they should expect the same standard of informed consent the chiropractic profession at large demonstrates. Among comparable health professions/ providers, the chiropractic profession has the documentation making it a leader in in- formed consent (the cornerstone of safety), provides among the safest of care, and can demonstrate substantial positive patient outcomes. Therefore, it should be present to participate in discussions and confer- ences dealing with these issues. The conference underscored the mis- takes arising from human nature. No one attempted to suggest suing, or otherwise negatively described an entire profes- sion. In addition, where explanations of adverse events occurred, they were ob- jective explanations delivered by peers or representatives of the responsible practitioner, not individuals claiming to speak for that practitioner’s entire profes- sion. This avoided giving the public and media the misleading perception that the adverse events were possibly characteris- tic of the entire profession. The conference concluded that there is an international urgency for safety and sustainability of health care. With almost one-third of all daily primary care being for the spine and related conditions, the chiropractic profession should be visible, in each province, to demonstrate that chiropractic is aware of the problem and is part of the solution. • 32 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | MAY 2010 www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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