“How will the ‘next’ research topic be identified that will have the greatest impact on patients, or should there even be a ‘next’ topic given limited resources?” that are currently hidden from view. Critical questions such as: “Who re-sponds best to chiropractic?” or “How often should I see a chiropractor?” There is so much more we can achieve for both patients and our profession by continuing down this road. Still, Dr. Lorenz’s question remains. chiropractic). Instead, imagine a rare opportunity to unite a diverse profes-sion around a solution that not only works for DCs, but improves the lives for as many patients as possible. What is the solution? Our current understanding of what patients need is ultimately a snapshot. A screen capture. A sample of the entire popu-lation. And we’ve been fortunate that these snapshots have been fairly rep-resentative whether they be about pain, disability or non-musculoskele-tal conditions. But what if instead we could move beyond the snapshots, the single practitioner opinions, the small surveys or even large-scale polls? What if instead we could evaluate the needs of all chiropractic patients. Not a few. Not ten. Not ten thousand. All chiropractic patients in Canada. All. Of. Them. At once, we would have answers in our pocket that have never been available to reach down and grab. That miracle you’ve seen in practice? We’d actually know (not ar-gue) if it is a one-off or something that happens in a large percentage of pa-tients and worthy of further explora-tion. Imagine that. Moving beyond decades of argument and blame to now possess actual facts about what we do and how all patients respond. Needing more answers What about the results observed by chiropractors that don’t fall into the realm of pain and disability? What if there is potential for chiropractic to help others in exciting new ways but research funds have not been chan-nelled to these areas? As mentioned before, this dilemma is as real as re-search resources are scarce. How will the “next” research topic be identified that will have the greatest impact for patients, or should there even be a “next” topic given limited resources? To answer this question, I’d like to start by suggesting how not to go about answering this question. That is, to reject the traditional strategy that chiropractors use to navigate through disagreement – blame. It typically goes something like this: “My” research agenda is the right one and should be supported over others because: 1) funding has not been dis-tributed fairly, 2) researchers have too much power, 3) science is broken (e.g. randomized control trials are flawed, population-based statistics are irrele-vant, scientists do bad things etc., etc.), or 4) it’s “my” turn. All of these arguments are just that – arguments that do not really answer the question of what research is most important for patients. It’s time to move on. There is, however, a way to answer to this question that avoids the hag-gard, old approach of blame (that has yet to do anything positive for www.canadianchiropractor.ca “Act” in chiropractic This is not a dream that might happen generations from now. This possibility is currently within our grasp. Technol-ogy exists today for chiropractors to record what happens to every patient during every visit and safely share this information in real-time with clini-cians, associations, regulators, re-searchers, policy makers, educators and patients. Establishing a national chiropractic health record in this way would transform the profession endlessly. If data is the new oil, imagine creating our own source of clean, ethical “oil.” A data source that would finally allow chiropractors to control their own autonomy about what they can or cannot do in practice. A tool to that would allow chiropractors to describe how safe our treatments can be and proactively identify those who might be at risk. A data source that puts the profession at the centre of developing new knowledge pertaining to preven-tion, prognosis, diagnosis and treat-ment of what concerns patients most. All for the small cost of the time and effort it takes to capture what we do on a daily basis anyway. Although we are far behind in adopting electronic health records, the timing could not be better. Had the profession adopted electronic health records previously, the older technology of years gone by would now make it difficult to link with other databases or transfer data. As a result, we are poised on the precipice of being able to create an effective national electronic health record. Doing so would perhaps be the pro-fession’s greatest achievement since its founding and most importantly, one that would benefit all – patients and clinicians alike. So, let us unite behind an idea that solves all the ar-guments about research priorities. A Canadian Chiropractic Health Re-cord. With that, I now have questions of my own for this audience. Will we continue to entertain arguments and waste more time blaming others about what research should or should not be funded? Will we never miss an opportunity to yet again miss another opportunity? Or, could we put aside what we as think is best for ourselves and instead do what is best for chiro-practic patients. To acknowledge that while this is the best time to be a chiropractor, we need to be the best chiropractors for these times. To do something truly epic and for once, do it together. To choose to put the “act” back in chiropractic. To do something historic that will leave this profession better off than when we started for those who have yet to be chiroprac-tors and those who will continue to seek our help. February 2020 Canadian Chiropractor 15
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor February 2020: Page 15
