UPFRONT | Columnist BUSINESS TALK: OP-ED Contain and eliminate I Chiropractors owe Dr. Wilk a debt of gratitude evidence of the usefulness of chiropractic care, and orchestrate a huge slander campaign to dis-credit and debunk the chiroprac-tic profession while doing many other activities to maintain a medical monopoly over health care in this country.” -www.chiro. com Evidence in the case demon-strated that the AMA knew of scientific studies implying that chiropractic care was twice as effective as medical care in reliev-ing many painful conditions of the neck and back as well as re-lated musculoskeletal problems. The court concluded: “The AMA was ordered to send copies of the Order of In-junction to each of its 275,000 members, to modify the official AMA Judicial Council Opinions and Reports to be congruent with the Courts decision that: “It is now ethical for a medical phy-sician to professionally associate with chiropractors provided the physician believes that such an association is in the best interest of its patient.” In addition -the AMA was forced to publish the Injunction Order in the Journal of the American Medical Associ-ation.” Dr. Wilk and his team were able to unearth evidence of con-spiracy. They were able to prove that the AMA literally held meet-ings to orchestrate a boycott of chiropractors by telling AMA members that chiropractors were unscientific practitioners and that it was unmedical and BY DR. ANTHONY LOMBARDI, DC unethical for a medical doctor to associate or refer to chiroprac-tors. The purpose of the boycott according to testimony was to “contain and eliminate” the chi-ropractic profession. n 1976, chiropractor Ches-ter Wilk led a lawsuit against the American Med-ical Association because they were deliberately re-stricting chiropractor access to hospitals, insurance plans, and suppressing information about chiropractic to patients. In 1987, the US Court of Appeals ruled in favour of chiropractic and ordered the AMA to end the conspiracy. Dr. Wilk died April 21st of this year. He was 91. If you work in the same office as a medical doctor, thank Dr. Wilk. If you receive referrals from a medical doctor, thank Dr. Wilk. If insurance pays for your treatments, thank Dr. Wilk. If you practice in a hospital, thank Dr. Wilk. If your license is recog-nized by nations around the world, thank Dr. Wilk. Dr. Ches-ter Wilk brought our profession into the mainstream. For those unfamiliar with this story, here is a summary. “On August 27, 1987, Judge Susan Getzendanner, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, found the American Medical Association, The American College of Sur-geons, and The American Col-lege of Radiology, guilty of hav-ing conspired to destroy the profession of chiropractic in the United States. Evidence at the trial showed that the defendants took active steps, often covert, to undermine chiropractic educa-tional institutions, conceal DRAMATIC SHIFT Of the 45 chiropractic institutions worldwide, only 14 have retained the word chiro-practic in the name. ANTHONY LOMBARDI, DC, is a private consultant to athletes in the NFL, CFL and NHL, and founder of the Hamilton Back Clinic, a multidisciplinary clinic. He teaches his fundamental EXSTORE Assessment System and practice building workshops to various health professionals. For more information, visit www.exstore.ca. 6 Chiropractic and Naturopathic Doctor July/August 2022 Yet 40 years later the profession is seemingly taking a different path. Of the 45 chiropractic in-stitutions worldwide, only 14 have retained the word chiro-practic in the name. This trend is worrisome. A serious identity crisis in the profession is on the horizon. Schools are trading the chiropractic name for a more general, generic, better marketa-ble name. So, are schools finan-cially stable or is there something that schools are not telling us? I was recently at a graduate fair where undergraduate students attended with their parents. Its not uncommon for parents to fund their children’s post gradu-ate education whether by using their savings or through financ-ing. I overheard one father ask: “What kind of a school is a College of Health Sciences?” His daughter replied, “Dad its a chi-ropractic school.” Her father walked a few more steps and stopped to wait in line at a chi-ropractic school kiosk. I was right behind them and listened to him say: “Well if I’m going to be paying $200,000 for your education, I want you to go to a school with the profession in its name.” My thoughts exactly. Why is the profession and its graduates straying from their roots? Well, in part we know some of the answers. These name changes have been encouraged www.Cndoctor.ca
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