ACA’s annual meeting, the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference, brings you cutting-edge, evidence-based education sessions featuring some of the chiropractic profession’s most respected thought leaders and content experts. Many sessions also offer continuing education credits. Here we pose questions to one of the presenters: David J. BenEliyahu, DC, who serves as the administrative director of the Back and Neck Pain Center at Mather Hospital/Northwell in Port Jefferson, N.Y. His presentation is titled, “An Interprofessional Collaboration Framework for DCs to Enhance Population Spine Health in Private Practice, Local Hospitals, and the Local Community.”

ACA’s annual meeting, the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference, brings you cutting-edge, evidence-based education sessions featuring some of the chiropractic profession’s most respected thought leaders and content experts. Many sessions also offer continuing education credits. Here we pose questions to one of the presenters: Steven Huybrecht, DC, former participant in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) chiropractic residency program. His presentation is, “Building Interprofessional Relationships: Enhancing Patient Care through Integration.”

For more than a century, chiropractic science—at least as offered by many chiropractors—was frozen in late 19^th century medical thought. Because the founders spoke of “tone” and the “safety-pin cycle,” it became almost a rallying cry for many of the followers. But has chiropractic science advanced since that time, and if so, will chiropractors embrace it? Many of you have read my theory textbooks through the years, but have you kept up with our modern science? There is a new story to tell. The new story is based on solid science that dovetails nicely with science from related healthcare disciplines, and that places [the chiropractic profession] squarely in the middle of interdisciplinary recommendations for conservative spine care and positions us as a substitute for old-school use of opioids and back surgery--instead of putting us out on a ledge, preaching against interdisciplinary care.

Although the culture of health care is shifting and complementary and alternative options are being implemented in hospital and primary care settings, many allopathic practitioners are not necessarily familiar with chiropractic. My biggest take-away from being exposed to interprofessional collaboration on a day-to-day basis in the VA is the need for chiropractors to prepare answers to questions regarding what chiropractic care is, common conditions seen, neurophysiological effects of treatment, and the incidence of adverse events.

The public primarily perceives the chiropractic profession as a healthcare discipline involved with the management of spine-related pain and disability. Unfortunately, the current state of spine care in the United States is dominated by specialists, who tend to function in isolation, with minimal communication between providers. While this may have been the way it has been in the past, we feel it doesn’t have to--and shouldn’t--stay this way. Regardless of the practice setting, we believe all DCs have opportunities to improve patient care by adopting a more interprofessional approach to care.