Dr. McMillin's initial and ongoing interest in rehab and active care for the spine is centered on enhancing the basic chiropractic care he can provide to patients and more effectively managing a broader range of musculoskeletal conditions. "It’s my opinion that the chiropractic profession should be leading the way in improving functional musculoskeletal care, especially as it relates to the spine in central body fitness," he writes. "New, evidenced-based approaches in rehab and active care for the spine and central body fit perfectly within chiropractic practice. They also help raise the bar in musculoskeletal care. They allow for better care continuum for patients and provide another level of connection to natural health care and wellness."

The inclusion of chiropractic practitioners into various collaborative health systems has increased over the past decade. The addition of chiropractic within these multi-disciplinary settings has been embraced by many as a way to manage spinal conditions, such as back and neck pain, using noninvasive therapies. However, taking a patient-centered approach to such integration involving various health care practitioners leads to new questions and challenges and requires novel research to optimize patient outcomes in these settings.

In the early morning hours of Friday, Feb. 9, the House passed a bill that was passed by the Senate several hours earlier to keep the government funded for another two years.  This action by Congress ensures fiscal “peace” through this year’s mid-term election and into 2019.  Shortly after the House passed the measure, the president signed the bill, again effectively ending the threat of a government shutdown for the foreseeable future.

ACA has recently heard from members in a few states that some Blue Cross Blue Shield plans are automatically denying claims that contain the -25 and -59 modifiers. The states we have heard from to date include Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. The Blues plans in these states are owned by Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), an umbrella company that also owns the Blues plans in Montana and New Mexico. ACA has since learned that a new code-auditing enhancement is the source of the denials.