The Engage 2020 Conference Daily brings you information and announcements to help maximize the ACA Engage experience, as well as news and highlights from the day's events. In this issue: the Advocacy Day Kick-Off event, the ACA-PAC Bulldog Award and the Congressional Reception.

The Engage 2020 Conference Daily brings you information and announcements to help maximize the ACA Engage experience, as well as news and highlights from the day's events. In this issue: A message from the ACA president and coverage of the SACA Welcome Meeting. 

ACA President Robert C. Jones, DC, offers his reflections on the past year, including a review of progress on key initiatives. "Over the past 12 months, I have had the honor of serving as ACA president and with that the privilege of meeting many ACA members," he writes. "Through our collective efforts as an association, I’m pleased to report that our voice is stronger than ever, thanks in large part to the overall health of ACA and because of the real progress we have made."

Our review of the top 10 blog posts on ACA Blogs in 2019 provides plenty of evidence that readers are most interested in topics that will help them better care for their patients as well as information on new developments in health care policy. Thanks to all who engaged with ACA Blogs over the past year. If you missed any of our top 10 posts of the year, here we provide a list so you can catch up! 

Postdoctoral training programs are very common in the sciences and healthcare disciplines. They typically focus on developing skills and experience in areas outside the realm of patient care, such as research, health policy, health administration and teaching, among others. Expanding the number of early-career chiropractors engaging in various postdoctoral training programs is an important underpinning for the continued development of the profession. Meet five doctors of chiropractic who have completed or are currently in one of four different, but related postdoctoral programs conducted by a Yale School of Medicine/VA Connecticut partnership

As a resident at the VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System, students and new graduates alike frequently ask me about my experience as a resident and how it varied from my time as a student clerk at the St. Louis VA Medical Center. To help provide a better perspective on the two types of positions, I’ve invited three New York Chiropractic College (NYCC) students who are currently finishing their clerkships at the VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System to reflect on their experience. In addition, I have provided a brief description of the two positions.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has long been a partner in the fight against opioid misuse by promoting and encouraging the utilization of safe, effective and proven non-drug approaches to pain management, such as chiropractic care. Recently, ACA has joined with national coalitions to promote chiropractic care as a viable, widely available and effective tool to the millions of Americans who experience chronic and acute pain each year. 

Doctors of chiropractic have an opportunity to play a new, innovative role in the healthcare system.  This new role, the Primary Spine Practitioner, necessitates the establishment of a clear identity and an easily understood means of communicating chiropractic’s value to others in health care. Never has there been a greater need for an efficient, evidence-based clinical approach that enhances our credibility, maximizes our skills and allows us to apply the highest level of excellence in patient care.

Contemporary practice principles in hospitals and health systems have become much more comprehensive and incorporate population health management principles, coordination of care, collaborative care, application of standardized care pathways, and attention to the social determinants of health. According to Engage 2020 presenter David BenEliyahu, DC, chiropractors should adopt these principles in their practices, as they foster not only better outcomes but also integration and collaboration with our medical colleagues.

In the wake of the national opioid crisis in the United States, primary care clinics are beginning to recognize the importance of non-pharmacologic care for patients with common musculoskeletal conditions such as low back pain. Integrating chiropractic care into healthcare clinics is an important step toward offering these more holistic approaches to pain management. However, clinics in lower-income neighborhoods often face financial and other barriers to offering this type of care. ACA member Eric Roseen, DC, MSc, is embarking on a research study to find new approaches to creating patient access.