Nearly five years
ago, the Council on Chiropractic Practice (CCP) produced its first
clinical guideline "Vertebral Subluxation in Chiropractic
Practice."
With the help and advice of consultants from the Agency for Healthcare
Policy and Research (AHCPR) -- now known as the Agency for Healthcare
Quality and Research -- the CCP Board and its research committee embarked
on an evidence-based process for developing the subluxation guidelines.
The CCP board used an open, thorough, ethical and evidence-based
process to direct the development of its guideline. Because of this, the
CCP Guidelines were the first chiropractic guideline to be included in the
federal government's National Guideline Clearinghouse.
The Mercy Guideline was subsequently added, but has recently been
deleted because it no longer meets the criteria for inclusion. The CCP
guideline remains the only chiropractic document of its kind included in
the NGC.
"To remain in the NGC, a guideline must be reviewed, and if
necessary, revised every five years," stated Christopher Kent, D.C.,
CCP president. "We are approaching our fifth year and we will need to
update our guideline. This is a major task and we need the profession's
help to ensure the future of the CCP Guideline process."
Before publication, the CCP Guideline went through a process that
included a broad and thorough literature search and retrieval. In
addition, three conferences were held to compile relevant information. A
technique conference was followed by a meeting by various leaders in the
profession. A third conference was an open forum where any interested
party could give input.
During this process, an expert panel reviewed the literature gathered
and evidence from that review was used to create an initial draft of the
document.
The draft was distributed to 195 peer reviewers in 12 countries for
their comments, and then sent for pilot review. The feedback gathered was
used to construct the final document, which was disseminated worldwide.
Thousands of copies were mailed throughout the U.S., Canada and other
countries and the full text of the document was made available on the
Internet.
Many chiropractors have successfully used the CCP Guidelines to defend
themselves in malpractice cases, state board actions and against IME
abuses, particularly when their subluxation correction care was
questioned.
According to CCP Board Member, Matthew McCoy, D.C., "Before CCP,
there were no guidelines that practitioners could rely on to defend
themselves from these types of actions. If it were not for the CCP guides
many more chiropractors and patients would have suffered. We need to keep
CCP current in order to protect the welfare of our patients and the rights
of chiropractors to practice subluxation-based chiropractic."
In an effort to continue its tradition of openness and profession
involvement in the guideline development process, the CCP Board is holding
an Open Forum on Friday, April 12, 2002. The meeting will take place from
1-2 p.m. at the Hotel Washington in Washington, D.C.
The meeting is being held in conjunction with the World Chiropractic
Alliance (WCA) International Summit, Although not officially associated
with the CCP, the WCA is a supporter of the guideline group and offered
free space during its event for the meeting.
At this Open Forum, and throughout the revision process, information
and input is being sought on a wide range of topics related to vertebral
subluxation, its clinical application and the guidelines development
process including:
