3: Chiropractic
Research: Synopsis of Cost Effectiveness Research
Summary:
Patients who used DCs as
their primary care providers had 43 percent decreases in hospital
admissions, 52 percent reductions in pharmaceutical costs and 43
percent less outpatient surgeries and procedures. Back pain
episode-related costs were also 25 percent lower for those with
chiropractic coverage. While achieving this superior outcome, the total
costs of the manual therapy-treated patients were about one third of
the costs of physiotherapy or general practitioner care.
Chiropractic care is a "relatively
cost-effective approach to the management of work-related injuries."