Introduction to Integrative Medicine
Integrative medicine is an approach to wellness that is growing in popularity in the United States. It is patient-centered and combines conventional medicine and complementary medicine to treat the person as a whole. It addresses many factors, including the physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental influences on a person’s health status. Integrative medicine focuses on the broader concepts of health that promote a person’s overall health and future well-being. Reviews and clinical studies have shown positive outcomes for patients and providers who participate in integrative medicine programs. 

Benefits of Integrative Medicine
Complementary therapies are not used to replace conventional treatments. They are used in conjunction with conventional medicine to enhance and complement treatment. Complementary therapies include diet therapy, herbal supplements, probiotics and vitamins, biofeedback, hypnotherapy, meditation, yoga, acupuncture, chiropractic, reflexology, and therapeutic massage. Integrative medicine practitioners include professionals of many disciplines, including medical doctors, nurse practitioners, doctors of osteopathic medicine, naturopaths, chiropractors, mental health professionals, mind-body specialists, massage therapists, and acupuncturists.
Many patients can benefit from integrative medicine, especially patients with chronic or complex medical conditions such as cancer, chronic pain, depression, diabetes, hypertension, fibromyalgia, and many other conditions. Complementary therapies may help people living with such conditions to achieve better appetite, improved cognitive functioning, pain relief, reduced anxiety, and improved sleep.

Risks and Challenges Related to Integrative Medicine
While there are many benefits to integrative medicine, there are some risks to be aware of. Integrative medicine often involves care from multiple practitioners. This may involve multiple appointments for the patient to keep. Providers may disagree on the plan of care since complementary therapies and traditional Western medicine have different philosophies. Some complementary therapies have side effects or interact negatively with conventional treatments.
As a medical provider, it’s important for you to be aware of the benefits and risks of any complementary or conventional therapies a patient is receiving. Complementary therapies should only be used if proven to be effective, safe, and appropriate for a person’s individual health status. Open communication with your patients and their providers is crucial to optimize patient outcomes and maintain a good physician-patient relationship. 

Get More Resources and Information to Stay Educated
It is critical to educate yourself on the various integrative medicine options. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health website has resources for healthcare providers that includes an A-Z listing of various health products and practices, including information about the safety and effectiveness of the products and practices. It also includes evidence-based resources, such as research results and clinical practice guidelines, which will help prepare you to discuss complementary health approaches with your patients. 

If you are not insured with OUM, fill out our online form to get a no-obligation quote.

“OUM” and “OUM Chiropractor Program” do not refer to a legal entity or insurance company but to a program or symbol of a program underwritten, insured, and administered by ProAssurance. The information contained on the OUM Chiropractor Blog does not establish a standard of care, nor does it constitute legal advice. The information is for general informational purposes only. We encourage all blog visitors to consult with their personal attorneys for legal advice, as specific legal requirements may vary from state to state. Links or references to organizations, websites, or other information is for reference use only and do not constitute the rendering of legal, financial, or other professional advice or recommendations. All information contained on the blog is subject to change.

What Workplace Bullying Looks Like 
Bullying is harmful, targeted behavior that may be directed to one person, or a group of people. It might be spiteful, offensive, mocking, or intimidating. Bullying can range from being overtly obvious, such as yelling, to subtle, such as using condescending language. It is a repeated behavior that manifests from a real or perceived power imbalance and is often intended to control, embarrass, undermine, threaten, or otherwise harm the targeted person or group.

Understanding What Leads to Common Malpractice Claims
The most common allegations in chiropractic malpractice claims are related to these three things:

While most healthcare providers are compassionate and want to provide optimal care to their patients, everyone has biases and knowledge gaps that may hinder the provision of quality healthcare. These biases and knowledge gaps can lead to:

• Barriers to care
• Miscommunications
• Misdiagnosis
• Lack of trust

If you missed Part 1 of this article, read it here!

Occasionally, there is good news about compliance and risk. Good news came to every licensed healthcare practitioner in the nation on January 5, 2021, when the HITECH Act was amended with the new HIPAA Safe Harbor Law (HR 7898). This change created safe harbors under the law, but only if acted upon by the healthcare professional to protect themselves and their practice.

Finding yourself in a situation where a patient is unhappy with their treatment and asking for a refund, what should be your response? For example, you may feel that your work is satisfactory, and you are unwilling to provide a refund to the patient considering all the time you spent on their care. Or you may be seeking a quick resolution to the situation. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to handle patient refunds.

What is the Role of Empathy in Healthcare?
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It combines intellectual perspective with emotional understanding. Empathy is a skill that has not been historically emphasized in medical schools. However, it plays a crucial role in healthcare.

If you’re ready to grow your practice, you may need to make strategic changes in how you run the business side of your clinic. Chiropractors who are willing to put in the effort can create a practice that’s more attractive to new patients. Consider taking these steps:

Advertise Your Clinic in the Right Places
Advertising may spread the word about your practice to potential patients within the community. Of course, you have to make sure you’re advertising in the right places--not every outlet is visible to patients.

Consider asking existing patients how they found your clinic. With that information, you may find some new places to advertise or increase any advertising you’re already doing. Survey incoming patients to see how well your marketing efforts are doing.

Ask for Referrals
Often referrals are among the best sources for new patients. Let your current patients know you’re looking for referrals and welcome recommendations from existing patients. They can tell their friends and family about their experiences with your practice and hopefully find new patients for you.

Sometimes, patients aren’t aware that referrals are important to you. Adding a short and simple message such as, “We love referrals!” to your business cards, e-newsletter, social media or website may help you send the message and find new patients.

Partner with Other Healthcare Professionals
Another great way to get referrals is through other healthcare professionals. Consider teaming up with physical therapists or medical practitioners who may have patients suffering from back pain and other common issues chiropractic care may help with. These professionals may appreciate having a qualified professional as part of their network.

Improve Productivity
Streamlining your practice may provide you with more room in your schedule, mental bandwidth to work in and more resources to devote to each appointment. Becoming more productive can create new possibilities for your clinic. Here are a few ideas:

Think for a minute about planning your dream vacation. Do you picture relaxing on a white, sandy beach with calm, clear blue water, a gentle breeze, the smell of salt water and the perfect sunset? Will it be Hawaii, Tahiti, Bali, the Mediterranean or the Caribbean? After selecting the location, now you need to book a hotel or vacation rental property. If you google hotels in Hawaii, hundreds appear. Do you go with the first one on the list? Of course not! You read all the reviews and ratings to make an informed decision.

A hotel can make or break your vacation. If the room is unclean, the amenities are lacking, the location isn’t ideal and the staff is unfriendly, your dream vacation won’t be a dream at all; it’ll be a nightmare! That is why recommendations, reviews and ratings are critical. People who have stayed at the hotel can tell you its pros and cons. In the same way, recommendations are essential to finding the best products and services.

How many times have you asked friends for recommendations on restaurants, coffee shops, contractors, mechanics, etc.? Your friends’ recommendations and firsthand experiences are more valuable than choosing the first car repair shop you see when you’re driving down the street.

Whether you’re looking for the best office equipment to purchase, the most qualified employees to staff your office or where to obtain your next continuing education credits, you look to recommendations from colleagues, industry leaders and chiropractic associations. Recommendations from these respected individuals and organizations are far more trustworthy than simply taking the word of any company that provides products or services to chiropractors. These industry experts understand chiropractic and have the same appreciation for it as you do. Recommendations are the key to helping your business thrive and ultimately lead you to success.

Being endorsed and recommended by chiropractic associations is a great honor and privilege. It’s a decision that is made after careful planning by the association, and extensive research has been conducted on the company, its products, services, what it stands for and how it actively supports the chiropractic community. An endorsement demonstrates the reliability, trust and confidence the association has in a company or program.

Only one malpractice insurance program is endorsed by and holds strategic relationships with several state chiropractic associations. OUM Chiropractor Program is privileged to hold that great honor!

We understand the challenges you face today and are working diligently to help protect you. We have your best interests at heart and have designed a policy to thoroughly help protect your practice. We are continuously offering additional services and coverages to make sure your business practice needs are met and you’re protected from broader areas of risk. We also offer one of the largest online libraries of chiropractic-specific risk management resources and confidential risk management consultation.

The protection of your reputation and practice is crucial. Our defense counsel collectively have over 1,000 years of experience defending chiropractors. With this level of expertise, you can rest assured that we will boldly protect your reputation and practice.

These chiropractic associations recognize that we offer quality products, outstanding service, dedication to the chiropractic community, and unmatched value, so they offer their full support to us.

Supporting OUM—a program whose goal is to help protect chiropractors–means supporting a program that champions for you and your chosen profession.

If you aren’t currently insured with OUM, take a moment to reevaluate your decision. Fill out our online form to get a no-obligation quote.