Chiropractic Included in Veteran's Health Administration , US's Largest Healthcare System

The above headline comes from a July 28, 2008 release from the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) and published on MarketWatch.com. The release starts off by noting that the US Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) has taken steps to incorporate and expand chiropractic into its healthcare system. One such step was the naming of a chiropractor, Dr. Anthony J. Lisi as the National Director of Chiropractic Services.

Dr. Gerard W. Clum, president of Life Chiropractic College West, Hayward, California and spokesperson for the Foundation, "The chiropractic program was established in late 2004 in response to legislation that required at least one chiropractor in each of the 21 VHA geographic regions. Currently, there are now 38 chiropractors working in 32 VHA sites, and the number is growing, a trend that represents the biggest large-scale implementation in the VHA to date."

Dr. Lisi, Chief of Chiropractic at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, and Associate Professor of Clinical Sciences at the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, stated, "The patient referral policy may seem an undesirable arrangement to many private practitioners, but in the VHA it works exceptionally well. The evidence of collaboration between chiropractors, medical physicians and other providers speaks volumes. In the VHA environment, collaboration replaces competition and leads to better healthcare for our patients."

The release noted that 12 VHA facilities will have an academic affiliation with a total of nine different chiropractic schools. Under the supervision of staff chiropractors, students will complete rotations in the VHA facility. To date more than 300 chiropractic students have undergone training in a VHA facility. In the future they report that medical students or medical residents may also rotate through a VHA chiropractic clinic to facilitate collaboration.