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Publications and Research

Funding Leading-Edge Research

We champion research focused on delivering high quality, patient-centered, value-based care. Currently, we are studying the effectiveness of conservative care and how we can better participate in and promote integrative care that, in theory, should reduce costs while improving outcomes and satisfaction. Our research can be found below. 

ChiroCare E-BookDownload your free copy of “Low Back Treatment Trends Affecting Health Insurance Payers” below. Check out the summary and table of contents to learn more.

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Table of Contents

  1. Extent of Low Back Pain
  2. Economic Consequences
  3. Chiropractic Care as a Cost-Efficient Solution
  4. Care Models and Implications
    1. Stand Alone Model
    2. Collaborative Care Model
    3. Integrated Clinic of Hospital Model
  5. The Need to Educate and Engage Patients
  6. Conclusions

E-Book Summary

As chiropractic care continues to integrate into the health care system, primarily because of its ability to meet health care reform goals, progressive health insurance payers are taking notice.

Integrating chiropractic care into treatment protocols is becoming a priority for health care payers. As this new “Low Back Treatment Trends Affecting Health Insurance Payers” e-book will make clear, payers and providers who take leadership roles in this integration will be rewarded with successful, lower cost back and neck pain treatment options.

This free e-book will show:

  • The prevalence and costs to the health care system of low back pain rivals that of major diseases.
  • Chiropractic care is effective as an initial intervention, as a means of diagnosis and, in most cases, as a full treatment for low back pain.
  • Chiropractic treatment is highly cost-effective.
  • Health care providers are experimenting with ways to better integrate chiropractic into health care delivery.

If you’re a health insurance/payer decision-maker, employee benefits professional, or chief medical officer for a health insurance company, you need to download this book. 

About the Authors

Tabatha Erck

Tabatha Erck, MPA, Chief Executive Officer

Tabatha Erck brings more than 20 successful years in the health care and insurance industries to her role as current CEO of CCMI. At CCMI, Erck is responsible for executing strategies, initiatives and day-to-day operations, as well as developing and recommending new ideas to the president and Board of Directors to reflect the changing market dynamics. Erck serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Specialty Health Organizations (NASHO) and is the former director of Medicare and Individual Sales at HealthPartners. Winner of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s 2012 “Women in Business” award, Ms. Erck has a Masters in Healthcare Administration from the University of San Francisco, a Masters in LEAN (Six Sigma), and is pursuing a Doctorate degree from the University of St. Thomas.

Vivi-Ann Fischer

Vivi-Ann Fischer, D.C., Chief Clinical Officer

Dr. Fischer has more than 20 years of clinical and 17 years managed health care experience. She currently serves on the Northwestern Health Science University Board of Trustees and has served on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association. She founded Plymouth Grove Chiropractic, P.A. in 1988 and previously practiced in Duluth, Minnesota. Dr. Fischer enjoys chiropractic because the practice embraces the concept of empowering individuals to maximize their health and wellness as much as possible through natural methods. In her role as Chief Clinical Officer of CCMI, Dr. Fischer diligently supports regional chiropractic doctors in current best practice paradigms and promotes professional collaboration.

Download your free copy of “Usage of Outcomes Measurements in Chiropractic Care” below. Check out the summary and table of contents to learn more.

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Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary

II. Overview of Chiropractic Care of Minnesota, Inc.

III. Planning the Outcomes Program

IV. Background; Chiropractic Treatment for Back and Neck Pain

V. Chiropractic Treatment Outcomes Collection

a. Objectives

b. Methodology

c. Results

d. Secondary Survey Results

VI. Summary

Summary

Back and neck pain has reached epidemic levels in the United States, with over 80% of adults reporting neck and/or back pain at some point in their lives. When compared with other common treatments, spinal manipulation has provided equal or better improvement in pain and function. In spite of the demonstrated clinical benefits and value it provides, chiropractic care remains underutilized.

With such a high percentage of the population experiencing back and neck pain, more now than ever before, there is a need to identify and implement quality focused, patient-centered care delivery models that include chiropractors. To qualify as high-quality, patient-center focused, a physician must utilize and incorporate outcomes as part of their treatment model. Insurance companies, employers, state and federal governments, and consumers are all looking for direction about what kind of care a consumer should obtain with regards to back and neck pain. A study of the use of chiropractic treatment outcomes is the first step in the process of validating doctors of chiropractic as high-quality, patient-centered. If successful, the next step is to design and implement new care delivery models that include chiropractors.

 

About the Authors

Tabatha Erck

Tabatha Erck, MPA, Chief Executive Officer

Tabatha Erck brings more than 20 successful years in the health care and insurance industries to her role as current CEO of CCMI. At CCMI, Erck is responsible for executing strategies, initiatives and day-to-day operations, as well as developing and recommending new ideas to the president and Board of Directors to reflect the changing market dynamics. Erck serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Specialty Health Organizations (NASHO) and is the former director of Medicare and Individual Sales at HealthPartners. Winner of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s 2012 “Women in Business” award, Ms. Erck has a Masters in Healthcare Administration from the University of San Francisco, a Masters in LEAN (Six Sigma), and is pursuing a Doctorate degree from the University of St. Thomas.

Vivi-Ann Fischer

Vivi-Ann Fischer, D.C., Chief Clinical Officer

Dr. Fischer has more than 20 years of clinical and 17 years managed health care experience. She currently serves on the Northwestern Health Science University Board of Trustees and has served on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association. She founded Plymouth Grove Chiropractic, P.A. in 1988 and previously practiced in Duluth, Minnesota. Dr. Fischer enjoys chiropractic because the practice embraces the concept of empowering individuals to maximize their health and wellness as much as possible through natural methods. In her role as Chief Clinical Officer of CCMI, Dr. Fischer diligently supports regional chiropractic doctors in current best practice paradigms and promotes professional collaboration.

Thousands of Minnesotans are needlessly suffering from untreated back and neck pain because they are unclear about chiropractic treatment options covered by their health plans, says a survey from ChiroCare, the largest independent network of credentialed chiropractors in the Upper Midwest.

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Fulcrum hired Q Market Research in Eagan, Minnesota, to conduct a survey of Minnesotans who experienced back and neck pain within the past year that had not seen a chiropractor. They surveyed 651 and asked why the respondents did not seek treatment from a chiropractor. 

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Six in 10 (61.4%) of higher-income Minnesotans (with incomes above $100,000) say they have gone to work while enduring severe back or neck pain out of fear they might lose their job if they took time off for treatment, according to a new survey commissioned by Fulcrum.

“Unfortunately, health and wellness appears to be taking a back seat to fear of job loss in this tight economy,” said Tabatha Erck, CEO of Shoreview, MN-based Fulcrum. A bright spot: Erck says the survey of 400 Minnesotans who sought chiropractic care found that those who were treated for back and neck pain by chiropractors report missing an average of less than 2 hours of work a year (1.6 hours).

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Fulcrum prepares network providers for the evolving health care environment by providing them with the tools and information needed to successfully integrate spinal manipulation and active care. Current research validates
that spinal manipulation with active care exercise provides the best long-term patient recovery outcomes.

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