The American chiropractic association reports the joint commission has revised its standard to include chiropractic services.
Clinical experts in pain management who provide input to the commission standards affirmed that treatment strategies may consider both pharmacological and nonpharmacological approaches. Services provided by doctors of chiropractic (who were recognized in 2009 as physicians by the commission) and acupuncture are now included in the standard of care for pain management affected January 1, 2015.
The near standard also advises organizations, considering the use of medications to treat pain, to weigh both benefits to the patient, as well as potential risks of dependency, addiction and abuse of opioids. The change should enable the chiropractic profession to help more patient's who might not have been previously informed of nondrug approaches to pain management by their health care system or doctor.
The joint commission, and independent nonprofit organization, accredits and certifies more than 20,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States, including every major hospital.