Confessions of a Quackbuster

This blog deals with healthcare consumer protection, and is therefore about quackery, healthfraud, chiropractic, and other forms of so-Called "Alternative" Medicine (sCAM).

Friday, October 28, 2005

Government reverses physiotherapy delisting

Here's a little piece of chiro propaganda from the Ontario Chiropractic Association. It contains this key sentence:

"Now they are learning that the government has chosen to treat them fundamentally differently than patients seen by other health care professionals," Dr. Wright said."

Well, that happens to be quite true, since chiropractic itself is "fundamentally different" than other health care professions. Much of what makes it different is negative: institutionalized quackery, unscientific practices, anti-vaccination, anti-science, bitter opposition to MDs, unfair competition (liebensraum) with other professions, unnecessary "wellness" care of asymptomatic patients, etc.



March 24, 2005

Government reverses physiotherapy delisting

Chiropractic patients, public misled

TORONTO, March 24 /CNW/ - Dr. Dean Wright, President of the Ontario Chiropractic Association, reacted with shock today following the announcement by the Provincial Government of an expansion in funding for physiotherapy services - originally slated for delisting on March 31 - while chiropractic funding has been completely eliminated.

In its May 2004 budget, the government announced that physiotherapy, optometry and chiropractic services would no longer be covered by OHIP for budgetary reasons. Today's announcement means that Government has made special provision for continued funding for routine eye exams for many patients and has increased funding for many physiotherapy patients, while completely eliminating funding for chiropractic patients on December 1, 2004.

"The 1.2 million chiropractic patients in this province were led to believe that they were among a number of patients - physiotherapy and optometry patients included - for whom government could no longer afford to provide funding. Now they are learning that the government has chosen to treat them fundamentally differently than patients seen by other health care professionals," Dr. Wright said.

When patients called on the government last year - through over 600,000 letters and signed petitions - to continue to fund chiropractic services, they were told that budget issues made it impossible and that the same thing was happening to patients treated by other health care professionals. Today's action shows that chiropractic patients and the public have been misled.

"We call on Premier McGuinty to do the right thing and treat chiropractic patients in an equitable manner as with those patients treated by other health care professionals. Access and affordability are crucial issues, for those most in need, especially when they are living on a limited income," said Dr. Wright. "Government should take action - as they have just done for physiotherapy patients - to protect those chiropractic patients. In doing so, government will reduce reliance on other services and reduce total healthcare costs."

Founded in 1929, the Ontario Chiropractic Association represents the professional interests of more than 2,500 Ontario chiropractors. Chiropractic is a regulated health care profession recognized by statute in all Canadian provinces, and is one of the largest primary contact health care professions in Canada. Over 1.2 million patients in Ontario rely on chiropractic care every year to allow them to function - to deal with problems such as acute low-back pain, neck pain and headaches. Chiropractors provide diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders related to the spine, nervous system, and joints.




For further information: or to interview Dr. Wright, contact: Janet Blanchard-Conn, Manager, Communications, Ontario Chiropractic Association, Office (905) 629-8211 ext. 33, 1-877-327-2273, Cell (416) 886-7379





********************** Subscribe to this blog **********************
Enter your email address below to subscribe to
Confessions of a Quackbuster!


powered by Bloglet
**********

Reciprocal Links: An Invitation