George Goodheart

George J. Goodheart Jr., DC, the founder of applied kinesiology, passed away March 5,2008, at his home in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. He was 89 years old. A 1939 graduate of National College of Chiropractic, Dr. Goodheart practiced for 68 years, making his initial discoveries in applied kinesiology and manual muscle testing in 1964. He chaired the International College of Applied Kinesiology-USA (ICAK-USA) research committee for 32 years.

Dr. Goodheart's life was marked by achievement. A Davis Cup team finalist, his aspiring tennis career was interrupted by a call to duty in World War II, where he served in the U.S. Air Force, attaining the rank of Major at the young age of 22. Years later, he was nominated by members of the U.S. Congress for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 1980, Dr. Goodheart served on the U.S. Sports Medicine Committee of the U.S. Olympic Team at the Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. In doing so, he became the first doctor of chiropractic - and the first practitioner outside of the medical profession - to serve on the committee.

"Since his first classes in AK and manual muscle testing in 1964, new generations of chiropractors have come to him as a source for understanding the chiropractic concept of health," said ICAK-USA. "Dr. Goodheart was a lifetime student, as all physicians who follow in his footsteps will find it necessary to be - to consent to be used by the same set of living laws in their service to patients.His understanding of the coordination of its structure and function became a language of the nervous system expressed through the musculoskeletal system and the manual musde test (MMT).

Reed Phillips

Reed B. Phillips, DC, PhD new director of international programs and research development for the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER). Dr. Phillips will have direct oversight of FCER's global education and research programs and collaborations, including the new Evidence-Based Resource Center.

Dr. Phillips also will be responsible for seeking funding for the foundation through grants and contributions, as well as representing the foundation at various venues.

Dr. Phillips currently serves as executive editor of the Publications Advisory Board of the American Chiropractic Association. He previously served as president of Southern California University of Health Sciences, as well as vice president of the FCER Board of Trustees and chairman of the FCER Research Committee.

His board position will be filled by Ronald C. Evans, DC, FACO, FICC. Dr. Evans has lectured worldwide in orthopedics and neurology for more than 20 years. He is a former FCER trustee and past chairman of the Iowa Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Dr. Evans also was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense to the Oversight Advisory Committee of the Chiropractic Health Care Demonstration Project, Department of Defense.

Allstate

Allstate Insurance Company has started to attack insurance fraud aggressively using a novel approach. Rather than filing a lawsuit to recover losses upon discovering what it believes to be evidence of insurance fraud, Allstate is now waiting patiently.

Allstate uses what they call "window cases" to get a look into how the suspected practice conducts its fraudulent business. There are two types of window cases. In the first type, Allstate finds a patient in a case it suspects is fraudulent, and offers them immunity from any lawsuits in return for revealing all the details they know about how the practice works.

In the other type of window scenario, Allstate will contest paying a suspected fraudulent case so the case will go to trial. Allstate's intent here is to depose the doctor in order to better understand how the practice conducts its fraudulent business.

After patiently collecting all the information it can about individual cases, and information obtained from such window cases, Allstate then submits a federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act case against the practice(s). The intent behind RICO, enacted in 1970, was to make it easier to prosecute organized crime figures, although that was not the exclusive intent.It's reasonable to assume Allstate is using RICO because it allows not only for recovery of attorney fees and costs of going to trial, but also treble damages triple the amount of actual damages. RICO includes treble damages as a way to help drive criminal enterprises out of business. These treble damages can be imposed in both civil and criminal cases, which should be a significant deterrent if people know about this.

New Diagnostic Codes

For every new year, there are updated codes for the International Classification of Diseases, Volume 9.For 2008, there are 591 Classification of Diseases.Unlike the 2007 volume 9 changes and additions to pain and compartment syndromes, the 2008 updates have virtually no impact on the chiropractic profession, as there are no meaningful changes to pain or neuromusculoskeletal conditions.

The 2008 changes update muscular dystrophy and other myopathies, avian influenza, jaw necrosis, dysphagia, family history of heart disease and myocardial infarction, multiple endocrine neoplasm syndrome,other endocrine and metabolic diseases, dual sensory impairment, disability examinations, medical certificates, and exposure to harmful toxins and algae.

If you have a 2007 edition of the volume 9,my general recommendation is there is no need for a new purchase if solely for the changes in 2008. However, should you only have a 2006 version, it's time to update because the 2007 changes were applicable to chiropractic.

Digital Imaging

The X-ray machine is a one-time expense; however, the maintenance expense for the X-ray processor and darkroom can now be eliminated with the advent of new digital X-ray equipment.

Digital X-ray imaging has been present in the medical community for over two decades, but has not been a cost-effective option for the private marketplace.Today's new digital equipment will allow the practitioner to retrofit a computed radiography (CR) system to an existing X-ray machine in the chiropractic office.

Direct Radiology Flat Panel Systems are digital systems that use sensor grids and flat panel technology instead of cassettes or scanners. These images have been used in hospitals for quite a long time and can produce near-instant images within three to five seconds. One of the great advantages is the speed at which the images can be acquired.

Digital X-ray Imaging uses a sensor to replace film and a computer system to view the final images in a matter of a minute or two after the exposure is made. Fundamentally, there are three types of digital X-ray systems currently available.

New Patient Examination

Dr. Blanchard is producer a variety of books and videos that deal with these concepts. This DVD is the companion to Dr. Blanchard's Golf Injury Textbook .You will find this DVD can be easily navigated and quickly viewed in approximately a half hour.

During the introduction, Dr. Blanchard states that 50 percent of golf injuries to the lower back occur because of poor flexibility, bad posture and improper swing mechanics. This examination DVD was developed to help doctors determine if their patients have the contributing factors of poor posture or lack of flexibility, not to correct the technical aspects of the golf swing.

The final part of this DVD touches on a few topics involving swing analysis. To fully understand this section, Dr. Blanchard recommends you view his "Swing Mechanics" DVD. As a brief overview, he describes the proper position of the right foot when setting up to swing. In addition, he describes the recommended forward arm position during backswing. Finally, he reviews the proper position of the club shaft during backswing.