New Chiropractic Study to Investigate Ideal Models of Care

As part of ongoing initiatives by the general chiropractic community in Australia to further integrate the practice into mainstream healthcare, a new study is being conducted to find out whether or not chiropractic fits into modern models of care.

The study is being conducted by Macquarie University researchers at the Department of Chiropractic and is being funded by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) scheme. Out of the scheme’s $20 billion long term healthcare investment, $2.1 million is being dedicated to the chiropractic study - a first in the industry.

The study will be led by Professor Simon French who is the Deputy Head of Department and Director of Research at the Department of Chiropractic (Macquarie University). Professor Mark Hancock from the Department of Health Professions will also be leading the study.

The study will examine whether a new model of care - specifically one which integrates chiropractors (such as Chiropractors in Avalon.) and physiotherapists into a primary healthcare team - will improve the overall experience for people living with lower back pain. The study will work with 20 healthcare clinics. 10 of which will work with an additional musculoskeletal clinician, while the other 10 will continue with their normal operations.

The role of musculoskeletal clinicians in the study is to best manage their patient’s pain and conditions while also working in cooperation with traditional western medicine practitioners in the same clinic.

If it is found that having an additional musculoskeletal clinician improves the overall experience of visiting parties with lower back pain, then the new model of care will be proposed to relevant health departments. The new model of care will also aim to streamline referral processes between general practitioners and musculoskeletal clinicians.

The study is expected to continue for four years and will be in cooperation with the Australian Chiropractors Association.