Dr. Hoffman:
In terms of how rare it is, let's keep in mind that in our informed consent packet, in the actual informed consent, we compare it to the use of aspirin, which is killing 104 people per million users. That's 100 to 200 times the incidence of death compared to the association of a vertebral artery dissection having seen a chiropractor. We do need to keep things in perspective too. You're absolutely right, Dr. Hoffman, in terms of the data in a comparative sense, but the reality for us is that in this environment the consumer thinks and has got the message that they're going to potentially have fatalities with drugs. We're talking about everything from toe nail fungus cream on up having a potential death associated with it. People don't think of those kinds of problems associated with chiropractic care, and as a result, when there's even the suggestion of such a complication, it becomes extreme in that regard, and people overact to it, frankly. The bottom line is every patient's important. Every adjustment's important. They all deserve the exact attention and skill and diligence. If we do that, we reduce dramatically the likelihood that we'll overlook something or we'll bypass something that should be picked up and referred for other care, and we'll make sure that our patients get the best care that we can possibly provide them. I just want to go back and try and reiterate some of the things that we talked about in the past for our doctors, and that is patients are going to be talking about this. It's a popular show for a reason. This unfortunate situation with Katie May, with all due respect to her and her family, still our hearts are with them for their loss, but we don't necessarily want to take it as a responsibility to a chiropractic profession. It is going to be a discussion in your office and in the community, and how you respond is critical. You represent an entire profession every time you say something, and one of the things that I hope not to hear more of and see on Facebook and everywhere else is the same old story, "Well, I'm just going to tell them I had just subluxation, and we can't cause a stroke." That may even be true, but it is not a way of elevating the profession in the public eye. We've talked together about being professional, being educational, being non-confrontational and helping patients understand where we really are in this whole situation. You talk about with Dr. Oz wanting to know what the profession is doing to safeguard patients against this. Well, we're doing as much or more than anyone else. This is such a rarity that there's not a whole lot to do other than to be as high- level as you've indicated about taking a proper history and examination and noticing that patient. I appreciate all of that discussion, but we can't as a profession just stick our heads in the sand. We have to educate the patients. We've given you the tools in terms of the documentation, the research, that totally supports what we do. That's what you should be, in my opinion, talking about and sharing with the patients. In the 1980's it was more like, "Hey, force people into your decisions, your attitudes, your opinions," but it's 2016. It's time for people to make their own informed decisions, whether that be to even come to you or not or to have their
Dr. Clum:
Dr. Hoffman:
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