The Need for Chiropracti Functional Medicine Services is Increased by Rural Hospital Closures.
27% of all rural hospital closures over the previous 10 years occurred in just these 2 years.
Even though chiropractic therapy has numerous general wellness advantages, some people only seek treatment when they have a particular need. They have neck or back discomfort and want it to go away. With new data indicating that patients in rural areas of the U.S. are losing access to hospitals at an alarming pace due to financial concerns prompting rural hospital closures, functional medicine chiropractors can address a great deal more patient requirements and are in increasing demand.
Record Number of Closures of Rural Hospitals
According to a survey released by the American Hospital Association (AHA), 136 rural hospitals closed between 2010 and 2011, with little over half being independent institutions. Of these closures, 19 took place in 2020, setting a record for the most closures in a calendar year over the previous ten years.
The number of hospital closings in 2019 was the second highest, with 18. Together, these two years accounted for little over 27% of all rural hospital closures over the previous ten years. The COVID pandemic-related decline in financial performance is one of the AHA’s lists of explanations for why this type of hospital closed.
Other justifications are as follows:
- Low reimbursement because more patients are uninsured or rely on government programs like Medicaid and Medicare
- Severe staffing challenges force hospitals to pay more for services contracted
- Lessen the number of patients, especially if a larger hospital is close.
- Regulatory regulations that increase organizational costs while also limiting the flexibility of the facility
Chiropractic practitioners can aid in bridging the healthcare gap.
Chiropractic practitioners can fill the void left by the closure of small-town hospitals. As a result, locals can continue to receive high-quality care that is centered on either preventative or therapeutic measures.
Establishing connections with hospital staff can help to simplify this procedure. Declare a desire to assist patients in preventing a break in care. To accomplish this, you might need to inform hospital administrators about the advantages you can offer and the kinds of patients you specialize in treating.
Another choice is to provide free webinars and seminars to the neighborhood to inform potential patients about how you can meet their healthcare needs. As you take the time to address their inquiries about chiropractic in general or about how you might be able to help them particularly, let them know that you are dedicated to their wellness.
By using functional medicine, you can expand your service offerings
You might also think about receiving training in functional medicine to better serve this patient population. This is “a systems biology-based approach that focuses on finding and resolving the fundamental cause of disease,” according to the Institute for Functional Medicine. This may entail determining numerous causes for a single condition or determining a single cause that can result in numerous conditions.
A patient can have a single cause that can result in a variety of diseases. The institution uses inflammation as an illustration. DCS is aware that inflammation puts the body at risk for many conditions and diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and heart disease if it is not managed. To also address these symptoms, addressing the root cause is crucial.
Chiropractic Comprehensive care
The total person is covered by functional medicine. It examines their ancestry, environment—at work, home, and other places they frequent—as well as their lifestyle decisions, taking into account how each influences health or sickness.
According to Deirdre Clark, DC, “functional medicine essentially addresses the full body through a whole-body approach.” We achieve this by using food as medicine and occasionally dietary supplements. Functional medicine truly looks at your mental, emotional, spiritual, and nutritional systems, so we analyze what’s going on in your body beyond simply typical test values, unlike traditional medicine, when they may only focus on one issue and send you out for unique requirements.
This method of treating patients gives them hope that their health problems will be resolved from the inside out, not simply their symptoms. This offers long-term value, which is even more crucial if a local hospital closes and there are few other options for local healthcare.
