ON Spinal Chat

In part two of this series on pain management, Dr. Demetry Assimakopoulos returns to provide a more in-depth view of the work chiropractors do at the Comprehensive Pain Program at the University Health Network (UHN) and the Pain and Wellness Centre in Vaughan. Both these clinics were founded and led by Dr. Angela Mailis, a physiatrist, pain physician, clinical professor, and leading authority on the diagnosis and management of chronic pain. In Part 1, Dr. Mailis discussed her interdisciplinary approach for addressing pain, her experience and her work with chiropractors. In this episode, Dr. Demetry will share a case study about a patient who was given the full-blown treatment at these clinics. To help you and other chiropractors hone an expertise in chronic pain management, he will also provide tips and useful resources, including must-read articles you can start with today.

In part two of this series on OCA's advocacy work to advance the chiropractic profession, Caroline Pinto, Managing Principal, of Counsel Public Affairs, returns to outline OCA’s current strategy, objectives, and some of the activities it will undertake to support them. In this episode, we’ll also chat about OCA's Local Leaders Program and how OCA members can get involved and help drive results.

While the diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions is not within a chiropractor’s scope of practice, Dr. Janet D’Arcy believes chiropractors like you can play an important role in identifying someone who may need assistance, helping them access practical resources and making appropriate referrals. In this episode, Dr. D’Arcy, a certified mental health first aid instructor and chiropractor, outlines how you can increase your mental health literacy and prepare to appropriately engage and support a patient, colleague, or family member in their time of need.

Ontario has a few team-based programs for musculoskeletal (MSK) care and a number of you work in interdisciplinary/ interprofessional clinics – but there’s room for more opportunities. In this episode, we speak with Kristy Naulls, an award-winning Nurse Practitioner (NP) about how collaborative care is improving her clients' or patients’ outcomes. Kristy works at the Belleville Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, is actively involved in the Primary Care Low Back Pain program, and has been working with OCA’s Opioid and Pain Reduction Collaborative and its tools. She shares her experience and offers ideas you can apply to expand your opportunities to effectively coordinate care with an NP or MD.

Even though restrictions are lifting, experts predict Covid-19 will be with us for some time. In this episode, we check in with Dr. Erika Kuehnel, an Ontario chiropractor, registered massage therapist and multidisciplinary clinic owner. We discuss lessons learned and how you can lead forward in a Covid world. As a member of OCA’s Return to Practice Working Group, Dr. Kuehnel, also took an extra deep dive into discovering best practices from the pandemic’s early days. She shares what her clinic did and will keep doing to safely care for patients and best support clinicians and staff. Dr. Kuehnel also chats about business changes and new practices that help her clinic continue to flourish. Listen to discover tips that may help you enhance your patient care and make your clinic thrive. (26:54 minutes)

This episode will provide you with practical research and insights on proven approaches to effectively assess, diagnose and treat patients with spinal stenosis and other forms of arthritis. Hear 'world expert in spinal stenosis' Dr. Carlo Ammendolia outline how he delivers optimal treatment to his patients and subtle variations between demographics. He offers tips and resources on how to assess a patient's physical, functional and psychosocial issues to help you strengthen your skills in these areas. As part of an interprofessional clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Dr. Ammendolia shares examples of his collaborations with physicians as part of a patient's circle of care team. And be sure to check the show notes for links to ‘must read’ arthritis research and resources discussed throughout this podcast. (29:09 minutes)

This two-part series on Extended Health Care (EHC) will help you keep up with trends and work effectively with insurers across Ontario. In episode one, Dr. Moez Rajwani discusses how EHC is evolving and what that means to chiropractors like you. From cost containment to digital transformation, he highlights current trends and outlines what you need to know to support your patients and protect your practice. He also chats about the pros and cons of preferred provider networks and how big data is informing insurers’ questions and actions. Tune in to also hear about the rise of audits and how to prepare for one. And Dr. Rajwani suggests how your practice can use OCA’s Extended Health Care Guide and its tools, resources and information on leading EHC insurance practices to protect you and your patients. (25:35 minutes)

In part one of a two-part series, St. Catharines-based chiropractor and OCA member Dr. Albert Scales discusses his experience engaging patients who are using opioids to treat their MSK pain. Tune in to hear how he raises the topic with patients and discusses contacting their prescribing health professional to coordinate their care while staying within the chiropractic profession’s scope. Dr. Scales also shares his ideas on how you can use OCA’s Opioid and Pain Reduction Collaborative tools to gently move this process forward. (25 minutes)