"DC": Please tell us about Spinalogic's commitment to chiropractic.
Mr. McEndre: Spinalogic was created in 1992. We were at a trade show in Texas, and we have some pretty close ties to the Chiropractic Association of Oklahoma. The gentlemen who run that association are friends of ours and they had discussed a need in the profession for documentation and having acute diagnostic data. They were looking for a "one-stop-shop," so to speak, of where they could get this radiology information. After researching it for three or four months, we decided that there was a niche for us. We procured the equipment that we needed, and we set out to provide this diagnostic data to the physicians.
We provide graphic representations of a patient's spine. The mechanics of our service is that the physicians send the patient's x-rays to us, we put them through a computer enhancement, and then our four-color printers print out a graphic representation of the patient's spine. We do computerized measurements: all of the tilts and angles of each vertebrae. It is critical diagnostic data for the physician in determining impairment ratings and determining soft tissue damage. We are also providing motion studies, as described by the AMA Guidelines to Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, fourth edition. We also have the only collaboration of MD and chiropractic radiologists in the world: William D. Anderson, DC, DACBR, and John L. Sherman, MD. Our reports are both prepared and signed by both physicians.
So our commitment to the chiropractic profession started when we were alerted to the fact that there was a need for highly accurate diagnostic data. We found a way to provide that and started doing so to the entire profession.
"DC": Tell us why Spinalogic decided to become a Platinum Club Crown sponsor.
Mr. McEndre: We were contacted by Rick Flaherty. We had seen the information, but hadn't really made any decisions. Actually we had kicked it around here internally for some time before Mr. Flaherty even contacted us. We saw it as an incredible opportunity for any vendor being able to give something back to the profession that supports them. We had wanted to become involved, and it was a process of maybe 90 days to make that decision. We were very excited to become a Platinum Club Crown sponsor, and we made the donations on behalf of our client physicians, so the CCF has received a list of the physicians we work with and we made the donations on their behalf, and on behalf of Spinalogic. We wanted to include them, because we felt it was very important.
"DC": Now that chiropractic is entering its second century, what do you think the future holds for the chiropractic profession?
Mr. McEndre: I am very enthusiastic about the future of chiropractic, both immediate and long term. I see that the reports coming down, the RAND and government reports, citing chiropractic, and specifically manipulation, as the most appropriate, most effective care and treatment for low back pain. So I see chiropractic emerging as a more mainstream profession, and I think it will be included at all levels. That is changing very rapidly and the CCF has a very large role to play in that change. I think 1995 and 1996 are going to be pivotal years for chiropractic.
"DC": Thank you very much for your sponsorship.
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