General Findings
As my wife and I have lately learned, choosing a qualified health care professional for your family is a far from easy thing to do. Fortunately, I do not have this problem when choosing a chiropractor because I am one myself, but here are some tips you can use when you need the services of a Doctor of Chiropractic…
5. Choose a chiropractor who is in a convenient location.
This is not to say we do not appreciate our patients who do not live near us, or stay with us after they have moved house, but living nearer means that it will be simpler and easier for you to see your chiropractor.
You should also not pick a chiropractor based solely on convenience. You need to find the balance between accessibility and the quality of service offered.
4. Verify that your prospective chiropractor has a valid license with no restrictions to practice in your state.
This may seem obvious, but in any profession that requires licensure, incidents of people claiming to be something they are not are more commonplace than you probably think that they are.
The way to check a if a chiropractor is licensed is through your local health department. In my opinion, if choosing between two chiropractors, and one has a full license and one does not, you have to choose the one with the full, unrestricted license.
3. Ask your friends and family for recommendations for a good chiropractor. Read reviews but proceed with caution.
There is not much better then a recommendation from a friend, family member. If no-one can give you one, it is great to go to local community review sites and forums.
Community review sites can be wonderful, and they are always just a few clicks of the mouse away. It is pretty easy to distinguish legitimate reviews from reviews planted by the manufacturer, or owner of a business. Look for a chiropractor with 95%+ good reviews as a minimum.
2. Have an understanding of the chiropractic techniques that the chiropractor will use.
There are lots of types of techniques a chiropractor can utilize when adjusting a patient. They should use the technique most appropriate for each person’s physical condition, health goals, and also your age.
A worthwhile chiropractor should be totally open and transparent about they work, and should not take offence about you making enquiries such as these. Still, if you do not want to ask them face to face, then you can find out lots of relevant information by visiting their website.
1. Ask for a free no-obligation consultation.
The answer to this question will say a lot about the chiropractic office you are considering. This consultation should be the clincher on deciding who you would like to see. It is a chance to see if you like the chiropractor, the office team, and the overall environment you will be in while achieving better health.
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This article was written by Dr. Graeme Gibson, who is a Seattle chiropractor. Visit http://www.queenannechiro.com to learn more about him.
Tags: back pain, Chiropractor, doctors, Health, Medical
Posted in Medical · March 13th, 2010 · Comments (0)
While GSK, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly have hit the headlines in the UK Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) investigation into illegal bribes paid to Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime, many more pharmaceutical clinical contract research company are on the organisation’s hit list.
While the SFO itself has not confirmed the identities of the companies that have been issued with notices, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly have all confirmed reports that they have received requests to supply the agency with documentation relating to their participation in the United Nation’s (UN) now defunct Oil-for-Food programme.
However, a spokesperson for the SFO informed CROlegacy.com that the number of firms being investigated easily runs into “double figures,” with numerous pharmaceutical clinical contract research company highlighted in an investigation into the corruption of the UN scheme.
GSK, AstraZeneca and Lilly were issued so-called ‘Section 2′ notices by the SFO in mid-December, with lilly spokesperson confirming a response deadline of the end of January.
While such notices are regularly issued to financial institutions, banks or accountants who often hold information relevant to suspected fraud, Section 2 powers can only be used in investigations where there is reasonable suspicion of serious or complex fraud.
The SFO’s investigation started almost a year ago in February 2007, looking into suspected cases of improper payments to the Iraqi government to obtain contracts with Iraqi ministries.
Akzo Nobel has already been burnt by the revelation that two of its subsidiaries (Intervet International and Organon, since acquired by Schering Plough) were guilty of such illegal bartering, with a December statement by the US Department of Justice detailing the Dutch firm’s penalties.
While Akzo Nobel managed to avoid criminal charges by agreeing to cooperate fully with ongoing investigations, the company will be forced to pay out $800,000 to the US Treasury if Organon fails to pay a criminal fine of 381,000 to the Dutch Public Prosecutor.
Akzo Nobel also announced that it had reached an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, paying $750,000 in civil penalties and about $2.2m in disgorgement of all profits concerning contracts for which its subsidiaries paid kickbacks to the Iraqi government.
“Beginning in 2000, the Iraqi government began requiring companies wishing to sell humanitarian goods to government ministries to pay a kickback, often mischaracterised as an ‘after sales services fee,’ to the government to be granted a contract,” the Department of Justice explained.
“The quantity of that fee was usually 10 percent of the contract price. Such payments were not permitted under the Oil-for-Food Programme or other penalize regimes then in place.”
The UN’s Oil for Food Programme was established in 1996 to enable Iraq to sell its oil while ensuring that the proceeds went only to providing humanitarian goods and services such as food and medicine.
However, by the time the scheme was closed down in 2003, the Iraqi government had diverted almost $2bn from over 2,000 companies as bribes and kickbacks.
A 2005 investigation by the UN into the alleged corruption of the scheme noted the “extensive manipulation” of the programme by Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government, as well as the grievous failure of those in charge of the programme to ensure its integrity.
Tens of millions of dollars in fines have been paid by firms found guilty of paying illegal kickbacks, and although some companies (such as Akzo Nobel) have admitted wrongdoing, others are vehemently protesting their innocence.
AstraZeneca denies “any allegation of unethical behaviour on [its] part in [its] trading relationships with Iraq,” as does GSK, stating that it “does not believe that its employees or agents in Iraq knowingly engaged in any wrongdoing regarding the Oil-for-Food programme.”
Novo Nordisk, labelled in the 2005 report as having paid almost $1.5m in so-called ‘after sales services fees’, also proclaimed its innocence, with CEO Lars Rebien Srensen insisting that the firm “has neither been involved in bribing officials or over-invoicing nor in any other way exploited its participation in the Oil-for-Food programme.”
With the Serious Fraud Office’s investigations representing the largest and most complex cases of suspected fraud, and with numerous firms due to hand over documents relating to their involvement in the seven-year oil for food programme, the investigation could easily be expected to last another year, according to the SFO spokesperson.
Whether the members of the pharmaceutical industry were unwittingly duped into funding Saddam Hussein’s regime or were well aware of the destination of the additional ’service fees’, the allegations are unlikely to help repair the sector’s already lack lustre reputation.
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Tags: Medical
Posted in Medical · March 5th, 2010 · Comments (0)