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.

Having led innovative interdisciplinary clinics focused on treating pain and preserving wellness for more than 40 years, Dr. Angela Mailis believes interprofessional collaboration is the best way to deliver pain management. In this part one episode of a two-part series we chat with Dr. Mailis, a physiatrist, specialist pain physician, clinical professor, and leading authority on the diagnosis and management of chronic pain. She’s joined by Dr. Demetry Assimakopoulos, OCA’s 2022 Dr. Michael Brickman Heart and Hands Award winner, who has worked collaboratively with Dr. Mailis since 2015. Together, they share their best practice approaches to pain management. Dr. Mailis also outlines her introduction to chiropractic care, the role chiropractors play in her clinic and what she seeks in the DCs she hires.

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.

Advocating for you, our profession, and our patients is a key part of our work. But what does this mean in the context of a member-based organization like the OCA? In this two-part series on advocacy to advance the profession, we’ll define advocacy, outline OCA’s approach, achievements, strategy, and how you can get involved. Tune into this part one episode to hear what advocacy entails, including grassroots advocacy, at the OCA, and for our members. We’ll also chat about OCA’s approach and our progress to date.

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.

Rapid Access Clinics or.RACs for low back pain are designed to support not replace a chiropractor's care. They provide patients, who qualify for the program with a timely consultation on their low back condition and related symptoms to support their self-management. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Henry Candelaria, who has been involved in Ontario's RACs since 2012. Tune in to hear Dr. Candelaria discuss why RACs matter to you, your patients, and our health ecosystem. He outlines the rewards, challenges, and what to expect from the RAC for low back pain (RAC-LBP)'s clinical roles for chiropractors. He also explains how you can advocate for your patients who may benefit from the RAC-LBP and use a new tool to help facilitate their referral.

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.

The pandemic prompted many changes. So, OCA commissioned an Environics Research survey last fall to learn how it has affected Ontarians’ attitudes, goals and behaviours about their health care, including chiropractic care. In this episode, we speak with Nancy Gale, OCA’s VP, Strategic Communications and Stakeholder Management who led this project to discuss highlights of this research. Nancy outlines how consumers’ priorities have shifted, what they're willing to invest in their health, why they are seeking chiropractic care, and more.

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)

In 2020, the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) formed the Evidence-based Framework Advisory Council with a mandate to help develop a shared understanding or framework around what exactly evidence-based practice means for chiropractic care. In this episode, we check in with Caroline Brereton, OCA's CEO, to hear about the Evidence-based Framework Advisory Council (EBFAC), its goals, the process it’s following, how it will help OCA members support better patient care and advance the profession. Caroline chats about the EBFAC’s progress, what to look for in the near future and what its long-term goals entail.