Chiropractic Homecoming Symposium: Keynote Dr. Anthony Lisi

Anthony Lisi, DC was the keynote speaker for NWHSU’s 2024 Chiropractic Homecoming Symposium, February 1-3, 2024. As an award-winning academic, chiropractor, and humanitarian, Dr. Lisi will bring his unique perspective to the Chiropractic Homecoming Symposium stage for both on-campus and webinar attendees. The Yale Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics & Data Sciences and Chiropractic Program Director for the Veterans Health Administration was kind enough to share some thoughts about his presentation leading up to the event.

What should attendees expect to hear at the keynote address at Chiropractic Homecoming?

As you would expect from an author of over 70 peer-reviewed papers, Dr. Lisi’s keynote will be heavily focused on his research and will dive into:

• The broad landscape of the state of the chiropractic field
• Data on the use of chiropractic care at the healthcare system level
• A drill-down into the VA specific system and how chiropractic care used a three-prong approach to integration that includes patient care, education, and research

The keynote will help answer: what are the characteristics and factors that will help the chiropractic profession integrate into a healthcare system and how can I, as a chiropractor, integrate? Chiropractors who focus most of their day on clinic duties, such as seeing and healing patients, will benefit from uncovering ways to incorporate education and research into their practice to see more patients with improved outcomes.

How does chiropractic education (chiropractic school, post-graduate, and continuing education) play a role?

Chiropractic education continues to evolve. One of the ways that education has improved for chiropractors is through the enormous opportunities that chiropractic students have for clinical experiences and training in integrated settings. Those opportunities are growing for post-graduate students in continuing education programs or post-graduate preceptorships. These types of opportunities were not available when Dr. Lisi was graduating and starting his chiropractic career 25 years ago and they may not have even been available 15 years ago. Now, a student has more outstanding opportunities to engage in the right environments. It’s a great example of experienced DCs training incoming doctors and moving the profession forward.

How will chiropractic continue to advance?

The growth of the chiropractic field will take another step forward if it can continue to demonstrate its value. All healthcare specialties are under pressure to compete for resources and access. What has changed for chiropractic care is that it now has a seat at the healthcare table, but the table is very large, and many professions have been at the table for much longer. The longevity of some fields and specialties appears to give them more credibility or clout, but that is just a perception that needs to be addressed by chiropractic through data, research, and outcomes.

Advancement will come as chiropractors and patients change their mindset to understand that chiropractic is no longer an outsider, but part of the team. For the profession to continue to develop, chiropractors must function as a member of a pit crew and not an individual “cowboy.”

Historically, some chiropractors – and other medical professionals – thought of themselves as cowboys, doing things individually with their own views and their own way of doing things. The future chiropractor is more like a member of a pit crew. They are part of a team, doing complex work, but fitting in with others, all for the goal of helping patients get back on a healthy track.

“Embrace a commitment to excellence and quality. Embrace the commitment to altruism and serving the needs of your patient in the best way you can. Continue to elevate the profession by striving for excellence.”

– Anthony Lisi, DC on his advice to students pursuing a career in chiropractic

What path should chiropractic students follow?

Many students are attracted to a specific aspect of chiropractic care whether that is sports, research, women’s health, hospital-based care, or small clinic care. It may take some time for students, new graduates, or even associates to find their unique path, but at the lowest common denominator, the focus for all chiropractors should be on the patient and providing excellence in care. Regardless of who a doctor is serving and in what type of environment, Dr. Lisi encourages students to see how chiropractors can meet the Quadruple Aim which focuses on

1. Enhancing patient experience
2. Improving population health
3. Reducing healthcare costs
4. Improving the work life of healthcare providers