Survey of chiropractic in Dade County, Florida

Abstract

This survey of the members of the Dade County Chiropractic Society of Miami, Florida was initiated with the encouragement and under the supervision of the Dade County Health Systems Agency (HSA). The purpose of the survey was to obtain information relative to the inclusion of chiropractic into future health planning to be conducted by the HSA. The survey was divided into a "Physicians Survey" obtaining information on location, office hours, gross income, total patient visits and type of practice of the doctor, and a "Patient Survey" obtaining information on age, sex, ethnic origin, residence, and payment source of the patients. Clinical information on initial complaints, diagnoses, treatment, referrals, and amount of care was also obtained. It was found that chiropractors work an average of 31.7 hours per week with a gross annual income of $74,750.00 (1979). The male-female distribution of patients was equal and the average patient age was 43.4 years. Anglocaucasian category comprised 80.2% of the patient sample. Nearly 50% of all chiropractic patients pay for services rendered out of their own pocket. Of the primary diagnosis, 81.3% related to the spine. The study concludes that the practice of chiropractic in Dade County is very similar to the practice of chiropractic in general.