SCU Researcher Dr. James Whedon Featured on Chiropractic Science Podcast to Discuss Medicare, Neck Pain, Costs, and Safety

Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) Senior Health Services Researcher Dr. James Whedon was recently featured on the Chiropractic Science podcast, where he joined colleague Dr. Brian Anderson (University of Pittsburgh) for an in-depth conversation about their multi-year Medicare research project examining the outcomes, costs, and safety of chiropractic care for older adults with neck pain.

Hosted by Dr. Dean Smith, the episode titled “Neck Pain, Medicare, Costs, Adverse Events” explores the results of three peer-reviewed studies supported by an NIH R15 Research Enhancement Award. The research team analyzed patterns of care among nearly 300,000 Medicare beneficiaries with new episodes of neck pain, offering one of the most comprehensive looks to date at how initial provider choice influences patient outcomes in this population.

Listen to the episode:
• Website: chiropracticscience.com
• YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=IPsCKfhMcq0

Understanding the R15 Medicare Neck-Pain Research Project

During the interview, Dr. Whedon and Dr. Anderson describe how their research group examined Medicare claims data to compare three initial treatment pathways for new episodes of non-traumatic, non-pathological neck pain:

1. Chiropractic care (spinal manipulation)
2. Primary care without prescription analgesics
3. Primary care with prescription analgesics

Over a 24-month follow-up period, the researchers assessed:
– Rates of care escalation (specialist visits, imaging, injections, surgery, hospitalizations, ER visits)
– Total and neck pain–related health care costs
– Safety outcomes and adverse events

Key Finding #1: Starting with Chiropractic Reduces Care Escalation

Patients who started with spinal manipulation experienced:
– 64% lower rate of total care escalation
– 93% lower rate of surgical procedures
– 78% lower rate of hospitalizations

Key Finding #2: Chiropractic Care Is Associated With Substantial Medicare Cost Savings

The research identified significant financial benefits with chiropractic as an initial strategy:
– $435 less per patient in total hospital spending over two years
– Lower outpatient and medication costs
– $43 million in estimated Medicare savings per 100,000 neck-pain episodes

Key Finding #3: Chiropractic Care Shows Favorable Safety Outcomes

Chiropractic patients demonstrated:
– 20% lower rate of any measured adverse event compared to patients who received prescription analgesics
– 14% lower rate compared to primary care without analgesics

Why These Findings Matter for Medicare Policy

These results support national discussions surrounding the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act, which proposes expanding Medicare coverage to include the full range of services chiropractors are trained to provide.

A Conversation Rooted in Whole Health Principles

The episode aligns with SCU’s Whole Health philosophy, which emphasizes patient choice and integrative whole-person health care.