Enterprise Pitch

In an era of inflating healthcare prices and deflating pocket books, some Palouse residents are seeking medical attention from cheaper and less credible sources. Dissatisfied with the lack of personal attention, and disillusioned with the American healthcare system, many patients are opting for an alternative to the traditional system. One such care provider in Colfax, Wash., has been nick-named the "scratch doctor." Using his fingers and a tin can, the doctor locates areas of tension in a patient's body, remedying the ailment with incense among other maladies. For one patient (Bob Shrope of Pullman, Wash., my first source, an eyewitness report), the treatment exceeded his expectations for only $30. Shrope was skeptical of the scratch doctor at first, but had his chronic back pain cured after one visit, something his traditional physician shrugged off as old age. However, licensed physical therapist Robert Bashaw of ProFormance Physical Therapy (a second source, but one I won't use in the paper for conflict of interest reasons) was skeptical of the scratch doctor's methods. My story will delve into the world of the "scratch doctor" and measure Western perceptions of medicine against this cheap, accessible, mystical and seemingly effective form of medicine.