January
2003
New
Coalition organized to defend chiropractic independence
According
to a newly formed coalition, chiropractic is in danger of being taken over
by a group of medically oriented chiropractors and organizations who are
trying to change the very nature of the profession, and in the process
minimizing the profession's unique role in health care and possibly
placing the public at risk.
Founded
as a drug-free health care system more than a century ago, chiropractic
focuses on the normalization of nerve function through correction of
subluxations, or misalignments, in the spine. Doctors of chiropractic
focus their attention on locating these subluxations and correcting them,
not on treating medical conditions. This makes chiropractic a unique
service that does not duplicate medical care or attempt to replace medical
care.
The
Chiropractic Coalition – founded in November 2002 by three major
chiropractic organizations, the International Chiropractors Association (ICA),
the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA), the Federation of Straight
Chiropractors and Organizations (FSCO)
– cautions that several rogue groups are trying to position
chiropractors as quasi-medical doctors, unnecessarily and irresponsibly
blurring the boundary lines between the professions and confusing the
public.
"There
is a role for medicine and a role for chiropractic," stated Dr.Gary
Howrin, president of the FSCO. "Medical doctors cannot do what
chiropractors do since they don't have the appropriate education or
training. The reverse is true as well."
The
Coalition specifically referred to the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE)
and the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) as two of the
groups, which were overstepping their authority in an attempt to control
the direction of the profession.
"These
groups, which are by no means representative of the tens of thousands of
doctors of chiropractic active in the United States, are trying to change
educational requirements and state licensing statutes to allow, and even
require, chiropractors to diagnose and treat diseases and medical
conditions, at the expense of the focus on chiropractic's unique
procedures," noted ICA President Dr. D.D. Humber. "Public
interest in and demand for subluxation care is growing, and their needs
and concerns must be chiropractic's first priority."
The
real danger, warns the Coalition, is that chiropractors will be forced to
provide services that aren't within the scope of chiropractic. Expecting
chiropractors to act as medical doctors will not only destroy the unique
character of chiropractic, but most importantly will put the public at
risk, the Coalition says.
Although
some chiropractors provide complementary health care services, the
majority holds the primary purpose of chiropractic to be the detection and
correction of vertebral subluxations. The Coalition reflects this
mainstream chiropractic perspective, noting that "the chiropractic
analysis which identifies the existence of a subluxation may be the basis
for chiropractic care even in the absence of a subjective complaint simply
because it is, in and of itself, a detriment to the fullest expression of
life."
By
exploiting differences in opinion within the various chiropractic
organizations, fringe elements have managed to create a power base that
threatens the existence of scientific subluxation-based chiropractic.
Although
the first item on the Coalition agenda will be to stop what it sees as an
abuse of power by certain chiropractic regulatory agencies, the goals of
the organization are far-reaching.
The
group's stated mission is "to protect and support the interests of
chiropractic consumers and chiropractors through effective and aggressive
unified legislative and regulatory efforts, legal action, and public
education" and to "promote chiropractic worldwide as a clearly
defined, separate, and distinct profession while protecting the
chiropractic consumer's right to have full and direct access to
chiropractic care for the correction of vertebral subluxation."
"Individually,
our chiropractic groups have been effective in promoting and protecting
the interests of both chiropractors and health consumers," the
Coalition's board announced. "By working together, we will compound
our strengths and aggressively pursue our goals, and give new voice to the
values and vision of the overwhelming majority of doctors of chiropractic
who practice subluxation based chiropractic care, and to provide the
public with ongoing access to the unique services only the doctor of
chiropractic can provide."
Each
of the three founding organizations have had considerable success in their
legislative efforts, helping win the passage of several crucial bills that
protect the public's right to receive chiropractic care for subluxation
correction. Most recently, a Veterans Affairs bill was modified to
specifically refer to chiropractic's role in the care of subluxation
complex.
Looking
forward to the new Congress that will convene in January, the Coalition
adopted an extensive legislative agenda that includes:
***
Amending Title 38 of the Veterans statute to provide authority to
hire doctors of chiropractic as career employees.
The Coalition will seek to work with all chiropractic
organizations, including the American Chiropractic Association to secure
this important priority in order to assist the timely deployment of D.C.s
in the Department of veterans Affairs.
***
Legislation to secure program-wide chiropractic coverage for all
federal employees
***
Legislation to expand the list of chiropractic services covered
under Medicare to include examinations, x-rays and to provide for other
administrative improvements in this vast and expanding federal program
***
Efforts to secure research funding for subluxation research.
***
The Coalition will also explore means to secure the goal of
military commissions for doctors of chiropractic, acting upon legislation
passed in 1992 that provides the Secretary of Defense the authority to do
so.
***
The Coalition's primary concern is to ensure that consumers of all
ages will continue to have access to subluxation care at the hands of the
best trained and qualified professionals, doctors of chiropractic.
"For
too long, mainstream chiropractic organizations have disagreed over minor
points, allowing marginal groups to exert undue influence. With the
creation of the Chiropractic Coalition, we are putting aside those minor
differences and focusing on our shared vision of chiropractic,"
explained Dr. Terry Rondberg, WCA president. "We are going to
mobilize in defense of chiropractic's unique and powerful principles and
work to keep the profession on its rightful course as a non-medical health
care system offering a unique and vital service – the correction of
vertebral subluxation."
