July 2006

Iowa Board okays vaccination info

Chad Rohlfsen, DC, is the first to admit that patients don't expect to get vaccination information from their family chiropractor. "What do chiropractors have to do with vaccination? In my opinion, absolutely nothing," he admits. Then he adds: "What do chiropractors have to do with public safety and well‑being? Absolutely everything! Therefore it is my obligation to share this information with my community."

For the past few years, he's done just that, giving presentations on vaccinations around the Des Moines, Iowa area, appearing on local radio broadcasts and in area newspapers, and providing information on his website.

The Iowa Board of Medical Examiners, however, wasn't so sanguine about his "obligation" to reveal some of the risks of and controversy surrounding vaccines. They launched an investigation to see if Dr. Rohlfsen, a member of the World Chiropractic Alliance International Board of Governors, was exceeding his legal authority as a DC by distributing the information.

However, much of the material he provides is medical documentation culled from medical research journals and quotes from medical doctors. In addition, he makes it clear that "it is not my role as a chiropractor to tell people to stop vaccinating their children. It is my role as a health professional to make sure that people make fully informed decisions and demand that their medical providers give people a fully informed consent before allowing procedures like vaccination... If the medical professionals are unwilling to disclose this important information, then I as a chiropractor will."

In May, the Board officially closed its investigative case against Rohlfsen, admitting that it as legal for him ‑‑ or any chiropractor ‑‑ to provide information about the vaccination issue to patients and the public.

The decision served to strengthen Rohlfsen's resolve to continue his campaign to educate the public about the risks and uncertainties of vaccinations. He frequently notes that the American Medical Association, at least in theory, agrees with him.

The AMA official guidance on informed consent states: "Informed consent is more than simply getting a patient to sign a written consent form. It is a process of communication between a patient and physician that results in the patient's authorization or agreement to undergo a specific medical intervention."

The AMA expressly recommends that, the physician providing the treatment and/or procedure should discuss with the patient "the risks and benefits of a proposed treatment or procedure; alternatives (regardless of their cost or the extent to which the treatment options are covered by health insurance); the risks and benefits of the alternative treatment or procedure; and the risks and benefits of not receiving or undergoing a treatment or procedure."

Rohlfsen is quick to point out that medical practitioners seldom adhere to the AMA's guidance. "Ask any parent who has recently vaccinated their child if they were informed of all the risks before the child was vaccinated," he says.

Rohlfsen is in private practice in Johnston, Iowa, in the metro Des Moines area.