Senator Speier Sought to Exclude DCs
California state Senator Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) introduced a bill on Feb. 23 (SB 1048) that would have prohibited DCs from doing physicals on commercial truck drivers. Senator Speier's legislation was apparently in reaction to a spectacular 18-wheeler accident that occurred in January in Sacramento. The truck driver, Mike Bowers, struck the Capitol building, killing himself, and causing an estimated $16 million in damages.
Senator Speier, it haps more significance was Bowers reported medical history of mental problems. Speier asserted that DCs were not capable of testing the vision of truck drivers, nor for doing mental screenings. Her legislation designated that only MDs and surgeons could perform the physicals.
The California Chiropractic Association (CCA) had other ideas, of course, and lobbied to change the language of SB 1048. The majority of senators agreed with the CCA. On a vote of 26-8, the bill passed and was sent on to the assembly, but not with Speier's original language or intent. SB 1048 now specifies:
"The examination for a class A or class B license ... shall also include a report of a medical examination of the applicant given not more than two years prior to the date of the application by a health care professional. As used in this subdivision, 'health care professional' means a person who is licensed, certified, or registered in accordance with applicable state laws and regulations to practice medicine and perform physical examinations in the United States of America. Health care professionals are doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, physician assistants, and advanced practice nurses, or doctors of chiropractic acting within their scope of practice and who are clinically competent to perform the medical examination presently required of motor carrier drivers by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration."
The 2000 Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) convention has been named the "Best Association Convention/Meeting Promotion for 2000" by the South Carolina Society of Association Executives (SCSAE). The award was presented to COCSA Executive Director Janet Jordan by SCSAE President Dena Feagin at the SCSAE annual "Best in the Business" awards banquet on May 24, 2001.
"Receiving this award is a real honor, especially since we were competing against associations twice our size," observed Ms. Jordan. A panel of association executives and public relations and communications experts selected COCSA from entries submitted by associations based in South Carolina, with budgets up to $250,000, nearly three times that of COCSA.
The theme of the 2000 COCSA convention, Catch the Wave of Association Excellence, was developed with the venue in mind (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida), with support from OUM, the Florida Chiropractic Society, and Crescent Products.
This year's COCSA meeting is set for Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 8-10. The 2002 program has been scheduled for November 7-9 in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information on COCSA or the convention program, visit www.cocsa.org or call 803-356-6809.
Diplomate designations for doctors are a tricky matter. If a doctor has multiple degrees and diplomas, how many should be listed? Take Robert Mackay,DC, of Oxford, England. The Guardian of London reports that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of London questioned the list of his credentials that appeared in his advertising leaflets. Dr. Mackay listed himself as: Robert Mackay,DC,MA,BSc,LLB,BA psy, BA phil, Dip HSW, Adv Dip Crim, Adv Dip Child Dev, Cert Health Prom, Cert Ed, LCSP phys, ex-MMCA.
The ASA found on further investigation that his credentials were in order. Dr. Mackay earned his degrees studying in the evenings over the last 30 years. However, the ASA "considered that the leaflet did not make it clear that the advertiser was a doctor of chiropractics (sic); readers could infer from the circular that the advertiser held a general medical qualification." The ASA has asked Dr. Mackay not to use "doctor" in his advertising.
"Patients call me Bob, although I am called doctor by professionals," Dr. Mackay told the Guardian. "It's a ridiculous ruling," he told the Daily Record of Scotland. "I felt it was a bit odd after all these years (that) they would pick on me now."
"There is nothing in law to stop anyone calling themselves 'doctor,' because it is a courtesy title only," a spokesman for the General Chiropractic Council told the Daily Record. "However, if our members want to use the term in any advertisements ... they must later make it clear that they are not registered medical practitioners."
Note: While most of Dr. Mackay's credentials are decipherable, a few need clarification:
Dip. HSW: Health and Social WelfareLCSP: London and Counties Society of Physiologists
ex-MMCA: former member of the McTimoney Chiropractic Association (graduates of the McTimoney Chiropractic School, Ltd., Oxford, England)
Many relevant diagnostic signs are not performed deliberately by the examiner or by the patient at the examiner’s direction. They are observed as the patient reacts to their condition. Fortin’s finger sign, Minor’s sign, and Vanzetti’s sign are three examples of this principle.
Spearheaded by burgeoning scientific and clinical research literature, psychedelics have reached a level of media coverage and popular interest that has not been seen for over half a century. By “psychedelics,” we are referring to the unique class of substances that includes psilocybin (the active compound found in so-called “magic mushrooms”), LSD, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ayahuasca, 5-MeO-DMT, and mescaline – each of which occurs in the natural world (except for LSD, which is a semi-synthetic compound).
While working at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, N.M., one of the primary care physicians stated that imaging every patient prior to receiving chiropractic was not medically necessary. It was at that point I reconsidered the need for the imaging of every patient to avoid malpractice.
