The Chiropractic Association of Louisiana hosted the 2004 meeting of the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) in New Orleans. Over 100 delegates from 45 state chiropractic associations attended the Nov. 10-14 meeting, participating in roundtable discussions and workshops aimed at improving operations and overall effectiveness.
The theme of this year's meeting was "Chiropractic and All That Jazz." Topics covered included: strategic planning and implementation, volunteer recruitment, membership development, public relations, media relations, chiropractic unity, and HIPAA. State leaders received updates from the American Chiropractic Association, the International Chiropractors Association, the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research, and the National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company; Foot Levelers President and CEO Kent Greenawalt also provided an update on the unified national PR campaign he is developing.
A highlight of the meeting was the official kickoff of "Straighten Up America," a spinal health program developed through a seed panel and Delphi panel review process that began in June 2004. The program is expected to be a primary initiative of COCSA in 2005.
Other new programs/developments announced included the addition of National PTA as a partner for the National Backpack Safety Program; the Association of Management Assistance Program (AMAP) to provide management and meeting services to state associations; and the Medical Referral System, an affinity program to educate medical professionals, business and industry leaders, legislators and patients about the benefits of chiropractic care.
COCSA members elected the following state association leaders to serve on the 2005 Board of Directors:
The congress presented honorary memberships to Dr. Tom Klapp of Michigan and Mary Lou Garrett of Montana. Also recognized was Gene Veno, executive vice president of the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association, who received a plaque from the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund for coordinating the requests of the state associations that joined Pennsylvania in filing an amicus brief in support of the Trigon lawsuit.
The COCSA board also reaffirmed the resolution that was adopted in 2003, calling for FCLB not to proceed with the PACE program until concerns of state associations are met and the membership unanimously adopts a resolution supporting the appeal of the ACA in its lawsuit against HHS. The suit aims to ensure that chiropractic services in the Medicare program are delivered by doctors of chiropractic.
Several districts elected representatives to serve on the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters (CCGPP), which also met during the weekend. COCSA representatives to CCGPP for 2005 are:
The 2005 meeting will be held Nov. 2-6 in San Francisco; the 2006 meeting is scheduled for Nov. 8-12 in Baltimore, Md. For more information on the meeting or on a specific COCSA program, visit www.cocsa.org.
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.
On Feb. 1, 2024, two more legislators – John R. Carter (R-Texas) and Robert “Bob” Good (R-Va.) – co-sponsored the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2023, bringing the co-sponsor total to 155, two more than the total achieved over the entire two-year congressional cycle in which identical legislation last appeared (2021-22).
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.
