While opening with the customary provocative language, "the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners has long been dogged by litigation and a reputation for using its authority to expand chiropractors’ scope of practice in lieu of focusing on protecting the public," the Sunset Advisory Commission Staff Report notes, however, that "Sunset staff found no evidence that the board continues to engage in practices that would merit this reputation." Read highlights of the Sunset Staff’s recommendations with links to a summary article for each issue and to the full report. The next step is a public hearing on this report to provide input on the suggestions. The legislature will consider these recommendations during the 2017 Legislative session.

Plan ahead to attend the 2017 Texas Chiropractic Legislative Conference (TCLC), Feb. 9-11, 2017, at the Sheraton Austin Hotel at The Capitol in Austin. Join us at the single most important event of the year for the chiropractic profession in Texas. Attend TCA Legislative Day for a quick debrief on TCA’s key bills before going on scheduled visits with your legislators at the Texas Capitol. Stick around for the Legislative Reception with TCLC attendees, legislators and staff at the historic Scholz Garten. At TCLC, you also can earn up to 16 CE hours toward your Texas license and send your assistants and staff for training to elevate your practice.

Register now for TCA’s Mid-Winter Conference, an annual tradition for doctors of chiropractic in the Texas Panhandle. The event on Feb. 24-26, 2017 returns to the Overton Hotel & Conference Center in Lubbock. Learn from inspiring speakers while completing 16 CE hours – all at one venue. Network with your colleagues and meet with vendors at this popular conference.

The Parker University Alumni Association honored Texas Chiropractic Association President Tyce Hergert, DC, as its 2016 Alumni of the Year recently at an awards reception during The Parker Experience Dallas. "It truly is one of the greatest honors, to be recognized by my colleagues and the alumni of Parker University as this year’s Alumni of the Year," Hergert said. "Parker gave me my start in chiropractic and I thank them for preparing me for a career I truly love."

Earn your CE hours, save money and make your profession stronger. There’s an easy and cost-effective way to accomplish all three. The TCA has rolled out a new Premium Membership so that you can receive 16 continuing education hours included in the price of membership. Your Premium Membership includes your registration to the TCA conference or seminar of your choice (a savings of more than $100). Join online, complete and return the Premium membership application or call the TCA office at (512) 477-9292. Let us know which events you wish to attend and we’ll sign you up. Once you receive confirmation on the event(s) you plan to attend, your registration badge will be waiting for you at the conference or seminar.

Back by popular demand, renowned speaker Mitch Mally, DC, is returning to Texas for a one-day seminar brought to you by TCA and Financially Fit. Register by phone at (512) 477-9292 by Friday, Oct. 21, to take advantage of the $100 registration fee for DCs.

Doctors are prescribing NSAIDs and patients don’t even know the risk; 47 percent of survey respondents, as well as 40 percent of those who said they had taken pain medication in the last 12 months, said that said they did not know what NSAIDs were. 61 percent of all respondents said they used over-the-counter pain medications most frequently to manage their pain, when given a list of pain relievers, a good portion of patients failed to identify several of those that were NSAIDs or contained NSAID ingredients.

The report claims there is slow complaint resolution and misplaced focus on low-risk enforcement activities at TBCE. It calls for the agency to develop a plan to improve its investigative process, prioritize investigations by risk to the public, revise its penalty matrix to more closely align the severity of penalties with the risk a violation poses to the public, clearly define grossly unprofessional conduct, maintain complainants’ confidentiality and develop a more user-friendly online complaint form.

Chiropractic facility registration is unnecessary to protect the public claims Sunset staff. "Unlike hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, or pharmacies, the services provided in chiropractic facilities do not pose significant risk to the public. The Sunset staff recommend a change to the Chiropractic Act to discontinue registration and deregulate chiropractic facilities."

The board lacks formal mechanisms to ensure chiropractic expertise in its enforcement process. The Sunset Staff recommends several changes to the Chiropractic Act: "repeal the local and executive peer review requirements from statute. ...Instead, the board would use the expert review process." They would require the board to develop an expert review process in rule by March 1, 2018.

Key elements of the board’s licensing and regulatory functions do not conform to common licensing standards. Recommending changes in the Chiropractic Act, the report calls for standard fingerprint and background checks for ALL licensees, the state would do away with the requirement of "good moral character" and instead call for fingerprint and criminal background checks for ALL licensees, even those in practice for decades without complaints.

If there were doubts that the chiropractic profession in Texas was in jeopardy of drastic change, here it is in black and white from the government itself. Texas should continue regulating chiropractors, but decisions on the structure of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners await further review of the Sunset process. Take particular note that report observes that  "the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners would be a likely candidate for consolidation."

OCTOBER CALENDAR

The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs tore into congress for failing to pass legislation aimed at strengthening employee accountability and streamlining access to care.

MDs at an FDA committee meeting said opioids have essential uses in the pediatric population. The MDs suggested addressing moving away from the historical precedent of "protecting children from research," so that pediatric research on opioid dosing could move forward.

Health and Human Services announced more than $36 million in funding for 50 Health Center Controlled Networks in 41 states and Puerto Rico to promote enhanced information sharing, adopting technology-enabled quality improvement strategies, and engaging in health information exchange.

American Academy of Family Physicians voted to support legislation allowing CMS to negotiate drug prices for Medicare. They say that cost is a huge factor in drug use compliance. They also resolved to strive for eliminating pain’s classification as "the fifth vital sign," and two resolutions supporting a national, single-payer health care system, with rates and administrative processes co-determined by the payer and providers; and devising a plan to protect members from "unilateral decisions by the payer," that would be publicly financed and privately administered.

Identity is that which defines us as individuals. When we share parts of our identities with others, we form social groups. Professional identity presents an enigma where people from different social groups come together to deliver a service. To gain public and professional acceptance, chiropractic must be unequivocal in declaring its scope, expertise and intent.

Total costs of direct medical expenditures and loss of work productivity related to pain, including low back pain, have been estimated to be as high as $635 billion annually in the United States. The prevalence of self-reported low back pain approaches 26 percent, and female or older workers were at increased risk of experiencing low back pain. Work-family imbalance, exposure to a hostile work environment, and job insecurity were also associated with low back pain.

Spinal manipulation is generally accepted for treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. Some evidence that certain visceral disorders benefit from spinal manipulation also exists. The greatest number of physiological studies has focused on cardiovascular function, with few investigations of other organ systems. However, somato-humoural and non-autonomic neural mechanisms of spino-visceral interactions remain largely unexplored.

Spinal pain in the pediatric population is a significant health issue; 52 percent of pediatric patients report musculoskeletal symptoms over a one-year period. Neck pain is the most common spinal pain in pediatric patients, with 60 percent reporting neck pain persisting at two years. Pediatric patients comprise between about 8 percent and 13 percent of a chiropractor’s practice, and 3.3 percent of children in the United States (1.9 million) saw a chiropractor or osteopath between 2002 and 2007.

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