When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
International Chiropractors Association Issues Statement On Referrals
The International Chiropractors Association's (ICA) Board of Directors has clearly stated the Association's position regarding chiropractors professional obligation to refer patients when the limits of their skill and authority are reached.
According to the ICA, the primary obligation of doctors of chiropractic is to give the finest care within their capabilities and within legal authority. It is also their obligation to recognize their limitations and at that point of recognition, doctors in all fields are ethically and morally bound to refer patients to practitioners in other fields of medicine in order to provide the best quality care.
Not only does the ICA stress the importance of referrals by chiropractors to other practitioners in the health care field, it also stresses the importance of accepting referrals from other health care providers to members of the chiropractic profession.
"The ICA has always recognized the importance of referrals when appropriate for superior patient care," said Ronald M. Hendrickson, ICA's executive vice president.