Florida Governor Signs Legislation To Insure Quality Of Chiropractic Care

On June 20, 1990, the Governor of Florida signed into law Senate Bill 458. SB 458 is a rather lenghty piece of legislation that was sponsored by the Florida Department of Professional Regulation. The Department of Professional Regulation supervises twenty-two licensing boards including all health care profession boards. It should be noted that these amendments were developed in cooperation with the Florida Chiropractic Board, and not the Florida Chiropractic Association as some have mistakenly suggested.

This legislation was passed in an effort to maintain high standards in the various licensed professions. From physical therapy to plumbing, from real estate to chiropractic, each profession had a section addressing those issues that affected their profession.

The section pertaining to chiropractic included three measures that will make a definite impact on chiropractic in Florida. The reason for these amendments has been stated time and time again: to maintain the highest level of quality chiropractic care possible.

The first amendment to section 460 reads as follows:

The department shall examine (to insure) that each applicant who the board certifies has:

(c) submitted proof satisfactory to the department that he is a graduate of a chiropractic college accredited by, or has status with, an agency or its successor which is recognized and approved by the U.S. Office of Education and the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation or by the department, provided the department applies the same standards used by the U.S. Office of Education which are applicable to this state when approving an agency. In evaluating an application for approval as an accrediting agency, the department shall give full recognition to the different philosophies of chiropractic prevailing in the profession and shall not reject an application solely because the accrediting agency is an adherent of one such philosophy as distinguished from another. No application for a license to practice chiropractic shall be denied solely because the applicant is a graduate of a chiropractic college that subscribes to one philosophy of chiropractic as distinguished from another.

The reasons for this amendment are two-fold. The Council On Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA) is an independent organization which recognized only the highest quality accrediting agencies in higher education. They are the "gold standard" in this area.

Secondly, the U.S. Office of Education is very political in nature. By requiring COPA recognition as well, Florida is insulated from potential political manipulation.

It is important to note that this requirement expressly prohibits restrictions that by their nature are solely due to philosophical differences.

The second amendment addresses training of new practitioners:

The department shall examine to (insure) that each applicant who the board certifies has:

(e) Completed a 3-month training program in this state of no less than 300 hours with a chiropractic physician licensed in this state. The chiropractic physician candidate may perform all services offered by the licensed chiropractic physician but must be under the supervision of the licensed chiropractic physician. However, an applicant who has practiced chiropractic in another state for at least five years as a licensed chiropractic physician need not be required to complete the 3-month training program as a requirement for licensure.

Finally, the third amendment pertains to those acts that are considered to be below the standards of quality Florida chiropractors wish to maintain:

(1) The following acts shall constitute grounds for which the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be taken:

(a) Failing to keep written chiropractic records justifying the course of treatment of the patient, including, but not limited to, patient histories, examination results, test results, and x-rays, and diagnosis of a disease, conditions, or injury. X-rays need not be retained for more than four years.

Many other states have been watching closely as Florida has been developing these amendments in an effort to address the demands of quality chiropractic care. There have been many questions regarding patient diagnosis in an effort to insure quality patient care.

Editor's note: There will undoubtedly be those who will suggest that these additional standards of quality are too demanding. Perhaps some will suggest that these measures are in some way restrictive. But one has to wonder about someone who would sacrifice quality of patient care for the sake of their own agenda. For a considerable time, many other state boards have been grappling with these same issues. It can be expected that other state boards will ultimately adopt their own amendments in an effort to resolve these problems.