In an apparent effort to emphasis the importance of diagnosis within chiropractic, the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners passes regulation that dictates the "legal obligation to diagnose." During its July 26, 1990 meeting, the California Board approved changes to Section 331.1 Approval and Eligibility.
The additions to Section 331.1 are:
"Doctors of Chiropractic accept patients who may be initially entering the health care system in California. Therefore, chiropractic doctors have a legal obligation to diagnose and recognize even those diseases and conditions which may be beyond their scope of practice to treat. The purpose for their knowledge of diagnosis and their trained ability to recognize all manner of health problems is to make those appropriate referrals for the overall protection of the public."
The Board also passed subsection 331.1 (d):
"(d) No school shall be approved, provisionally or otherwise, by the board unless the agency accrediting that college, in addition to being recognized by the United States Commissioner of Education, fully accredits educational hours and course work in all of the areas of chiropractic education as required in Section 5 of the Chiropractic Initiative Act and its rules and regulations."
This action by the California Board comes barely one month after the Florida Governor signed into law (please see "Florida Governor Signs Legislation To Insure Quality Of Chiropractic Care" in the July 18, 1990 issue) a bill that addressed similar concerns regarding diagnosis in Florida. While these issues have already been addressed in many states, it will be interesting to see just how the chiropractic profession defines itself in the future.
