Many chiropractic state boards of examiners are currently wrestling with the issues surrounding the current use of research to recruit patients. Most boards are concerned with how to protect patients while allowing reasonable marketing practices by chiropractors.
Recently, the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners has proposed a regulation that they hope will adequately address the problem. This proposed regulation would be an amendment to section 317 which addresses the area of Unprofessional Conduct. The proposed regulation is as follows:
317. Unprofessional Conduct.
X. Receipt by a chiropractic doctor of any compensation for professional services from any person who was in a research program with which such chiropractic doctor was associated unless such person was fully and completely informed in writing at least five (5) days in advance of the commencement of such research that such person would be solicited to become a paying patient of such chiropractic doctor. Such disclosure in order to be complete must include an accurate statement of the percentage of research subjects from such research program who have been solicited as patients or offered the opportunity to become patients in the past and shall include such disclosure of the probable cost of the services that will be offered to such research subject.
A full hearing is scheduled to take place early next year. It will be interesting to see if this does in fact become California's regulation for dealing with this issue. This "full disclosure" approach could well be a model for other states.
