When natural disasters occur, chiropractors can literally travel to the other side of the world to offer humanitarian relief in less than a day. The chiropractor's license to legally practice, however, can't make it past the state line.
A sports team can take a bus to a neighboring state for a regional tournament or championship game. Their team chiropractor is expected to travel with them, but has no legal authority to provide actual care if not licensed in that jurisdiction.
A skilled chiropractic instructor may take their clinical experience wherever they would like and share it with whoever wishes to learn – but it has to be kept strictly theoretical, because the instructor's license doesn't travel, too.
No matter the desperate need, long-standing relationship or outstanding qualifications of the chiropractor, existing license standards tether practitioners to a limited practice area, prohibiting care in cross-jurisdictional environments.
The purpose of a chiropractic license is important – ensuring accountability, adequate standards for providing care and of course, patient protection. But in an increasingly mobile world, the basic practitioner license is proving to be a little too inflexible.
So, what can be done? Proposed U.S. federal legislation introduced two years ago that would allow sports team doctors and trainers to treat team players during road games seemed promising, but unfortunately, didn't pass by the end of the legislative session. The status of the legislation's possible refiling and likelihood of its passage is unknown.
According to a recent Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) poll, only 13 state chiropractic licensing boards currently have some sort of travel-to-treat and travel-to-teach "temporary" licensure available. The administrative processes, practice limitations and allowances vary greatly, with no single standard bringing clarity to temporary license holders.
The FCLB has developed a program to address this long-standing, desperate need for license portability, and aims to launch it at its upcoming annual conference in Orlando, Fla., in May 2017.
The FCLB's Passport Program is a multi-step license credentialing process that verifies a chiropractor's legal qualifications to engage in practice; history of any discipline; moral turpitude; and possession of any advanced specialty certification.
There are two features and intrinsic benefits to the Passport Program. First and foremost, the program will promote uniform regulatory standards to assist jurisdictions that license chiropractors in enacting temporary licensing.
Second, chiropractors with active Passport status will have accountability, via an international public registry, as they travel to unregulated foreign jurisdictions and bring the art, science and meaning of chiropractic to populations not yet exposed.
In advance of the May 2017 launch of the program, the FCLB is spreading awareness of this new initiative by offering a complimentary continuing-education / Caribbean cruise package for two. Chances and information about the cruise are available via the FCLB's website (www.fclb.org). The raffle will take place during the federation's May conference, and ticket holders are not required to be in attendance to win.
It is the vision of the FCLB that this new credentialing service and public registry will promote worldwide credibility for the chiropractic profession while enhancing global public protection. By offering credentialing for international sporting events, disaster-relief missions, or to simply provide chiropractic services on a temporary basis almost anywhere, the Passport Program will enhance mobility, practitioner opportunities, and most importantly – legal access to chiropractic services.
If you support having an expedited legal process to provide chiropractic services beyond your state boundary on a limited basis, via temporary licensing, please visit the FCLB website to learn how you can help get this long-needed ability enacted into every jurisdiction – and bring true practice mobility to the profession.
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."
It is estimated that 61% of patients with CTS avoid taking surgical options due to postoperative complications and costly surgical procedures. Chiropractic care offers a comprehensive and effective treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, addressing the condition from multiple angles. Recent studies also have unveiled a game-changing adjunct to chiropractic treatments for CTS: nerve flossing.
Some doctors thrive in a personality-based clinic and have a loyal following no matter what services or equipment they offer, but for most chiropractic offices who are trying to grow and expand, new equipment purchases help us stay relevant and continue to service our client base in the best, most up-to-date manner possible. So, regarding equipment purchasing: should you lease, get a bank loan, or pay cash?
