Because they have yet to pass national legislation protecting the chiropractic profession, Japanese DCs are in a similar situation that U.S. DCs faced. We were fortunate enough to be able to pass chiropractic licensure state by state. The DCs in Japan must accomplish this nationally, which has proved to be an extremely difficult task. And in spite of their efforts, Japanese DCs are currently faced with two chiropractic professions.
NAOCC: Certification or Scam?
Why does the National Association of Certified Chiropractors want to add your name to its online directory? That's one of several questions that remain unanswered despite attempts to contact the NAOCC, which is looking to certify doctors of chiropractic with the following claims:
- "[Our goal] is to protect consumers and businesses by providing a report card on each Chiropractor."
- "We empower consumers by allowing them to verify as much information as possible about the Chiropractor they are evaluating and submit reviews and surveys on their experiences."
- "Thousands of consumers across our network use our research reports and read our reviews every single day."
Yet an actual directory listing shows little information except to report: "This Company is NOT Accredited By The National Association of Certified Chiropractors." And when a doctor applies for certification, but doesn't add the NAOCC graphic tag to their site, the credential is revoked and their directory page reports the practice "has not applied for NAOCC certification." (We couldn't find a DC practice that was credentialed.)
While the NAOCC tag does not appear to include script elements, it does link to the NAOCC website, which places "cookies" on site visitors' browsers without warning.
Based on applicant experience, the NAOCC spends less than 24 hours to "research all new member applications with state and local governments as well as third-party sites." It is also hard to discern just how much traffic the site gets. There is "not enough traffic data" to support a report on several website traffic sources.
When a doctor tried to fill out an application for certification, he was provided with a contact person named John Myers with a phone number of 904-567-8345. All further inquiries by this doctor were ignored. The number "has been disconnected" and attempts to contact Mr. Myers have gone without response.
All this may be a shill for the "Feedback Changer service" promoted on every doctor's page and promising "more reviews on Google, Yelp, Angie's List, Facebook or any online review website" for $29.97 per month.