Anton Milling, DC

For chiropractors practicing today, Dr. Warren Hammer’s legacy is particularly visible in several areas that have become familiar components of modern musculoskeletal care: his early work with the Graston Technique and instrument-assisted soft-tissue mobilization; his extensive writing and teaching on functional soft-tissue examination and treatment; his role in bringing fascial manipulation to U.S. clinicians; and his decades spent educating chiropractors and other health professionals.

Financial pressure, enrollment declines and institutional challenges are emerging at several U.S. chiropractic colleges. Life Chiropractic College West's and Life University's struggles may be the most talked about but appear to be part of a larger story. And with recent USDE requirements threatening to hamstring federal student financing for DC degree programs, chiropractic education is facing questions for which it has no immediate answers.

The term standard of care is a legal term and a medical concept. There is no single, universally recognized standard of care document or authoritative reference. The medical concept defines what practitioners should do in practice. The legal term used determines whether a practitioner failed to meet that expectation. This article examines the standard of care for the doctor of chiropractic.