ACA President Attempts to Clarify Drug Position
The memo states that the ACA has received “quite positive” responses from ACA membership and goes on to state:
“To no one`s surprise however, other organizations and special interest groups have associated these policies to ‘incorporating drugs into the scope of chiropractic practice and promoting the term chiropractic medicine.’”
Hamm then goes on to state:
“In fact the resolution on six key elements of a modern scope of practice supports the terms chiropractic physician and chiropractic medicine.”
This statement only reinforces the “special interest groups” concerns regarding this terminology.
In fact, Hamm states: “As the leading organization supporting contemporary chiropractic practice, we have embraced this terminology.”
Hamm then states:
“To be clear, there is no language in this scope policy that promotes or supports prescription pharmacotherapy in the practice of chiropractic.”
Unfortunately there is nothing in the Resolution that states prescriptive pharmacotherapy is not the practice of chiropractic. Further, all of the language in the Resolution does indeed support prescriptive pharmacotherapy in that one needs the training described in the Resolution in order to prescribe drugs.
The statement by the President of the ACA reveals a confused and unclear policy position. The ACA leadership itself is obviously confused about its position. The ACA and others within the profession that are supportive of prescriptive authority need not worry. They should embrace who they are and what they stand for.
Instead they continue this silly slow boiling of the frog and each time they turn up the heat a little they issue these statements to keep those against their policy positions at bay.
The fact of the matter is that the pro drug faction in this profession is in charge, has all the control and the rank and file of the profession (at least half according to the Ohio Northern Study) want to be able to prescribe drugs.
The ACA should stop being ashamed of its drug position and embrace it so the profession can move on, create the necessary split and end the infighting once and for all.
CLICK HEAR TO READ RELATED STORY: ACA Embraces Drugs – Establishes College of Pharmacology
