Parker University used their recent Parker Seminar event held this past weekend to drum up support for the misguided efforts at scope expansion in the State of Texas by the Texas Chiropractic Association and the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Scott Walker DC, the President of the Chiropractic Society of Texas, recently addressed the propaganda being put out by various organizations and chiropractic publications including Chiropractic Economics and Dynamic Chiropractic and being promoted on social media. The following is the full text of his response.

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I have seen a lot of misinformation and uncertainty about the TMA VS. TBCE (defendant) and TCA (intervenor) AKA the VONT case. Here are the facts of the case as I understand them, and I hope to clear up some of the confusion for our members and Chiropractors in Texas. I am not an attorney, so please feel free to read all the information on your own.

The TBCE according to its website serves as a ”Statutory Basis/Rulemaking Authority: The Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners (TBCE) is an independent state health regulatory agency, charged with implementing and administering its enabling legislation. The TBCE operates under the authority of the Occupations Code, Title 3, Subtitle C, Chapter 201, better known as the Chiropractic Act (the Act). General rulemaking authority is granted to the Board under Sec. 201.152 of the Act, and authority to address specific subjects is grated throughout the Act.”

The Texas Chiropractic Act is written by legislators and is in the Texas Occupations Code §201.002 which enables statutes and practice acts for professionals. The Texas Chiropractic Act is what the TBCE is supposed to follow in construction of its rules and guidelines. The ruling on the case by Judge Rhonda Hurley was a result of the fact that certain TBCE rules do not follow or reflect what the Chiropractic Act says in Texas Occupations Code §201.002.

Read it for yourself: CLICK HERE

The Act was never written to include the term diagnosis, yet Chiropractors have been able to care for patients for decades under the current Texas Chiropractic Act based on the following from the Texas Occupations Code §201.002:

(b) A person practices chiropractic under this chapter if the person:

(1) uses objective or subjective means to analyze, examine, or evaluate the biomechanical condition of the spine and musculoskeletal system of the human body;
(2) performs nonsurgical, nonincisive procedures, including adjustment and manipulation, to improve the subluxation complex or the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system;

Based on (1) and (2) above we do not need to diagnose to practice Chiropractic in Texas. And the term subluxation complex is included in The Act as well. And ultimately the scientific literature defines the subluxation complex with a neuro component.

Judge Hurley’s ruling came out the way it did because the TBCE wrote different rules and included terms that were simply not in the original Chiropractic Act. This is an issue that essentially can only be addressed by changing the Act via legislation. The TBCE has interpreted the Act in ways that appear to broaden the scope of Chiropractic. The rules that were in question in the lawsuit are TBCE RULE §78.13 (a)(5), (a)(9), (c)(3)(B), and (d), which can be found on TBCE website.

I encourage you to read the rules for yourself - CLICK HERE.

To summarize, RELAX…….

There is undue fear circulating out there, not only in our State but nationally.

The judge’s ruling does not change the Occupations Code, Title 3, Subtitle C, Chapter 201, better known as the Texas Chiropractic Act. She ruled against the TBCE Rules as stated above. In my opinion, we have a very good law in regards to practicing Chiropractic. But as mentioned above, we do not need to have the word diagnosis added to practice Chiropractic.

We obviously use deductive reasoning to determine if someone belongs in our office, so we are in a sense differentially diagnosing whether they are a chiropractic candidate. But, using objective or subjective means to analyze, examine, or evaluate the biomechanical condition of the spine and musculoskeletal system of the human body is all that is required to practice chiropractic in Texas.

So, don’t buy into the fear that is out there that, we will require a referral from an M.D. in order to practice. We are portal of entry providers and that will not change based on this ruling. Keep helping to change the lives of your communities with certainty that Chiropractic is strong in the state of Texas!

Scott Walker DC
President - Chiropractic Society of Texas
https://www.texaschiropractic.org/

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCOPE EXPANSION IN TEXAS