NY State Chiropractic Board Rules OTC Drugs Within the Scope of Practice

According to minutes of the January 28, 2016 meeting of the New York State Board of Chiropractic received through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), the board opined that there is no prohibition against chiropractors advising or recommending over the counter medications.

The decision came amidst ongoing efforts at scope expansion in the state by the New York State Chiropractic Association (NYSCA) and the New York Chiropractic Council (NYCC). Both organizations have been in merger discussions for some time and have been working together on revising the chiropractic law in an effort to expand the scope.

The issue of OTC drugs came up during the meeting in response to a letter the board received from Liberty Mutual Insurance Company questioning whether or not chiropractors are able to prescribe over the counter drugs.

The board's response was:

"Typically, we feel the classification of OTC medications include anti-inflammatories and pain relievers. There is no prohibition against advising or recommending OTC medications. We cannot prescribe but we can advise or recommend."

The Board appears to be trying to make distinctions between "prescribing" drugs versus giving "advice" about them and "recommending" them.

The decision is consistent with the desire of the President of the New York State Chiropractic Association Louis Lupinacci DC, who has written that "Discussing effects of pharmaceuticals with patients" was one of the most pressing issues in regards to "scope modernization" in New York.

NYSCA is calling their scope expansion efforts "scope modernization" in an attempt to distract from the addition of broad body diagnosis and treatment being sought in their new definition of chiropractic in the state.

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