In what amounts to a punch in the gut to Colorado Chiropractors who have been fighting desperately to be able to stay open to care for their patients amidst the Coronavirus pandemic - Norman Ouzts DC, the Chief Executive Officer for the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), which is located in Greeley, said he concurs with the regulatory authority (DORA), that very few chiropractors will be able to keep their doors open.
All licensed chiropractors on Friday received an email from the Department of Regulatory Affairs that attempted to circumvent the Governor's already existing orders, essentially telling chiropractors they will not be allowed to continue their practices unless they meet the conditions outlined in the Governors Order.
The step taken by DORA to threaten chiropractors involved an email sent by an unnamed person, sending it under an unknown authority and has the impression of overriding the Governor's Order stating:
“As is apparent, there are very few, if any, chiropractic procedures that fit within the rubric of these criteria,” the email reads. “And as a result, we expect that most chiropractic practices across the state will necessarily halt operations during the emergency.”
The email and unknown sender of the email did not reveal how it was apparent that "very few" chiropractic procedures fall under the rubric issued by the Governor. Nor did they explain why "most chiropractic practices" would "necessarily halt operations".
No other health care provider was issued a letter similar to that sent to chiropractors - including physical therapists.
According to those who attended a meeting of the chiropractic regulatory board held Thursday the chiropractors serving on the board refused to answer any questions related to the COVID crisis from attendees.
At least one member of the chiropractic licensing board, Michael Simone DC, remained open according to his website. His website stated he was only open for trucker physicals and for acute patients.
“It doesn’t necessarily say you have to completely close your office, but it does lay out guidelines of what you can treat,” Ouzts from the National Board stated. Ouzts got that right and the vast majority of Colorado chiropractors had already adopted triage and clinical decision making policies for dealing with their patients when the Governor's Order came out. Nevertheless Ouzts offered another unhelpful nail to shut the door on chiropractors stating: “Based on those conditions, there are very few chiropractors that can treat their patients.”
