BC Board Vote to Ban X-rays Not Unanimous - Laypersons Voted to Tip the Scales
The vote by the College of Chiropractors of British Columbia (CCBC) that recently banned the use of radiographs for the evaluation and assessment of vertebral subluxation was highly contentious according to reports from those present during the meeting.
In fact, if it were not for the non-chiropractic lay people on the board, the motion would not have passed. The following was the vote tally according to people who were present for the virtual meeting:
Voted for the Ban:
Ms. Susan Powell
Mr. Ken M. Kramer Q.C. Vice-Chair
Mr. Colin Bennett
Amarpaul (Paul) Dhaliwal DC
Stephen Mogatas DC
Jennifer Forbes DC
Johnny Suchdev Board Chair DC
Voted Against the Ban
Arvin Bahri DC
Travis Morgan DC
Shannon Patterson DC
Chris Anderson DC
Making the ridiculous decision to ban x-rays for vertebral subluxation analysis and management even more absurd is the fact that these three lay people did not have the common sense nor the ethical and moral wherewithal to admit that they know nothing about radiology nor that they know anything about the management of vertebral subluxation and abstain from the vote.
How did they not have the sense to do that?
To suggest with a straight face that an attorney specializing in estates and trusts, a social worker and a retired accountant should have any role in deciding the standard of care for a licensed clinical specialty that takes years to earn a degree in is absurd.
Yet that is just what these folks did.
Adding to the lay people who voted for the ban are the chiropractors:
Amarpaul (Paul) Dhaliwal DC
Stephen Mogatas DC
Jennifer Forbes DC
Johnny Suchdev Board Chair DC
Dhaliwal is a graduate of Western States Chiropractic College which is well known for supporting the move of chiropractic into the practice of medicine with the addition of drugs to the scope. Western States has also never embraced the concept of vertebral subluxation management.
CLICK HERE to review his website
Mogatas is a graduate of Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) and CMCC is well know as an institution that denigrates the practice of subluxation management.
Besides serving on the CCBC, Jennifer Forbes DC also serves as the Vice Chair for the Board of Trustees at University of Western States Chiropractic College. Her clinic's website is another treasure trove of violations of the very policies of CCBC Board.
CLICK HERE to review her website
Rounding out this group of "do as I say not as I do" board members is the CCBC Board Chair himself: Johnny Suchdev DC, who was the subject of an earlier investigation into practices that violated the Board rules.
CLICK HERE to review that investigation
Suchdev is also a Graduate of Western States Chiropractic College. We reached out to Suchdev to ask about his vote but he has not responded.
Is it a coincidence that all three members of the board who are Western States graduates (including one who is Western's Vice Chair) voted to ban x-ray for the analysis and management of vertebral subluxation?
The Chronicle reached out to the lay persons on the board and asked them why they did not abstain from voting on such a highly specialized and technical issue with such serious implications for public health.
Michelle Da Roza, the Board's Registrar, responded informing us that the board members are not allowed to speak publicly and must refer all questions to her.
"CCBC Board Members speak with one voice, the voice of the Board, regardless of how they vote on any particular matter."
Da Roza also stated:
"While public appointed individuals may not have a level of understanding of the profession such that a chiropractor would, their role is to reflect the public that they serve. Further, information is prepared for all Board Members who have an obligation to ask questions and request additional information if they feel they do not have enough to make an informed decision".
So the CCBC rationale for allowing lay persons to cast the deciding votes on such a technical issue is that they were given "further information" and were able to "ask questions".
We can do away with all National Board exams then since the only knowledge required for clinical expertise is to be given some information and ask some questions.
That Da Roza put this nonsense in writing without giving it a second thought is further evidence of how screwed up this Board is in terms of its judgement.
Since the news of the ban became public the chiropractic profession has erupted in outrage. Nearly 4000 individuals have signed a petition expressing that outrage and there is a fundraising effort underway for legal action which includes filing for an injunction against the board.
The CCBC is no stranger to controversy having adopted APPENDIX N just a few years ago.
And then in 2019 the CCBC went after the care of pregnant women by adding more nonsense to their APPENDIX N efficacy claims policy falsely claiming:
(c) has any beneficial effect on fetal development or position such as: breech/breech turning or position and intrauterine/in utero constraint.
(d) has any beneficial effect on labour or birth such as: easier or shorter labour, preventing the need for medical interventions and preventing premature or traumatic birth.
(e) has any beneficial effect on hormone function or postpartum depression.
Ultimately what is battling out in Canada is a microcosm of the larger issues being fought within the profession. The controlling faction of the profession, which has complete control over the educational, licensing and regulatory functions of the entire profession has been working hard to limit chiropractic to the treatment of a narrow range of musculoskeletal disorders through joint cavitation.
One of their tactics relative to regulatory boards is to fill the lay positions with people who they are friendly with and then feed them information to get them to vote their way thereby controlling the boards.
That tactic is working well for them in British Columbia.
