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TBCE's January Enforcement Committee Meeting
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The Enforcement Committee of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners met on Tuesday, January 12, 2010.  Several cases were discussed and witnesses were heard during several of the hearings.  The details of the cases are not of prime importance from this meeting, but the lessons to be taken away from the meeting are.

The first case I saw involved a practitioner of several decades.  A complaint had been filed regarding some real or imagined business infraction, but in the process of reviewing the case it was noted that some of the forms utilized contained  the phrase resulting in "unprecedented lifetime benefits."  The committee is considering whether this violates the prohibition of Sec. 201.502. "(a)  The board may refuse to admit a person to examinations and may revoke or suspend a license or place a license holder on probation for a period determined by the board for:...(11)  advertising professional superiority, or advertising the performance of professional services in a superior manner, if that advertising is not readily subject to verification..." 

The committee has not yet made its determination and this instance may, or may not, be an instance of "advertising superiority", but the point to take away ladies and gentlemen is that you need to be very careful in what you advertise. You also need to remember that "advertisement" does not merely refer to that which you pay for; it extends to that which you profess, that which you declare openly.  I guess, to paraphrase a well known Supreme Court admonishment--"what you say can and may be used against you..." Be ready to defend what you profess.

The next case observed involved an allegation that a massage therapist working for a chiropractor had "caused" an inguinal hernia.  Leaving aside the particulars of the case the issue at work here was miscommunication on the part of all parties involved.  The patient did not clearly communicate with the therapist, the therapist did not clearly communicate with the doctor, the doctor did not clearly communicate with the patient, and the patient did not communicate effectively with his doctor.  The result is likely to be a malpractice suit against the parties involved, but the point to take away from this case is "work to communicate effectively".  Make sure that all staff, doctors, and patients are communicating clearly and effectively with one another.  Ask questions, seek solutions, make a connection to be of assistance.  Miscommunication could lead to undesired consequences.

The final case demonstrates the need for answering the license renewal and facility registration application in a truthful and accurate manner.  Basically a doctor who was dealing with issues arising from a less than amicable divorce ended up as an involuntary accessory to a crime.  He incorrectly answered a question pertaining to his legal status which resulted in a violation.  The moral of this case is "take your answers to the renewal questions SERIOUSLY and answer them ACCURATELY."  Don't "just go through the motions", answer the questions accurately, truthfully, and correctly.  A secondary moral might be "avoid divorce, seldom does anything good come of it."  But that is just one person's opinion.

 
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