The Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners has proposed amendments to rule 77.2 Publicity. The proposed new rule includes "In any form of public communication, if a licensee or facility makes a claim based on one or more research studies, the licensee or facility shall clearly identify the relevant research study or studies and make copies of such research studies available to the board or the public upon request."

"In any form of public communication, a licensee or facility shall not advertise any service as "free" unless the public communication clearly and specifically states ....

"The effective date of this subsection is June 1, 2012."

"This section and §77.5 of this title apply to all advertising, communications, or telemarketing done by or on behalf of a licensee or facility, including activities conducted by employees, students being mentored by the licensee, or other agents."

The Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners has adopted as a final rule rule 75.1 Grossly Unprofessional Conduct. The new rule states ....

Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) solicited and received input from workers’ compensation system participants. All comments were carefully considered and discussed. The Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Rod Bordelon approved the revised CY (Calendar Year) 2012 Annual Audit Plan (Annual Plan) on January 11, 2012.

The TBCE has passed a new fee structure in order to comply with recently passed laws.  The currently proposed rule raises fees for initial applications, jurisprudence exams, initial license, and license and facility renewal and reinstatement.

The TBCE would add the definition that "on-call means that the licensee must be available for consultation within 15 minutes either in person or by other means of telecommunication" for the provision of any or all treatment provided under the licensee direction.

The Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners has published a rules proposal for Rule 77.5, Misleading Claims.

Included in this proposal are statements such as:  "A person advertising chiropractic services shall not use .... claims intended or reasonably likely to create a false expectation of the favorable results from chiropractic treatment .... claims intended or reasonably likely to create a false expectation of the cost of treatment or the amount of treatment to be provided."

Also to be prohibited would be "claims that state or imply chiropractic services provide a cure for any condition,"  and "claims that chiropractic services cure or lessen the effects of ailments, injuries or other disorders of the human body which are outside the scope of chiropractic...."

TBCE proposes that "the standard to be used in determining whether a violation of this rule has taken place is the generally accepted standards of care within the chiropractic profession in Texas."

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) is hosting brown bag educational sessions entitled Overview of Two New Division Rules at its field offices around the state in January and February 2012. The educational sessions are for all Texas workers’ compensation participants.

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) seeks input and suggestions regarding the development of a new Plan-Based Audit for Utilization Review Agents.

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) seeks input and suggestions regarding the development of the CY 2012 Medical Quality Review Annual Audit Plan.