Chiropractic

Education Law

Article 132, Chiropractic

§6550. Introduction.

This article applies to the profession of chiropractic. The general provisions for all professions contained in article one hundred thirty of this title apply to this article.

§6551. Definition of practice of chiropractic.

1. The practice of the profession of chiropractic is defined as detecting and correcting by manual or mechanical means structural imbalance, distortion, or subluxations in the human body for the purpose of removing nerve interference and the effects thereof, where such interference is the result of or related to distortion, misalignment or subluxation of or in the vertebral column.
2. 1. A license to practice as a chiropractor shall not permit the holder thereof to use radio-therapy, fluoroscopy, or any form of ionizing radiation except X-ray which shall be used for the detection of structural imbalance, distortion, or subluxations in the human body.
   2. The requirements and limitations with respect to the use of X-ray by chiropractors shall be enforced by the state commissioner of health and he is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations after conferring with the board to carry out the purposes of this subdivision.
   3. Chiropractors shall retain for a period of three years all X-ray films taken in the course of their practice, together with the records pertaining thereto, and shall make such films and records available to the state commissioner of health or his representative on demand.
3. A license to practice chiropractic shall not permit the holder thereof to treat for any infectious diseases such as pneumonia, any communicable diseases listed in the sanitary code of the state of New York, any of the cardio-vascular-renal or cardio-pulmonary diseases, any surgical condition of the abdomen such as acute appendicitis, or diabetes, or any benign or malignant neoplasms; to operate; to reduce fractures or dislocations; to prescribe, administer, dispense or use in his practice drugs or medicines; or to use diagnostic or therapeutic methods involving chemical or biological means except diagnostic services performed by clinical laboratories which services shall be approved by the board as appropriate to the practice of chiropractic; or to utilize electrical devices except those devices approved by the board as being appropriate to the practice of chiropractic. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a licensed chiropractor who has successfully completed a registered doctoral program in chiropractic, which contains courses of study in nutrition satisfactory to the department, from using nutritional counseling, including the dispensing of food concentrates, food extracts, vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional supplements approved by the board as being appropriate to, and as a part of, his or her practice of chiropractic. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit an individual who is not subject to regulation in this state as a licensed chiropractor from engaging in nutritional counseling.

§6552. Practice of chiropractic and use of title "chiropractor".

Only a person licensed or exempt under this article shall practice chiropractic or use the title "chiropractor".

§6553. State board for chiropractic.

A state board for chiropractic shall be appointed by the board of regents on recommendation of the commissioner for the purpose of assisting the board of regents and the department on matters of professional licensing and professional conduct in accordance with section sixty-five hundred eight of this title. The board shall be composed of not less than seven members, including at least four licensed chiropractors, one licensed physician who is a doctor of medicine, one licensed physician who is a doctor of osteopathy, and one educator who holds a doctorate or equivalent degree in either anatomy, physiology, pathology, chemistry or microbiology. An executive secretary to the board shall be appointed by the board of regents on recommendation of the commissioner.

§6554. Requirements for a professional license.

To qualify for a license as a chiropractor, an applicant shall fulfill the following requirements:

1. Application: file an application with the department;
2. Education: have received an education, including two years of preprofessional college study and completion of a four-year resident program in chiropractic, in accordance with the commissioner`s regulations;
3. Experience: have experience satisfactory to the board and in accordance with the commissioner`s regulations:
4. Examination: pass examinations satisfactory to the board and in accordance with the commissioner`s regulations, in clinical chiropractic analysis, the practice of chiropractic, X-ray as it relates to chiropractic analysis, and examinations satisfactory to the department in anatomy, physiology, pathology, chemistry, microbiology, diagnosis, and the use and effect of X-ray;
5. Age: be at least twenty-one years of age;
6. Citizenship or immigration status: be a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States;
7. Character: be of good moral character as determined by the department; and
8. Fees: pay a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars to the department for admission to a department conducted examination and for an initial license, a fee of eighty-five dollars for each reexamination, a fee of one hundred fifteen dollars for an initial license for persons not requiring admission to a department conducted examination, and a fee of one hundred fifty-five dollars for each triennial registration period.

§6554-a. Mandatory continuing education for chiropractors.

1.  
   1. Each chiropractor licensed pursuant to this article, required to register triennially with the department to practice in this state, shall comply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing education requirements, except as set forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Chiropractors who do not satisfy the mandatory continuing education requirements shall not practice until they have met such requirements and have been issued a registration or conditional registration certificate.
   2. Chiropractors shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education requirement for the triennial registration period during which they are first licensed. In accordance with the intent of this section, adjustments to the mandatory continuing education requirement may be granted by the department for reasons of health, certified by an appropriate health care professional, for extended active duty with the armed forces of the United States, or for other good cause acceptable to the department which may prevent compliance.
   3. A licensed chiropractor not engaged in chiropractic practice as an individual practitioner, a partner or a partnership, a shareholder of a professional service corporation, as an employee of such practice units, or as an employee of a facility operating pursuant to article twentyeight of the public health law, or as otherwise determined by the department, shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education requirement upon the filing of a statement with the department declaring such status. Any licensee who returns to the public practice of chiropractic during the triennial registration period shall notify the department prior to reentering the profession and shall meet such mandatory continuing education requirements as shall be promulgated by regulation of the commissioner in consultation with the board.
   4. Nothing in this section shall be construed as enabling or author- izing the department or state board for chiropractic to require or implement continuing competency testing or continued competency certification for chiropractors.
2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for registration shall complete thirty-six hours of acceptable formal continuing education, a maximum of twelve hours of which may be self-instructional coursework as approved by the department in consultation with the board. Any chiropractor whose first registration date following the effective date of this section occurs less than three years from such effective date, but on or after January first, two thousand four, shall complete continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one hour per month for the period beginning January first, two thousand four up to the first registration date thereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing education requirements shall not be issued a triennial registration certificate by the department and shall not practice unless and until a conditional registration certificate is issued as provided in subdivision three of this section. The individual licensee shall determine the selection of courses or programs of study pursuant to subdivision four of this section. Continuing education hours taken during one triennium may not be carried over or otherwise credited or transferred to a subsequent triennium.
3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional registration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education requirements established in subdivision two of this section but who agrees to make up any deficiencies and take any additional education which the department may require. The fee for such a conditional registration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the triennial registration. The duration of such conditional registration shall be determined by the department but shall not exceed one year. Any licensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to complete the required continued education and who continues to practice chiropractic without such registration may be subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of this title.
4. As used in this section, "acceptable formal continuing education" shall mean formal programs of learning which are sponsored or presented by a New York state chiropractic professional organization, national chiropractic professional organization or higher educational institution, and which meet the following requirements: contain subject matter which contributes to the enhancement of professional and clinical skills of the chiropractor and is approved as acceptable continuing education by a chiropractic college recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of the Council of Chiropractic Education to fulfill the mandatory continuing education requirements, and which meets the standards prescribed by regulations of the commissioner in consultation with the board to fulfill the mandatory continuing education requirement.
5. Chiropractors shall certify at each triennial registration as to having satisfied the mandatory continuing education requirements of this section, shall maintain adequate documentation of completion of acceptable formal continuing education to support such certification and shall provide such documentation to the department upon request. Failure to provide such documentation upon request of the department shall be an act of misconduct subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of this title.
6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five dollars, shall be payable on or before the first day of each triennial registration period, and shall be in addition to the triennial registration fee required by section sixty-five hundred fifty-four of this article.

§6555. Exempt persons.

Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect or prevent a student enrolled in a college of chiropractic in this state from engaging in all phases of clinical practice under supervision of a licensed chiropractor or physician in a curriculum registered by the department.

§6556. Special provisions.

1. Any chiropractor who holds a license stating that the holder is not authorized to use X-ray in his practice shall on each registration, continue to obtain a license so marked. Any chiropractor holding such a license may obtain a license permitting the use of X-ray provided he first passes an examination in the use and effect of X-ray satisfactory to the board and the department.
2. An applicant who graduated from a school of chiropractic prior to January first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight need not meet the two-year preprofessional college study requirement provided for in subdivision two of section sixty-five hundred fifty-four.