Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards

76th Educational Conference & Annual Meeting

April 30-May 5, 2002Chicago, Illinois

Focus Presentation

“Guidelines and Resources for Regulating Chiropractic

Consultants”

Co-Presenter

Robert B. Honigsfeld, D.C.• President, American Board of

Chiropractic Consultants• Executive Director-Community Outreach

and Special Projects, Parker College of Chiropractic

• Private Practice, Dallas, Texas• Board Certified Chiropractic Consultant,

Orthopedist & Quality Assurance and Utilization Review

Co-Presenter

Charles Herring, D.C.• Board Member, American Board of

Chiropractic Consultants• Past Member, Louisiana Board of

Chiropractic Examiners• Former State Representative,

Louisiana Legislature, 1988-1992• Private Practice, Baton Rouge, La

Focus Topics

History and Organizational Structure of the American Board of Chiropractic Consultants (ABCC)

Certification Requirements Guidelines for Regulating

Chiropractic Consultants: Code of Conduct & Ethics

But first…..I have 3 Questions for you to consider…

(1) Assuming that in your state, insurance carriers have been mandated by their regulatory agency(ies) to perform due diligence pertaining to utilization review and cost containment… who do you want to look at, review and make recommendations on the medical/chiropractic necessity of services provided to chiropractic patients…

MD’s?? RN’s??? Your Peers??

(2) Assuming that you prefer to have peer review performed, what should be the qualifications of those DC’s- to include educational and work/clinical experience-who are acting in a “consulting” fashion in your state?

(3) And finally…which regulatory agency in your state should deal with any improprieties that may occur in the course of these “consulting” activities and what, if any, guidelines are established that address issues of standard of care, code of conduct and code of ethics, as they pertain to peer review, IME’s, utilization review and expert witness testimony?

History & Organizational Structure of the ABCC

1970’s brought together several Board Certified chiropractors in the areas of Radiology and Orthopedics who were also involved in the area of consulting to third parties, i.e., insurance companies, independent review organizations, chiropractors,etc

Many of these doctors also served on their respective state licensing Boards and held positions in their state and national chiropractic organizations

American College of Chiropractic Consultants

Chartered in 1980 as a non-profit organization, the ACCC provides educational forums and disseminates information to its membership and other interested parties regarding trends and the role of chiropractic consulting.

American Board of Chiropractic Consultants

Also, in 1980, the ABCC was founded as a non-profit organization for the express purpose of establishing educational criteria and certification parameters for the practice of chiropractic consulting

ABCC

Chiropractic consulting which focus on:• peer/utilization review

• paper review• independent medical/chiropractic exam

• quality assurance• standard of care issues

ABCC

Goal:To identify the tasks and

define the knowledge required of the chiropractic consultant To provide a valid mechanism for testing competency in this highly specialized and well defined field

ABCC

5 Doctors of Chiropractic who have achieved Diplomate status from the ABCC

Appointed by the Executive Committee of the ACCC

President/ Robert B. Honigsfeld Vice-Pres./ Thomas Coppelli Sec/Treasurer/ Dianne Haydon

ABCC

Member/ Charles Herring Member/ Robert King Immediate Past President/ William

Tellin Standing Committees:

• Educational Committee• Examination Committee• Policies & Procedures Committee

ABCC

Operational revenues for the ABCC are generated from:• Application fees• Examination fees• Re-certification fees• grant from the ACCC

ABCC

The ABCC has complete administrative independence regarding finances, election of officers and the certification process in accordance with the standards set forth by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.

ABCC

The ABCC is a member of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) and utilizes the standards set forth by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.

Certification Requirements

(1) Postgraduate Education --a minimum of 300 hours in areas such as:• peer/utilization review and expert

opinion• scientific literature review and critique• outcome assessment• disability and impairment rating

• Clinical assessment, laboratory and diagnostic imaging

• rehabilitation and physical medicine modalities/procedures

• For additional information on the educational requirements:

www.accc-chiro.com/diplomat.html

(2) Experience• minimum of 5 years clinical

experience• active chiropractic license

(3) Examination• A written certifying examination tests

knowledge in various areas related to chiropractic consulting including:• clinical record/case review• expert opinion/testimony• report writing• clinical care guidelines and quality

assurance

(4) Re-certification36 hours of postgraduate

continuing education every three years, in the field of chiropractic consulting, is required to maintain active status with the ABCC.

To date, the ABCC has conferred Diplomate status to 116 Doctors of Chiropractic throughout the United States and Canada

Guidelines & Resources for Regulating Chiropractic

Consultants

Code of Conductand

Code of Ethics