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The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) today voiced strong opposition to American Medical Association (AMA) Resolution 232, which advocates the use of state legislation to make it a felony for non-MDs/DOs to misrepresent one’s self as a “physician.” Under federal statute, all doctors of chiropractic are considered physicians in Medicare and doctors of chiropractic are legally deemed chiropractic physicians in an overwhelming majority of states.

ACA President Glenn Manceaux, DC, said the resolution serves only to discount the education of non-MD health professionals and will stifle competition within the health care marketplace.

“The members of our Association are deeply concerned about the AMA’s most recent attempt to undermine the legitimate education and training of doctors of chiropractic as well as other health care providers,” Dr. Manceaux said. “It is not the role of organized medicine to regulate the titles and terminology used by other providers; it is the responsibility of federal and state legislators to bestow the title of ‘physician.’  As a trade association, the AMA is clearly overstepping its bounds.”

Within the chiropractic profession, concern also exists that supporters of the resolution are acting in their own self-interest at the expense of consumers, and that the new policy statement could jeopardize the inter-referral relationships many allied health providers—including doctors of chiropractic—have developed with their MD-counterparts.

“At a time when health care costs are soaring, Americans deserve nothing less than an efficient health care system in which the contributions of all types of health care providers work in tandem to best meet the needs of our patients,” Dr. Manceaux noted.

Resolution 232 was introduced during the AMA’s House of Delegates meeting.  First brought forth by the Illinois delegation, the original resolution stated that the terms “doctor,” “resident,” and “residency” should be restricted for use only by medical doctors and it requested that these terms be protected through legislative efforts.  The resolution was amended, however, to encourage state legislation to protect the term “physician” and to note that the AMA supports efforts on a state level to limit the term to MDs/DOs.

To help combat this new attack on chiropractic, ACA is a member of the PARCA coalition—a group of 800,000 non-MD providers—that will seek to successfully modify or defeat any legislative efforts launched as a result of this resolution. The diverse coalition includes groups such as the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the American Optometric Association.

ACA is also a member of the Coalition for Patients’ Rights (CPR), which consists of 35 organizations representing a variety of licensed health care professionals. CPR seeks to counter efforts by the AMA Scope of Practice initiative that is designed to limit patients’ choice of health practitioners.

ACA advises all chiropractic state associations to be aware of this legislative initiative and to monitor action at their state capitol for movement in this area. For more information, visit ACA’s Web site at www.acatoday.org, or contact the association’s department of government relations at gr@acatoday.org.