House of Delegates Approves, Updates Policies at 2017 Annual Meeting

The ACA House of Delegates (HOD) took action on several policy resolutions, new and old, at its 2017 annual meeting March 17-18 in Washington, D.C., which was held in conjunction with DC2017 this year.

In addition to passing a new resolution on the adoption of low back pain guidelines from the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters (CCGPP), delegates conducted a scheduled review of previous ACA policies, reaffirming their status in some cases and making updates and revisions, as needed, for others. In addition, a number of the policies were retired entirely whereas several others were retired and relocated to the ACA website where they still serve as valuable guidance for ACA members.

To see a complete listing of current ACA policies, click here. For questions about policies, email [email protected].

Following is a summary of the actions taken:

Approved

Adoption of Low Back Pain Treatment Guidelines

The policy states: “The American Chiropractic Association adopts, but is not limited to, the Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American College of Physicians as current best practices for the treatment and management of low back pain.

“The American Chiropractic Association encourages the use of chiropractic-specific guidelines in conjunction with the Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American College of Physicians and therefore also adopts, but is not limited to, the clinical practice guideline from the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters (CCGPP), to provide specific guidance in the management or co-management of a patient within a chiropractic office.”

Reaffirmed

Primary Care Provider

The policy states: “Doctors of chiropractic are well trained to provide primary care services. Chiropractic physicians/doctors of chiropractic have pioneered conservative health care and has been the leading provider of these essential services that are safe and effective. Chiropractic health care enjoys high patient satisfaction, and outcomes that may control costs, enhance the primary care setting and the health of the American people.”

Revised

Case Management Terminology (formerly titled Stages of Care)

The policy states: “The ACA adopts the standard of case management terminology as described in the paper ‘Consensus terminology for stages of care: Acute, chronic, recurrent, and wellness Dehen M.D., Whalen W.M., Farabaugh R.J., Hawk C. (2010) Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 33 (6), pp. 458-463.’”

Evidence-Based Practice in Chiropractic Management (revised by combining two previous policies: Evidenced-based Medicine and Best Practices and Fraudulent Cures)

The policy states: “The ACA supports the principles of evidence-based practice, which incorporates current best evidence with patient values and the clinician expertise in all aspects of clinical care of human conditions with the focus on greatest patient benefit, and, therefore, be it resolved, that the ACA supports evidence-based practice, and is opposed to any practice that is unscientific, lacks biologic plausibility, or that does not place patient benefit at the forefront.”

Informed Consent (formerly Informed Consent Policy)

The policy states: “The ACA maintains that ACA members should obtain informed consent with each patient and that this practice should be consistent with state law and accepted standards of care.”

Infection Control in the Chiropractic Office (formerly Hygienic Recommendations for the Chiropractic Office)

The policy states: “The ACA maintains that all ACA members should implement best practices in infection control in accordance with the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) (https://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/pubs.html) as applicable to chiropractic practice, and the ACA maintains that all ACA members should educate their patients and staff to engage in simple practices that prevent the spread of pathogens in order to promote better health and wellness for patients, staff, and doctors.”

Retired

Delegates voted to retire policies based on outdated information or in an effort to consolidate information under other existing policies. In several cases, policies were retired because delegates determined the information would be better presented as guidance on the ACA website (not official policy) and therefore could be more quickly and easily updated as new information becomes available. Following is a list of ACA policies that were retired:

  • Ionic Footbaths — retired
  • CPT — retired
  • Condition-based Model — retired
  • CPT Audit — retired as a policy but continues to exist as guidance in the Coding Policy section of the ACA website
  • Kinesiotaping — retired as a policy but continues to exist as guidance in the Coding Policy section of the ACA website
  • TENS Units — retired as a policy but continues to exist as guidance in the Coding Policy section of the ACA website
  • Time-based Codes — retired as a policy but continues to exist as guidance in the Coding Policy section of the ACA website
  • Pre-Payment Arrangements — retired as a policy but continues to exist as guidance in the Ethical Practice section of the ACA website
  • Mobile Diagnostic Services — retired as a policy but continues to exist as guidance in the Ethical Practice section of the ACA website

Bylaws

During the annual meeting, delegates also approved changes to the ACA bylaws to facilitate creation of:

The American Board of Chiropractic Pediatrics

The ACA Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics (ABCP) will serve as the certifying arm of the ACA Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics (CCP-ACA), which, since its establishment, has had the goal of providing advanced education and certification in the chiropractic specialty of pediatrics. Formation of the ABCP is the first step in advancing that goal.

State Affiliate Agreement with the New Mexico Chiropractic Association

The ACA State Affiliation Program enables ACA and states to work together on items of mutual interest and concern. The organizations provide materials and guidance to one another, as necessary. New Mexico joins the following state associations already participating in the program: Connecticut, Indiana, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.