Texas Physicians Group Asks Court to Ban Chiropractors from
Certain Procedures
The
Insurance Journal
September 15, 2006
A
chiropractor is not a medical doctor, and a state agency
has no legal authority to blur the line between them,
the Texas Medical Association contends in a lawsuit
challenging recent decisions by the Texas Board of
Chiropractic Examiners (PDF).
"To
protect public safety, the Texas Constitution and state
law sharply distinguish the practice of medicine from
the activities of chiropractors and other
limited-license practitioners," said Ladon W. Homer, MD,
president of the Texas Medical Association. "The scope
of practice of allied health professionals should not
exceed what is safely permitted by their education,
training, and skills."
The lawsuit filed today specifically asks
a Travis County district court to invalidate the
Chiropractic Board's rules that would permit
chiropractors to perform clinical needle
electromyography (EMG) and spinal manipulation under
anesthesia (MUA) because both procedures constitute the
clinical and legal practice of medicine. Both procedures
can cause serious injuries to patients if they are not
performed by properly trained physicians. MUA is a
surgical procedure, and EMG is a diagnostic procedure.
Texas law
prohibits chiropractors from performing surgery or from
diagnosing physical diseases, disorders, deformities, or
injuries.
"Chiropractors have no legal right to engage in the
practice of medicine, and allowing them to do so
undermines the purposes of the Texas Medical Practice
Act; which are, in part, to set requirements for those
who wish to practice medicine, thereby safeguarding
patients who receive medical care," the lawsuit states.
"[A] chiropractor's license does not entitle that person
to practice medicine, and any law that permits him or
her to do so is unconstitutional."
EMG is
an invasive diagnostic procedure during which the
physician inserts an electrode into a patient's muscles
to diagnose the cause of neuromuscular disease ranging
from carpal tunnel syndrome to Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease).
"The
results of needle EMG are used to make critical medical
decisions regarding the need for surgery, further
testing such as MRI, medications, and the determination
of disability," the TMA lawsuit states. "Misdiagnosis
can mean delayed or inappropriate treatment (including
unnecessary surgery) and diminished quality of life for
patients."
MUA is a surgical technique chiropractors
employ supposedly to alleviate acute and chronic neck
and back pain.
Texas' chiropractic law specifically
prohibits chiropractors from performing any type of
surgical procedure.
Austin-based TMA is the largest state medical society in
the nation, representing more than 41,000 physician and
medical student members.
Source:
TMA
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