05 LC 28
2173
Senate
Bill 184
By: Senators Unterman of the 45th, Cagle of the 49th, Henson of the 41st, Shafer of the 48th and Butler of the 55th
By: Senators Unterman of the 45th, Cagle of the 49th, Henson of the 41st, Shafer of the 48th and Butler of the 55th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 9 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to chiropractors, so as to provide definitions; to provide for the scope of
practice; to increase the penalty for improper practice; to provide for related
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
9 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
chiropractors, is amended by striking Code Section 43_9_1, relating to
definitions, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 43_9_1 to read as
follows:
"43_9_1.
As
used in this chapter, the term:
(1)
'Board' means the Georgia Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
(2)
'Chiropractic' means the adjustment of the
articulation
articulations
of the human body, including ilium, sacrum, and
coccyx, and
the use of electric X_ray photography, provided that the X_ray shall not be used
for therapeutical purposes. The term
'chiropractic' shall also mean that separate and distinct branch of the healing
arts whose science and art utilize the inherent recuperative powers of the body
and the relationship between the
musculoskeletal
structures
skeletal
structures and
functions
of the body, articularly of the spinal
column
related
muscular and soft tissue components and
their
relationship to the nervous system, in the
restoration and maintenance of health. Chiropractic is a learned profession
which teaches that the relationship between structure and function in the human
body is a significant health factor and that such relationships between the
spinal column and the nervous system are most significant, since the normal
transmission and expression of nerve energy are essential to the restoration and
maintenance of health.
However,
the term 'chiropractic' shall not include the use of drugs or
surgery. The adjustment referred to in
this paragraph and subsection (b) of Code Section 43_9_16 may only be
administered by a doctor of chiropractic authorized to do so by the provisions
of this
chapter;
provided, however, that the provisions of this Code section shall not prevent
any other health care provider from administering techniques authorized within
their scope of practice.
(3)
'Health certificate' means a certification of physical examination in sickness,
health, or disability including reports for absence from employment or school or
from participation in sports activities.
(4)
The 'practice of chiropractic' incorporates the fact that doctors of
chiropractic evaluate and facilitate biomechanical and neurobiological function
and integrity with a focus on subluxation and, as direct access health care
providers, employ the education, knowledge, diagnostic skill, and clinical
judgment necessary to determine appropriate chiropractic care and management.
Chiropractic analysis and diagnosis may include the use of x_rays, physical
examination, noninvasive instrumentation, and laboratory procedures in order to
determine a regimen of chiropractic care, to monitor response to care, or to
form a basis for referral of patients to other licensed health care
professionals. The 'practice of chiropractic' shall also include a peer review
as defined as the procedure by which chiropractors licensed in the State of
Georgia evaluate the quality and efficiency of services ordered or performed by
other chiropractors, including, but not limited to, practice analysis, audit,
claims review, underwriting assistance, and compliance with applicable laws,
rules, and regulations.
(5)
'Subluxation' means a complex of functional or pathological articular changes
that compromise neutral integrity and may influence organ system function and
general health. A subluxation is evaluated, diagnosed, and managed through the
use of chiropractic procedures based on the best available rational and
empirical
evidence."
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended by striking Code Section 43_9_16, relating to scope
of practice, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 43_9_16 to read as
follows:
"43_9_16.
(a)
Chiropractors who have complied with this chapter shall have the right to
practice chiropractic as defined in paragraph
(2)(4)
of Code Section 43_9_1 and to adjust patients according to specific chiropractic
methods in
order to correct spinal subluxations or to adjust the articulations of the human
body. Chiropractors shall observe
all
applicable public health
regulations.
(b)
The chiropractic adjustment of
the
spinal
subluxations or articulations of the human
body may include manual adjustments and adjustments by means of electrical and
mechanical devices which produce
traction,
or
vibration, or
impulse.
Chiropractors
During the
management of a case, in addition to adjustments of the skeletal structure or
structures, chiropractors who have
complied with this chapter may also use
in
conjunction with adjustments of the spinal
structures
or directly
supervise the use of electrical
therapeutic modalities which induce heat or electrical current beneath the skin,
including, but
not limited to, therapeutic ultrasound,
galvanism,
interferential,
hydrotherapy, microwave, diathermy, and
electromuscular stimulation. Chiropractors who have complied with this chapter
may utilize and recommend hot and cold
packs,
exercise, myofascial therapy, massage, vitamins, minerals, food supplements,
rehabilitative procedures, and
nonprescription,
over_the_counter structural supports for
the articulations of the human body
which are
commonly available through retail pharmacy
outlets; provided, however, the same shall
not be construed to allow chiropractors to treat patients outside the scope of
practice of chiropractic as set forth in this chapter.
(c)
Chiropractors who have complied with this chapter may utilize those electric
therapeutic modalities described in subsection (b) of this Code section,
provided
that
the chiropractor shall have completed a course of study containing a minimum of
120 hours of instruction in the proper utilization of those procedures in
accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Council on Chiropractic
Education or its successor and is qualified and so certified in that proper
utilization.
(d)
Chiropractors who have complied with this chapter shall have the right to sign
health certificates, reporting to the proper health officers the same as other
practitioners.
(e)
Chiropractors who have complied with this chapter may order laboratory tests,
urinalysis, and diagnostic imaging and neurodiagnostic studies as
indicated.
(e)(f)
Chiropractors shall not prescribe or administer medicine to patients, perform
surgery, or practice obstetrics or osteopathy.
(f)(g)
Chiropractors
shall not use venipuncture, capillary puncture, acupuncture, or any other
technique which is invasive of the human body either by penetrating the skin or
through any of the orifices of the body or through the use of
colonics.
The practice
of chiropractic as defined in this chapter shall not include venipuncture,
acupuncture, colonic irrigation, rectal examinations, gynecological
examinations, injecting of dyes or radioactive materials for radiological or
imaging procedures, lumbar puncture, treatment of cancer, or therapeutic
X_ray. Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to prohibit a chiropractor who is licensed to perform acupuncture
under Article 3 of Chapter 34 of this title from engaging in the practice of
acupuncture.
(g)(h)
A person professing to practice chiropractic for compensation must bring to the
exercise of that person´s profession a reasonable degree of care and skill.
Any injury resulting from a want of such care and skill shall be a tort for
which a recovery may be had.
If a
chiropractor performs upon a patient any act authorized to be so performed under
this chapter but which act also constitutes a standard procedure of the practice
of medicine, including but not limited to the use of modalities such as those
described in subsection (b) of this Code section and X_rays, under similar
circumstances the chiropractor shall be held to the same standard of care as
would licensed doctors of medicine who are qualified to and who actually perform
those acts under similar conditions and like circumstances.
(h)(i)
A licensed practitioner of chiropractic may use only the title 'chiropractor,'
or 'doctor of chiropractic,' or 'D.C.'
(i)
Chiropractors who have complied with this chapter may recommend the use of
vitamins, minerals, or food supplements. Any such recommendation of vitamins,
minerals, or food supplements shall not be construed to allow chiropractors to
treat patients outside the scope of the practice of chiropractic as set forth in
this chapter nor shall this subsection be construed to allow chiropractors to
sell at a profit any such vitamins, minerals, or food supplements without
providing their generic name. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude
compliance with Chapter 8 of Title 48, relating to the collection of sales and
use
taxes."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended by striking Code Section 43_9_19, relating to
penalties, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 43_9_19 to read as
follows:
"43_9_19.
It
shall be unlawful for any person to practice chiropractic unless that person
shall have first obtained a license as provided in this chapter and possesses
all the qualifications prescribed by the terms of this chapter. Any person who
practices or attempts to practice chiropractic without a license, or who buys or
fraudulently obtains a license to practice chiropractic, or who violates any of
the terms of this chapter, or who uses the title 'doctor of chiropractic,'
'chiropractor,' 'chiropractic,' 'D.C.,' or any word or title to induce the
belief that such a person is engaged in the practice of chiropractic, without
first complying with this chapter, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500.00 nor
more than
$1,000.00
$5,000.00,
or by imprisonment for not less than two nor more than five years, or both, at
the discretion of the court. All subsequent offenses shall be separate and
distinct offenses, and punishable in like
manner."
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.