Checking the Closet: The Value of Verification
REGULATORY CORNER
Kelly R. Webb
For chiropractors, having a skeleton in your closet isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, when you are looking to take on a partner, recruit association leadership, or evaluate educational faculty, the metaphorical skeletons can be a danger.
How do you know that the bright go-getter you are considering taking on doesn’t have a South Dakota sanction for false advertising?
Or maybe the leadership you just elected to your state association has a record of being less-than-honest with Medicare.
And what about your education? Do you feel safe earning your CE from an instructor who is no longer allowed to practice without a monitor?
There are more than 8,000 disciplined chiropractors (some no longer licensed) in the United States. Fortunately, there aie also tools to help you make educated decisions about your peers.
But where do you start?
Nearly every licensing board has an online license verification and discipline look-up available. The Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) has gathered all of those links for you on our website (visit www.fclb.org and click on “Boards”).
For example, right now, I’m going to check Vermont. With a couple of clicks to select “chiropractic” and then entering a last name to search, “Webb,” I’ve confirmed that I am not licensed to practice chiropractic in the great state of Vermont. That’s probably a good thing considering I barely passed biology for liberal arts majors.
By the same process, I can check another state and verify that my favorite FCLB board member carries a clean and active license.
Clean can be just as important as active. Most states post disciplinary information, so you can dig deeper. It’s not enough to just know that a doctor was reprimanded; the cause for discipline matters too. Maybe your new association leader forgot to renew her license on time, or your instructor was so busy teaching that he didn’t get his own CE credits submitted.
“it’s not enough to just know that a doctor was reprimanded; the cause for discipline matters too. 5*
Maybe it’s just a regulatory ding that doesn’t really make you pause. That’s great. Once you have the information, you can make an educated decision. Was it a minor oversight? Or should you rethink enrolling in that coding course with a doctor who is clearly straggling with insurance companies himself?
As a chiropractor, you know the value of information and the danger of ignorance. Your licensing board and, more importantly, your patients hold you responsible for making informed, educated, and ethical decisions about patient care. This care includes the people you employ and the education you receive. Your safest, best approach is to protect your patients, your practice, and your reputation. Stay informed.
Kelly R. Webb, MA., is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado and former writing instructor. She has worked in chiropractic testing and regulation for nearly 15 years and is currently responsible for coordinating the PACE program, developing and maintaining the FCLB websites, and for assisting with writing and correspondence needs of the Federation. (970) 356-3500 [email protected]
