There has been, and continues to be, a great deal of pressure on the chiropractic profession to create and maintain its own clinical practice guidelines. After the publication of the Mercy Guidelines, there was a definite call from the profession to not only review those guidelines, but to involve field practitioners to a much greater degree in the guidelines.
Heeding this call was the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA), which formed the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters (CCGPP). Because the Congress manages a coalition of 50 chiropractic state associations, the Congress was the logical body to establish the council. The Congress' goal was to include every major organization in chiropractic, with a strong emphasis on field practitioners. Over 50 percent of the CCGPP's board of directors are in full time chiropractic practice. The current board members are:
John Pammer, DC American Chiropractic Association (ACA) Representative
Reed Phillips, DC, PhD Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) Representative
Kurt Hegetschweiler, DC Consortium on Chiropractic Research (CCR) Representative
Carl Cleveland III, DC Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) Representative
Gerard Clum, DC Foundation for the Advancement of Chiropractic Tenets and Science (FACTS) Representative
George McClelland, DC Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) Representative
Meredith Bakke, DC Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) Representative
Christopher Kent, DC International Chiropractors Association (ICA) Representative
Donald Petersen Jr.
Consumer Representative
Paul Lambert, JD National Association of Chiropractic Attorneys (NACA) Representative
Arlan Fuhr, DC National Institute of Chiropractic Research (NICR) Representative
Richard Flaherty
Chiropractic Vendor Representative
Kenneth Harling, DC
COCSA -- District One Representative
Charles Herring, DC
COCSA -- District Three Representative
Larry Lubcke, DC
COCSA -- District Five Representative
Leonard Suiter, DC
COCSA -- District Two Representative
Harold Tondera, DC
COCSA -- District Four Representative
Rick McMichael, DC
COCSA General Representative
The CCGPP is soliciting names of researchers who would like to serve as members of the research commission. The commission will consist of at least 15 researchers. The research commission will then select three of its members to fill the last three positions on the CCGPP board of directors. The board will total 21 members.
The CCGPP organizational meeting took place in St. Louis, Missouri April 1-2, 1995. With the exception of Christopher Kent, DC, and Rick Flaherty, all of the above directors attended. Ronald Kirk, DC, acting chairman of Clinical Sciences at Life Chiropractic College represented the ICA in Dr. Kent's absence.
At the St. Louis meeting the articles of incorporation and by-laws were reviewed and approved. The board also elected its first slate of officers:
Chairman: Rick McMichaels, DC
Vice Chairman: Carl Cleveland, III, DC
Treasurer: Charles Herring, DC
Secretary: Donald Petersen Jr.
Exec. Committee Member: Gerard Clum, DC
Newly elected Chairman McMichaels had this to say about the new organization:
"It was heartening to see individuals from so many facets of the profession meet and work together so well. Doctors of chiropractic nationwide need to know that they are well represented by the field practitioners on this council board of directors. The education and research communities are also represented, with legal, vendor and public representatives rounding out the board. The new board of directors has set the review of existing guidelines, including the Mercy Guidelines, as its first priority. Commission members must now be selected to begin that task. With the oversight of this new council, we will strive to develop credible guidelines and parameters to assist the doctor of chiropractic in administering the highest quality of health care possible."
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