At the American Chiropractic Association's House of Delegates meeting, held during the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., state delegates voted to postpone ratification of the ACA's "Choosing Wisely" recommendations, new pledge, and new mission and value statement, while also requiring that the Board of Governors interact with the HOD to a larger extent regarding these and other ACA policies and bylaws:
We move to postpone ratification [of] Choosing Wisely, the pledge, and the mission and value statement until the next quarterly HOD meeting and direct the BOG to incorporate the appropriate findings from the deliberative session.
We move to direct the BOG to create a standing rule for consideration at the next HOD meeting that the 10-day minimum for policy review applies to emergency proposals and that there is a 30-day review for non-emergency proposals.
We move to direct the BOG to develop ongoing training and education for all members of the HOD on all bylaws and standing rules of the ACA.
While motion #2 is the most specific with regard to the ACA's recent actions regarding "Choosing Wisely," the new pledge, and new mission and value statement, the motions all appear designed to allow for greater deliberation and transparency – with a priority on delegate input – prior to the Board of Governors making policy, procedural or other decisions that impact delegates and the overall ACA membership.
The ACA's self-professed "rebranding" in recent months has proven controversial, particularly its "Choosing Wisely" recommendations regarding X-ray utilization and its pledge. The ACA commented on the "Choosing Wisely" initiative and the motion approved by delegates at the end of a press release reporting on this year's BOG elections, noting that the House of Delegates "expressed its support for the association's participation in this important initiative and also voted on a motion to review the recommendations":
"Delegates held a deliberative discussion about important issues affecting the profession, including ACA's recommendations as part of the Choosing Wisely campaign, an initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation (ABIMF). The HOD expressed its support for the association's participation in this important initiative and also voted on a motion to review the recommendations as part of the Choosing Wisely campaign's regular annual review process that will occur in June. ABIMF encourages all partner associations and societies to do an annual review of their recommendations to ensure their continued accuracy. ACA collected feedback from HOD members during the annual meeting, and additional feedback will be considered during the HOD's quarterly call in May. ACA will take these comments into consideration as it conducts its annual review in June."
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