160 Quebec DCs Continue Fight for Their Rights
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Dynamic Chiropractic – October 20, 2003, Vol. 21, Issue 22

Quebec DCs Continue Fight for Their Rights

By Editorial Staff
In the April 21 issue, we reported that Quebec chiropractors had been stripped of their ability to diagnose patients and order laboratory tests.1 The superior court ruling was handed down after a two-year battle that pitted the Quebec Chiropractors Association (Association des Chiropracticiens du Québec- ACQ) and the Association of Students in Chiropractic (Université duQuébec á Trois-Riviéres - ASC/UQTR) against the Officedes Professions du Québec (OPQ), a governmental agency responsiblefor protecting the public and overseeing training standards.

The Canadian Federation of Chiropractic Regulatory Boards (CFCRB) has announced it is joining the fight against the Quebec government to reverse the law, so that diagnosis will once again be included in a chiropractor's scope of practice. In a press release, Dr. Wanda Lee MacPhee, CFCRB president, issued the following statement: "The CFCRB is pleased to join with the Ordredes Chiropracticiens du Québec (Quebec Order of Chiropractors - QOC) and other interested organizations in supporting the request for an amendment to the Chiropractic Act by the Quebec government to expressly include diagnosis of neuromusculoskeletal disorders."2

Dr. MacPhee met with Richard L. Cole, DC, president of the U.S. Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) and Dr. Normand Denis, QOC president, on Sept. 18 in Montreal, to discuss the current situation and survey the practice of diagnosis among chiropractors in Quebec, Canada and the United States. The panel convened as part of the "Quebec Chiropractic Workshop," Sept. 19-21, in which "Chiropractic Diagnosis Imaging at the Service of the Population" was the main theme.3

Drs. MacPhee, Cole and Denis agree that Quebec should adopt a law aligned with those of the United States and other Canadian provinces, whose governments permit doctors of chiropractic to diagnose and order lab tests.

"For 108 years, since the beginning of chiropractic treatment, the diagnosis of neuromuscularskeletal deficiencies has been central to the scientific and clinical development of our profession," said Dr. Denis. "Today, over 66,000 chiropractors in the USA and Canada provide treatment for millions of patients each year and, obviously, to do this they make chiropractic diagnoses."3

Dr. Cole agrees that there is no point in having Quebec chiropractors excluded from diagnosing patients when it is legal in the rest of Canada and the U.S. "Chiropractors receive full training in diagnosis, and this indeed is a requirement for recognition by Canadian and U.S. accrediting bodies," he said.4

References

  1. Sacre Bleu! Judge rules against chiropractic. Quebec DCs lose right to diagnose, order lab tests. Dynamic Chiropractic, April 21, 2003. www.chiroweb.com/archives/21/09/26.html
  2. Statement by the Canadian Federation of Chiropractic Regulatory Boards regarding the campaign to include diagnosis in the Quebec Chiropractic Act, Dr. Wanda Lee MacPhee, president. Canada News Wire, Sept. 18, 2003.
  3. Chiropractors - Quebec law should be speedily harmonized with Canadian and U.S. legislation. Canada News Wire, Sept. 18, 2003.
  4. Chiropractic diagnosis an integral part of all health legislation in the USA. Canada News Wire, Sept. 18, 2003.

Dynamic Chiropractic editorial staff members research, investigate and write articles for the publication on an ongoing basis. To contact the Editorial Department or submit an article of your own for consideration, email .

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