Federation of
Chiropractic Licensing
Boards
76th Educational
Conference & Annual
Meeting
April 30-May 5, 2002
Chicago, Illinois
Focus Presentation
“Guidelines and
Resources for
Regulating Chiropractic
Consultants”
Co-Presenter

Robert B. Honigsfeld, D.C.
• President, American Board of
Chiropractic Consultants
• Executive Director-Community
Outreach and Special Projects,
Parker College of Chiropractic
• Private Practice, Dallas, Texas
• Board Certified Chiropractic
Consultant, Orthopedist & Quality
Assurance and Utilization Review
Co-Presenter

Charles Herring, D.C.
• Board Member, American Board of
Chiropractic Consultants
• Past Member, Louisiana Board of
Chiropractic Examiners
• Former State Representative,
Louisiana Legislature, 1988-1992
• Private Practice, Baton Rouge, La
Focus Topics

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History and Organizational
Structure of the American
Board of Chiropractic
Consultants (ABCC)
Certification Requirements
Guidelines for Regulating
Chiropractic Consultants: Code
of Conduct & Ethics
But first…..I have 3
Questions for you to
consider…




(1) Assuming that in your state, insurance
carriers have been mandated by their
regulatory agency(ies) to perform due
diligence pertaining to utilization review
and cost containment… who do you want
to look at, review and make
recommendations on the
medical/chiropractic necessity of services
provided to chiropractic patients…
MD’s??
RN’s???
Your Peers??

(2) Assuming that you prefer to
have peer review performed,
what should be the
qualifications of those DC’s- to
include educational and
work/clinical experience-who
are acting in a “consulting”
fashion in your state?

(3) And finally…which regulatory
agency in your state should deal
with any improprieties that may
occur in the course of these
“consulting” activities and what, if
any, guidelines are established that
address issues of standard of care,
code of conduct and code of ethics,
as they pertain to peer review, IME’s,
utilization review and expert witness
testimony?
History & Organizational
Structure of the ABCC

1970’s brought together several
Board Certified chiropractors in
the areas of Radiology and
Orthopedics who were also
involved in the area of
consulting to third parties, i.e.,
insurance companies,
independent review
organizations, chiropractors,etc

Many of these doctors also
served on their respective state
licensing Boards and held
positions in their state and
national chiropractic
organizations
American College of
Chiropractic
Consultants

Chartered in 1980 as a nonprofit organization, the ACCC
provides educational forums
and disseminates information to
its membership and other
interested parties regarding
trends and the role of
chiropractic consulting.
American Board of
Chiropractic
Consultants

Also, in 1980, the ABCC was
founded as a non-profit
organization for the express
purpose of establishing
educational criteria and
certification parameters for the
practice of chiropractic
consulting
ABCC

Chiropractic consulting which
focus on:
• peer/utilization review
• paper review
• independent medical/chiropractic
exam
• quality assurance
• standard of care issues
ABCC

Goal:
To identify the tasks and
define the knowledge required
of the chiropractic consultant
To provide a valid mechanism
for testing competency in this
highly specialized and well
defined field
ABCC

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
5 Doctors of Chiropractic who
have achieved Diplomate status
from the ABCC
Appointed by the Executive
Committee of the ACCC
President/ Robert B. Honigsfeld
Vice-Pres./ Thomas Coppelli
Sec/Treasurer/ Dianne Haydon
ABCC


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Member/ Charles Herring
Member/ Robert King
Immediate Past President/
William Tellin
Standing Committees:
• Educational Committee
• Examination Committee
• Policies & Procedures Committee
ABCC

Operational revenues for the
ABCC are generated from:
•
•
•
•
Application fees
Examination fees
Re-certification fees
grant from the ACCC
ABCC

The ABCC has complete
administrative independence
regarding finances, election of
officers and the certification
process in accordance with the
standards set forth by the
National Commission for
Certifying Agencies.
ABCC

The ABCC is a member of the
National Organization for
Competency Assurance (NOCA)
and utilizes the standards set
forth by the National
Commission for Certifying
Agencies.
Certification
Requirements

(1) Postgraduate Education
--a minimum of 300 hours in
areas such as:
• peer/utilization review and expert
opinion
• scientific literature review and
critique
• outcome assessment
• disability and impairment rating
• Clinical assessment, laboratory
and diagnostic imaging
• rehabilitation and physical
medicine modalities/procedures
• For additional information on the
educational requirements:
www.accc-chiro.com/diplomat.html

(2) Experience
• minimum of 5 years clinical
experience
• active chiropractic license

(3) Examination
• A written certifying examination
tests knowledge in various areas
related to chiropractic consulting
including:
• clinical record/case review
• expert opinion/testimony
• report writing
• clinical care guidelines and quality
assurance

(4) Re-certification
36 hours of postgraduate
continuing education every
three years, in the field of
chiropractic consulting, is
required to maintain active
status with the ABCC.

To date, the ABCC has
conferred Diplomate status to
116 Doctors of Chiropractic
throughout the United States
and Canada
Guidelines & Resources
for Regulating
Chiropractic Consultants
Code of Conduct
and
Code of Ethics