TITLE 16 OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
LICENSING
CHAPTER 4 CHIROPRACTIC PRACTITIONERS
PART 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS
16.4.1.1 ISSUING AGENCY: New Mexico
Chiropractic Board, PO Box 25101, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504.
[16.4.1.1 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.1
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.2 SCOPE: All licensed
chiropractic physicians.
[16.4.1.2 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.2
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: These rules of
practice and procedure govern the practice of chiropractic in New Mexico and
are promulgated pursuant to and in accordance with the Chiropractic Physician
Practice Act, Sections 61-4-2, 61-4-4, 61-4-6, 61-4-12 and 61-4-13 NMSA 1978.
[16.4.1.3 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.3
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[16.4.1.4 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.4
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: August 10,
2019, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[16.4.1.5 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.5
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.6 OBJECTIVE: To establish
definitions, practicing without a license, annual registration displayed,
duplicate license, change of address, advertising requirements and
administrative fees. In doing so, a
board member may participate in a meeting of the board by means of a conference
telephone or other similar communications equipment when it is otherwise
difficult or impossible for the board member to attend the meeting in person,
and participation by such means shall constitute presence in person at the
meeting. When a board member
participates in a meeting by conference telephone or other similar
communications equipment, each board member participating by telephone must be able to be identified when
speaking, all participants must be able to hear each other at the same time,
and members of the public attending the meeting must be able to hear any board
member who speaks during the meeting.
[16.4.1.6 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.6
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.7 DEFINITIONS:
A. “Advertising”
means any communication whatsoever, disseminated by any means whatsoever, to or
before the public or any portion thereof, with the intent of furthering the
purpose, either directly or indirectly, of selling professional services, or
offering to perform professional services, or inducing members of the public to
enter into any obligation relating to such professional services.
B. “Application
for licensure” applicants applying for licensure in New Mexico whether by examination
or without examination must submit an application for licensure that will be
provided by the board and available of the board site.
C. “Application for licensure without
examination” applicants applying for licensure without examination are
those who have held a chiropractic license in another jurisdiction.
D. “Background
findings” the board may deny, stipulate, or otherwise limit a license if it
is determined the applicant holds or has held a license in another jurisdiction
that is not in good standing, if proceedings are pending against the applicant
in another jurisdiction, or information is received indicating the applicant is
a danger to patients or is guilty of violating any of the provisions of the
Chiropractic Physicians Practice Act, the Uniform Licensing Act, Impaired
Health Care Providers Act. The results
of the background check must either indicate no negative findings, or if there
are negative findings, those findings will be considered by the board. The board shall formally accept the approval
of the application at the next scheduled meeting.
E. “Board”
means the New Mexico chiropractic board.
F. “Chiropractic”
means the science, art and philosophy of things natural, the science of
locating and removing interference with the transmissions or expression of
nerve forces in the human body by the correction of misalignments or
subluxations of the articulations and adjacent structures, more especially
those of the vertebral column and pelvis, for the purpose of restoring and
maintaining health for treatment of human disease primarily by, but not limited
to, adjustment and manipulation of the human structure. It shall include, but
not be limited to, the prescription and administration of all natural agents in
all forms to assist in the healing act, such as food, water, heat, cold,
electricity, mechanical appliances, herbs, nutritional supplements, homeopathic
remedies and any necessary diagnostic procedure, excluding invasive procedures,
except as provided by the board by rule and regulation. It shall exclude
operative surgery and prescription or use of controlled or dangerous drugs, except as permitted by
statute and corresponding regulation.
G. “Chiropractic
adjustment” means the application of a precisely controlled force applied
by hand or by mechanical devise to a specific focal point on the anatomy for
the purpose of creating a desired angular movement in the skeletal joint
structures in order to eliminate or decrease interference with neural
transmission or to correct or attempt to correct a vertebral subluxation using,
as appropriate, short lever, high velocity, low amplitude line of correction
force to achieve the desired angular movement or neuromuscular reflex response.
H. “Chiropractic
assistant” means a person who practices under the on-premises supervision
of a licensed chiropractic physician.
I. “Chiropractic
physician” includes doctor of chiropractic, chiropractor and chiropractic
physician and means a person who practices chiropractic as defined in the
Chiropractic Physician Practice Act.
J. “Complaint/review
committee” an ad hoc committee established by the board to review all
complaints and applicants with background findings. Complaint/review committee shall consist of
one professional board member, one chiropractor with an active license for five
years in New Mexico in good standing, the board’s executive director, board’s
compliance liaison, and board’s investigator.
Recommendations regarding the complaints and licensure of the applicants
will be given to the board at its next scheduled meeting.
K. “Electronic signatures” will be acceptable for applications submitted
pursuant to Sections 14-16-1 through 14-16-19 NMSA 1978.
L. “Impairment
fee” means: that in addition to the
license renewal fee, each chiropractor subject to renewal will be assessed an
impairment fee to be set aside for the purpose of the impaired practitioners
program.
M. “Licensure
by examination” applicants applying for licensure by examination in New Mexico are
those candidates for licensure that have never held a chiropractic license in
any other jurisdiction.
N. “Mobilization”
means a non-thrusting manual therapy involving movement of a joint within its
physiological range of motion.
Mobilization is a passive movement within the physiological joint space
administered by a clinician for the purpose of increasing normalizing overall
joint range of motion.
O. “NBCE”
national board of chiropractic examiners.
P. “PACE”
providers of approved continuing education.
Q. “Pre-paid treatment plans” include any agreement between a licensee
and patient or prospective patient that includes payment or collection of money
for treatment planned, anticipated or held in reserve to occur or potentially
occur more than 14 days following the payment or collection of those monies.
R. “Spinal
manipulation or articular manipulation” means the application of a direct
thrust or leverage to move a joint of the spine or extremity articulation to
the paraphysiologic end range movement but without exceeding the limits of
anatomical integrity.
S. “Vertebral
subluxation” means a complex of functional, structural or pathological
articular changes, or combination thereof, that compromise articular junction,
neural integrity and may adversely influence organ system function or general
health and well-being.
[16.4.1.7 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.7
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.8 PRACTICING WITHOUT A LICENSE: The practice
of chiropractic without a license will constitute grounds to refuse an
applicant the right to sit the examination or to be granted a license, and may be prosecuted as
a misdemeanor as a first offense fourth degree felony for a second offense.
[16.4.1.8 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.8
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.9 ANNUAL REGISTRATION DISPLAYED: A copy of the
license and certificate of annual registration shall at all times be displayed
conspicuously in the office of the practitioner to whom it has been issued.
[16.4.1.9 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.9
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.10 DUPLICATE LICENSE: A duplicate
license may be granted by the board to any practitioner upon proof of loss of
the original license or an affidavit of need and payment of a fee as set forth
in Subsection A of 16.4.1.13 NMAC.
[16.4.1.10 NMAC - Rp,
16.4.1.10 NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.11 CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Any licensed
chiropractor that changes their office or residence address must notify the
board in writing within 15 days.
[16.4.1.11 NMAC - Rp,
16.4.1.11 NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.12 [RESERVED]
[16.4.1.12 NMAC - Rp,
16.4.1.12 NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.13 [RESERVED]
[16.4.1.13 NMAC - Rp,
16.4.1.13 NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.14 INSPECTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS: The board
operates in compliance with the Inspection of Public Records Act Sections
14-2-1 through 14-2-12 NMSA 1978. The
board administrator is the custodial of the board's records.
[16.4.1.14 NMAC - Rp,
16.4.1.14 NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.15 MALPRACTICE INSURANCE: Chiropractic
physicians shall maintain continuous malpractice insurance coverage in amounts
equal to or greater than the amounts defined in the Medical Malpractice Act Paragraph
(1) of Subsection A of 41-5-5 NMSA 1978.
[16.4.1.15 NMAC - Rp, 16.4.1.15
NMAC 8/10/2019]
16.4.1.16 PRE-PAID TREATMENT PLANS: Chiropractic
physicians accepting pre-payment for services planned but not yet delivered
must:
A. Establish
an escrow account to hold all pre-payment funds.
(1) Funds may be removed from the escrow account following the
delivery of services in such amounts equal to the chiropractors usual and
customary charges for like services with any discounted percentage contained in
the pre-paid agreement for the contracted treatment plan.
(2) Funds received in advance of the day services are
delivered must be deposited into the escrow account in a timely manner.
B. The
patient's file must contain the proposed treatment plan including enumeration
of all aspects of evaluation, management and treatment planned to
therapeutically benefit the patient relative to the condition determined to be
present and necessitating treatment.
(1) The patient's financial file must contain documents
outlining any necessary procedures for refunding unused payment amounts in the
event that either the patient or the doctor discharge the others services or
therapeutic association.
(2) The treatment plan in such cases were prepayment is
contracted must contain beginning and ending dates and a proposed breakdown of
the proposed treatment frequency, types of modalities and procedures included
in the contracted treatment and methods of evaluating the patients progress or
serial outcome assessment plan and method of recording or assessing patient
satisfaction.
C. A
contract for services and consent of treatment document must be maintained in
the patient's file that specifies the condition for which the treatment plan is
formulated, prognosis and alternate treatment options.
D. The
chiropractic physician is responsible for providing all treatment appropriate
and necessary to address and manage the condition including unforeseen
exacerbations or aggravations, within the chiropractic physicians licensure,
that may occur during the course of time for which the contract is active. This does not include alternative services
procured by the patient or treatment by providers other than the treating
chiropractor or those under the chiropractors direct supervision.
E. If
nutritional products or other hard goods including braces, supports or patient
aids are to be used during the proposed treatment plan the patient documents
must state whether these items are included in the gross treatment costs or if
they constitute a separate and distinct service and fee.
[16.4.1.16 NMAC - Rp,
16.4.1.16 NMAC 8/10/2019]
HISTORY OF 16.4.1 NMAC:
Pre-NMAC History: The material in this part was derived from
that previously filed with the State Records Center and Archives under:
BCE 69-1, Board Rules and
Regulations, filed 9/30/1969.
BCE 69-1, Rule 10, Relating
to Unethical Advertising, filed 1/31/1972.
BCE 80-2, Relating to
Unethical Advertising, filed 8/19/1980.
Rule 2-87, Practicing Without
a License, filed 1/28/1987.
Rule 3-87, Annual
Registration Displayed, filed 1/28/1987.
Rule 10-87, Advertisements, filed
1/28/1987.
Rule 4-87, Duplicate License,
filed 1/28/1987.
Rule 6-87, Change of Address,
filed 1/28/1987.
Rule 10-93 Advertising, filed
2/3/1993.
Rule 10-93 Advertising, filed
10/1/1993.
Rule 19-95, Administrative
Fees, filed 2/20/1995.
Rule 19-95, Administrative
Fees, filed 3/31/1995.
History of Repealed
Material:
16.4.1 NMAC, Chiropractic
Practitioners - General Provisions filed 7/20/2012, Repealed effective 8/10/2019.
Other History:
Rule 19-95, Administrative
Fees (filed 3/31/1995) renumbered, reformatted, and amended to 16 NMAC 4.1,
Chiropractic Practitioners, General Provisions, effective 11/16/1997.
16 NMAC 4.1, Chiropractic
Practitioners, General Provisions (filed 10/17/1997) renumbered, reformatted,
amended and replaced by 16.4.1 NMAC, Chiropractic Practitioners, General
Provisions, effective 1/15/2005.
16.4.1 NMAC, Chiropractic
Practitioners - General Provisions filed 7/20/2012 was replaced by 16.4.1 NMAC,
Chiropractic Practitioners - General Provisions effective 8/10/2019.