WSCA Announcements By WSCA Staff
At its strategic planning retreat in May, the WSCA Board of Directors adopted the following unrelated bylaw amendment and position statement.
Bylaw Amendment
WSCA Bylaw Section 4(A) is amended as follows. The new verbiage appears in red:
Active Membership Qualification Any person lawfully practicing chiropractic in the State of Washington may be appointed to active membership with full voting rights and, if otherwise qualified, to hold elected office within the Corporation, provided that the applicant: (1) is approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors; (2) is not currently charged with, or under investigation for, any criminal act; and (3) has no history, criminal or otherwise, involving acts of moral turpitude, dishonesty, or other actions contradictory to the mission or purposes of the Corporation.
The amended verbiage previously read “licensed to practice.” Although a relatively minor change, it was made because the previous version excluded from active membership all chiropractors who are licensed elsewhere, but practicing in Washington exclusively as employees of the federal government. As the Veterans Administration expands chiropractic care in its Washington facilities, we anticipate more similarly situated DCs coming here and we want to make sure they have equal rights and representation in the association.
Position Statement
The WSCA has been made aware of a growing trend that will jeopardize the licensure of individual chiropractors and harm the reputation of the chiropractic profession. This trend involves chiropractors, and in some cases their staff or third-party marketers, scouring police reports for the names and contact information of people involved in motor vehicle accidents. The chiropractor or their designee then schedules appointments for those individuals. When the appointment passes, the chiropractor contacts the individual and tells them they have missed their appointment and that they require chiropractic care for their injuries, whether or not an injury actually occurred. The chiropractor or their designee sometimes advise the individual that they are entitled to compensation from the other party to the accident.
Because these individuals have neither sought treatment from nor been examined by them, the chiropractor is making a fraudulent clinical determination. Such fraudulent communications and determinations violate several state civil and criminal statutes. At a minimum, communications with auto accident victims conveying false appointment information violates the state’s Uniform Disciplinary Act and may also constitute insurance fraud and a violation of chiropractic network agreements.
It is the position of the WSCA that these unethical practices constitute unprofessional conduct. The WSCA further cautions Washington chiropractors against the use of such deceptive business practices and that the WSCA will report to the Chiropractic Quality Assurance Commission those chiropractors who engage in these false and misleading practices.
Out of State
A. J. Garis, DC Discover Chiropractic Bend, OR
Genesis Travez, DC Arlington, TX
Lauren Whittaker, DC Glenwood Springs, CO
Returning Doctor Members
Robert Brant, DC Chiro One Wellness Center Renton, WA
Jason Epeneter, DC Back to Life Wellness Spokane, WA
Bradley Kaasa, DC Mt. Si Chiropractic Clinic North Bend, WA
John Virag, DC Natural Way Chiropractic Everett, WA
Semi-Retired Doctor Members
Craig Cheple, DC Overland Clinic of Chiropractic Olympic, WA
Retired Doctor Members
Steven Cook, DC Spokane, WA
Ple x us July/A ugust 20 2 5
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