02 Department of Professional and Financial Regulation s1

02 DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL AND FINANCIAL REGULATION

297 BOARD OF CHIROPRACTIC LICENSURE

Chapter 1: DEFINITIONS

Summary: This chapter defines certain professional terms used throughout the Board’s rules.

1. Board. “Board” means the Maine Board of Chiropractic Licensure.

2. CCE. “CCE” means the Council on Chiropractic Education.

3. Certified chiropractic assistant or assistant. “Certified chiropractic assistant or assistant” means allied health personnel, certified by the Board, who are functioning in a clinically dependent relationship with a supervising chiropractor and who are performing tasks or combinations of tasks for which they have been trained in a course of study approved by the Board, or provided by a chiropractic college accredited by the CCE, or by any other USOE approved National Chiropractic Accrediting Agencies. Examples of such tasks include, but are not limited to, history taking, limited physical examinations, therapeutic modalities, similar therapies, and rehabilitation, provided that such training is included within Board approved programs of chiropractic colleges accredited by the USOE. An assistant cannot be assigned any tasks requiring the implementation of manipulative or adjustive techniques, the rendering of diagnostic results or interpretations, or the rendering of treatment advice.

4. CEU. “CEU” means continuing education unit.

5. Chiropractic acupuncture. “Chiropractic acupuncture” means the insertion of acupuncture needles through the skin at specific points. It is a chiropractic methodology used for the correction of the soft tissue components contributing to subluxation and the accompanying physiological or mechanical abnormalities. Except as provided in 32 MRSA §502, chiropractic acupuncture may only be practiced by a licensee who has received a chiropractic acupuncture certification from the Board.

6. Chiropractic Adjustment or Chiropractic Adjustive/Manipulative Technique. “Chiropractic Adjustment or Chiropractic/Adjustive Manipulative Technique” means the application of a precisely controlled force applied by manual or by mechanical means to a specific focal point of the anatomy for the express purpose of creating a desired angular movement in skeletal joint structures in order to eliminate or decrease interference with neural transmission and correct or attempt to correct subluxation complex; chiropractic adjustment utilizes, as appropriate, but is not limited to, short lever force, high velocity force, short amplitude force, or specific line-of-correction force to achieve the desired 02-297 Chapter 1 page 2

angular movement, as well as low force neuro-muscular, neuro-vascular, neuro-cranial, or neuro-lymphatic reflex technique procedures.

7. NBCE. “NBCE” means the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

8. Person. “Person” means a natural person, individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or organization.

9. Supervising chiropractor. “Supervising chiropractor” means a chiropractor who holds a license in good standing issued by the Board to practice chiropractic and provides supervision for the certified chiropractic assistant and who assumes legal liability for the services rendered by the certified chiropractic assistant.

10. Supervision and control. “Supervision and control” means the supervising chiropractor shall ensure compliance with the instructions and completion of the services delegated by the supervising chiropractor. To insure patient safety, the supervising chiropractor shall be in a sufficiently proximate location in order to be able to respond in a timely manner to any emergency should it arise.

11. USOE. “USOE” means the United States Office of Education.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: 32 MRSA §502

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 6, 1924 - as "Rules of the Maine Board"; filed with Sec. of State June 30, 1978

AMENDED: October 25, 1988 (EMERGENCY) - Section 5 October 25, 1988 (EMERGENCY) - Section 17 December 17, 1990 October 4, 1992 - as "Organization of the Board, Licensure, Application, Examination, Reciprocity, and Renewal Requirements"

EFFECTIVE DATE (ELECTRONIC CONVERSION): November 13, 1996

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CORRECTIONS: December 12, 1996 -- correct garbled word order “written and” to “and written” in Section 5 (D)(3) and Section 6 (F) (3)

REPEALED AND REPLACED: August 30, 2000 - as "Definitions"