The OCA is very pleased to announce some exciting news for chiropractic in Ontario! The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) sent the OCA and the College of Chiropractors of Ontario a letter today stating it is moving forward with granting chiropractors the authority to order select lab tests and diagnostic ultrasound.
By expanding chiropractors’ ability to practice closer to their full scope of practice including the use of these valuable diagnostic tools, the MOHLTC has recognized that chiropractors play a critical role in improving the care and health outcomes of Ontarians. This move is consistent with the support of integrating chiropractors into the health care system including: removing the policy barrier to chiropractors practicing in primary care inter-professional teams, the Inter-professional Spine Assessment and Education Clinics, and Primary Care Low Back Pain pilots. It represents part of the government’s comprehensive approach to increasing access to care, reducing wait times and improving patient experience.
The OCA, the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) and the College of Chiropractors of Ontario (CCO) have worked both collectively and individually on these goals for many years. We want to acknowledge the fine work of CCO in their role of regulating the profession in the public interest. CMCC has also been invaluable in identifying and providing the evidence-based rationale for specific lab tests and chiropractic educational training and competencies. This is also the result of the excellent care that individual chiropractors provide to their patients, and the role many chiropractors play in advancing the profession.
This significant gain is the result of over eight years of intensive advocacy work. The OCA looks forward to working with the government on each of these scope enhancements.
The announcement does not discuss the funding of these services. We are working closely with the Ministry to determine the exact details and we will share these with you as we move forward.
Enacting these changes will require regulation and other changes and the authority is not yet in place.
Lab testing will encourage more assembly-line chiros who put through a hundred or more customers a day add to their egregious profits. There is little scientific evidence that this will work. The recent case of BJ Hardick’s illegal lab orders over many years, where there was NO approval for it comes to mind. My complaint was made in 2009, and it took until Dec 22, 2017 to suspend his registration. ICRC blocked referral to the Discipline Committee and HPARB finally forced them to act. Don’t tell me that lab tests won’t be used to pad chiro’s income.
Interesting perspective. However, currently we have no idea whether the lab testing will be funded by government plans, private insurance or the patient. Given that family and walk-in MDs can order these tests at no cost to the patient I do not imagine it to be a money-maker for chiros. Most of us just would appreciate that certain tests do not require a medical referral that costs the health care system more and delays the testing procedure. BTW, I do not personally know any chiros who “put through a hundred or more customers a day”. While I am sure there are a small percentage in Ontario who do, I work two and a half days a week and see about 25-30 patient’s per day. That keeps me busy and allows me the time to adequately address each patient’s needs. Lab testing will not be a big part of my practice. At this point I would really enjoy access to ultrasound imaging to assist in the diagnose of extremity injuries. This would certainly reduce my patient’s exposure to x-rays. Blood work testing is still very much up in the air. Incidentally, in my practice I do not charge my patient’s x-ray fees. While the provincial government pays for the image taking, I am billed by the lab for the x-ray reading. It is a cost that currently I absorb. Thank you for your input, I welcome your feedback, questions and concerns about chiropractic.