Registrar's Report

June 2020

The reward for your hard work goes beyond just returning to practice. The public’s trust in chiropractors is strengthened by the measures we are taking to protect our communities. These actions are not overlooked.

 

The competence that chiropractors display plays an irreplaceable role in keeping our profession self-regulated. However, this self-regulation is not a task done solely by the College or by the ACAC Council, but in partnership with ACAC members. 

 

Practice permit renewal is a significant demonstration of self-regulation and the ACAC is here to help make this process as seamless as possible. While the renewal period has been extended to September, we urge you to consider what you need to renew your practice permit through the new database in advance. The step-by-step guide and video tutorial on the ACAC website will give you an idea of what to expect and any documents you may need ahead of time.

 

We encourage members to reach out early if you have questions or concerns. ACAC staff are ready to support you with renewal and with your overall practices.

 

Thank you again for your tireless efforts to support your patients and each other through the pandemic and leading into renewal. Here is to the beginning of a “new year,” the great work we have all accomplished and the successes ahead of us.

 

Regards, 

 

 

Dr. Todd Halowski

Registrar

Free resources available for returning to practice

The ACAC prepared a variety of free materials to help chiropractors and clinics adhere to the ACAC COVID-19 Pandemic Practice Directive. We encourage you to use these materials as they are easy to use and take the guess work out of creating these materials yourself, allowing you to focus on your practice and your patients. 

 

The resources and materials can be accessed and downloaded from the ACAC website. While we aim to continue adding to these resources over time, the following is currently available:

• a pre-screening checklist
• clinic signage and posters
• social and digital media graphics
• email templates for communicating with your patients

Please continue to check the COVID-19 resource page for new e-communications and non-ACAC resources that may be helpful for your clinic and your practice. While dedicated COVID-19 updates are no longer being published and distributed every Tuesday and Thursday, we continue to maintain and update this page.

Information to help you prepare for renewal

Annual membership renewal will now take place from June 15, 2020 to September 30, 2020.

 

Failure to complete renewal by the September 30, 2020 deadline will result in a $400 late fee. Your practice permit will be suspended or cancelled, and this will result in an additional $300 reactivation fee.

 

To begin the renewal process:

1. The completion certificate for the Trauma-Informed Training course, Protecting Patients from Sexual Abuse and Misconduct, is due by June 30, 2020.
   
   
2. Proof of completion of 24 CC credits and Standard First Aid with CPR-C is not required for the upcoming annual membership renewal. Council has temporarily extended the CC cycle to two years. As such, 48 CC credits must be earned, and the certificates must be submitted by June 20, 2021. Standard First Aid with CPR-C must also be completed with certificates submitted by June 20, 2021.
   
   To complete your online renewal forms, click “Renew your Registration” in your members’ centre beginning on June 15, 2020.

Click the image above to watch the ACAC renewal video tutorial.

Conditional requirements:

 

All conditional requirements must be submitted to the ACAC by September 17, 2020.

Please note that if you require a letter of standing, processing times may vary for different regulatory bodies. Ensure you request these documents with enough time to meet the deadline or you will be assessed a $400 late fee.

 

Conditional requirements include:

• Professional licensing history if you currently hold or have held over the past renewal year, a chiropractic license in another jurisdiction outside of Alberta.
  • A letter of standing must be completed by your regulatory body and submitted directly to the ACAC. The letter must be an original copy only and must be submitted via mail. Emails, faxes, or copies will not be accepted.
    
    
• Professional licensing history if you currently hold, or have held over the past renewal year, a license with another regulated health profession outside of chiropractic.
  • A letter of standing must be completed by your regulatory body and submitted directly to the ACAC. The letter must be an original copy only and must be submitted via mail. Emails, faxes, or copies will not be accepted.
    
    
• Professional conduct history reporting unprofessional conduct findings and/or professional negligence over the past renewal year.
  • Members must self-report using the professional conduct forms. Supporting evidence (copy charges, hearing tribunal decisions, reports on regulatory history, etc.) will need to be submitted. PDF versions can be submitted directly to registrar@albertachiro.com or faxed to (780) 425-6583.
    
    
• Criminal history reporting, including criminal charges, or criminal convictions over the past renewal year.
  • Members must self-report using the criminal history forms. Supporting evidence (copy of offences, charges, court proceeding documentation, etc.) will need to be submitted. PDF versions can be submitted directly to registrar@albertachiro.com or faxed to (780) 425-6583.

 

Professional Liability Protection:

 

Proof of your Professional Liability Protection (PLP), if your coverage is not with the CCPA, will be required. You will need to upload a PDF copy of your PLP while you are completing your renewal. Screenshots and other formats other than PDF will not be accepted.

 

 

Paying dues:

 

Once all the online renewal forms have been completed and all conditional requirements have been received and verified, you will be able to access the payment page. Payment may be submitted by cheque or credit card.

 

Cheque payments must be received in the ACAC by September 17, 2020. A post mark of September 17 is not sufficient. If the cheque is not received in the ACAC office by this date, and you have indicated that you are paying by cheque, you will be assessed a late fee to complete renewal.

 

Only one form of credit card payment is accepted (either by Mastercard of Visa). Payment cannot be split between two different cards. If renewal is not completed by September 30, 2020, you will be assessed a $400 late fee.

 

Recognizing the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Council has approved an additional relief measure; a one-time 10 percent discount for the 2020/2021 renewal year. To receive this discount, members must fully complete renewal by September 30, 2020.

 

After you have completed renewal, you can print your practice permit found in your members’ centre under “Receipts” and “Permits”. Your practice permit will be available three to five business days after you complete the renewal process.

 

For more information regarding the annual membership renewal and to watch the renewal video tutorial, please visit the ACAC website.

View last month's ACAC-hosted webinars online

On May 7, 2020, the ACAC hosted a free webinar for members, titled “GLA:D Back: A group-based program to help people with recurrent and/or persistent low back pain” featuring researcher Dr. Greg Kawchuk. More than two hundred members attended the webinar and took advantage of the free CC credit awarded for full attendance.

 

The hour-long webinar highlighted the research findings from studies completed in other countries, as well as an overview of the work currently underway here in Alberta. Once the presentation concluded, Dr. Kawchuk and his students answered questions from the membership.

 

If you’d like to watch a recording of the webinar, you can see it and other past webinars on the ACAC website.

Call for Council nominations

Serving on Council is an incredibly rewarding experience. It also requires a significant commitment of time and energy. If you are interested in running, please ensure your nomination is received by 4 p.m. on June 11, 2020. 

 

Any eligible member can run for Council, provided they complete the two-step nominations process outlined on our elections page. We encourage all potential candidates to read the Council Nomination Information Package to gain a full understanding of what Council service entails.

 

If you are not interested in running for Council but still want to participate, we encourage you to vote from August 1-30. You will receive an email on August 1 directly from Simply Voting to cast your vote. This email will be sent to the email address on file in your member's centre, so please confirm it is up to date before July 25, 2020.

Call for resolutions, nominations and awards for the 2020 AGM

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Council has decided to proceed with a virtual AGM for this year. Details about the virtual AGM will be provided as they become available. Nominations and Council elections will continue as previously planned. Voting for Council elections will be conducted on an online voting platform. For more information about the nominations and election process, please visit our website.

 

Call for resolutions

• Resolutions provide an opportunity for members to provide suggestions to Council on governance and organizational direction. While the Health Professions Act stipulates that resolutions are non-binding and delegates authority to Council to determine if and how to act on a resolution, Council welcomes member suggestions via the resolution process.
  
  Resolutions can be submitted in advance or on the day of the AGM. For advance resolutions submissions, complete and submit the AGM resolution submission form. Resolutions submitted in advance will be circulated to the full membership, along with AGM materials.
  
  Please note that no resolution may change the legislation (HPA) or regulations.

Call for long-service awards

• Do you qualify for a long-service award? Long-service awards are bestowed upon members who have contributed 25, 40, 50, and 60 years of service to the chiropractic profession. Awards will be distributed to members close to the AGM.
  
  If you have always practiced in Alberta, you will automatically be recognized for your years of service. You do not need to complete the application form.
  
  Occasionally ACAC records do not reflect full years in practice (e.g., if you practiced in another jurisdiction), and as such we need your help. If you believe you are eligible for an award, please complete and submit the long-service award application. The award nomination submission deadline is 4 p.m. on June 11, 2020.

Call for ACAC awards

• Do you have a colleague who has gone above and beyond in service to the chiropractic profession? Someone who has made a contribution to the profession that deserves to be celebrated?
  
  Nominate them for Chiropractor of the Year, ACAC Award of Excellence, or an ACAC Honourary Membership by completing the AGM Award Nomination Form. The award nomination submission deadline is 4 p.m. on June 11, 2020.

Written working diagnosis in record-keeping

There are certain concepts that are universal in the iteration of a useful diagnosis. In Practice Reviews, the written working diagnosis is an element of record-keeping that regularly requires coaching for members. As there may be some confusion about what this element of record-keeping entails, this article hopes to bring clarity to the matter of diagnosis.

 

The diagnosis represents the practitioners ability to identify through history and examination the name and identity of the patients' presenting complaint. The ACAC Standards of Practice 5.1 and 5.2 speak to the diagnostic requirements for chiropractors, specifically the requirements that must be delivered include:

• Working diagnosis and/or index of suspicion congruent with the presenting complaint, history and physical exam findings.
• If the diagnosis of Vertebral Subluxation Complex (VSC) is used, it must identify the segmental level(s) and the pathological components (kinesiopathology, neuropathophysiology, myopathology, histopathology and biochemistry) of the “complex”, as well as the level of the subluxation and concurrent pathologies relevant to the patient's presenting complaint.
• Best practice would be to use a diagnosis that is identifiable by all health practitioners regardless of their training or field of practice and to avoid using chiropractic-specific diagnoses.

The objective of a written diagnosis is to inform the reader of the clinical conclusion reached by the writer. The diagnosis must be descriptive enough that the reader can refer to the treatment plan and the treatment provided and see the rational link between the two. There must be a direct and rational connection between the patient’s presenting complaint, the diagnosis and the recommended treatment.

 

A consistent observation in practice reviews is the failure of practitioners to provide that direct rational connection between the patient’s presenting complaint, the diagnosis and the recommended treatment. In addition to not meeting the record-keeping standard, this failure increases practitioner risk in areas such as professional conduct and professional liability. Accurate and appropriate diagnosis is required to meet the ACAC Standards of Practice.

Discipline reporting

• Member Name: Dr. Christopher Senko
  • Violations: ACAC Standards of Practice 2.5 and 5.1, and ACAC Code of Ethics Article B6
  • Finding: Found Guilty by a Hearing Tribunal

• Member Name: Dr. Jerry Smuszko
  • Violations: Health Professions Act s. 102, ACAC Standards of Practice 1.0, and the ACAC Advertising Directive
  • Finding: Resolved by Agreement and Undertaking
    
    
• Member Name: Dr. Lance McAfee
  • Violations: Health Professions Act s. 102, ACAC Standards of Practice 1.0, and the ACAC Advertising Directive
  • Finding: Resolved by Agreement and Undertaking
    
    
• Member Name: Dr. John Battershill
  • Violations: Health Professions Act s. 1(1) pp. (i), ACAC Standards of Practice 1.0, ACAC Code of Ethics Article B5, ACAC Advertising Directive, and the COVID-19 Communication Directive from the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Alberta
  • Finding: Resolved by Agreement and Undertaking

Recent legislative changes

Bylaw

Revised and effective June 1, 2020

 

Bylaw 3.2 Terms of Office

• Each elected Council member shall serve for a term of three (3) years or until their successor is elected, and their term of office shall begin and end upon the adjournment of the scheduled September meeting of the Council.

 

Bylaw 3.5 Notification of Results

• Replaced “delivery of Teller’s report at the Annual meeting” with “election results will be electronically delivered to the membership at the conclusion of the voting period directly from the chosen voting platform.”

 

Bylaw 9.2 Application for Practice Permit Renewal

• Addition of Proviso: During the year 2020, Section 9.2 Applications for Practice Permit Renewal is amended by striking “June 30th” in every case it appears and inserting in its place September 30.

 

Please ensure you take the time to review the policies listed above, as it is your professional obligation to be aware of ACAC policies and to adhere to these requirements in your practice. The updated documents can be found on the ACAC website.
 
After you have reviewed these changes, if you have questions about how these policies apply to you in your practice, please email Dr. Todd Halowski.

Highlights:

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Alberta College and Association of Chiropractors 

11203 - 70 Street NW

Edmonton, AB, T5B 1T1

P 780.420.0932 | F 780.425.6583