3-19-01

What follows is the text of an e-mail I had received from the 
webmaster of the Blair Chiropractic Society website.  For those of 
you who are interested in what's going on.........


Dear Fellow Subluxation Based Chiropractors:

The state of Colorado, NOT prompted by a patient complaint, has set 
out on a
witch-hunt. A witch-hunt I might add, that is being funded by our 
taxpayer
dollars, a witch-hunt where in the Assistant States Attorney 
General
verbally told me, and even boldly put it in writing for another 
Colorado DC,
that „we are looking to make an example out of someone¾.  The 
attack is on
subluxation-based chiropractic and compromises our ability as 
chiropractors
to practice in a non-medical model and endangers the access of the 
public of
Colorado to seek our subluxation correction services.

My name is Russel A. Smith; I am an Upper Cervical Chiropractor in 
the state
of Colorado.  About two weeks ago, I received a call from the 
Assistant
State Attorney General Kevin D. Heupel, informing me that the Board 
of
Chiropractic is looking to make an example out of a straight or 
principled
Chiropractor.   I am one of several in the state who they are 
targeting.

The Board¼s complaint originated from a patient complaint, (with no
malpractice charges implied or found), even though the complaint 
was
dismissed, the board believes that, my „patient history and physical 
exam
failed to meet generally accepted standards of practice since I did 
not take
vital signs and perform a neurological and orthopedic examination.  
The
board finds my conduct to be in violation of 12-33-117(1)b, C.R.S.¾

(b) An act or omission that constitutes negligent chiropractic 
practice or
fails to meet generally accepted standards of chiropractic practice.

Nowhere in Title 12 professions and occupations, article 33 
Chiropractors
entire „job description¾ does it say that a chiropractor must do 
vital
signs, orthopedic or neurological testing on a patient.  It states only 
that
I can NOT use „any practice system, analysis, method or protocol 
which does
not include the complete assessment, evaluation or diagnosis of the
condition to be treated before beginning treatment of the patient.¾

Here is the situation. I use the Tytronic C300 Scanner (neurological) 
the
Thompson-Deirfield leg checks (ortho/neuro) as well as postural 
analysis to
determine if a subluxation is present and if x-rays are necessary.  I 
also
use the C300 and the leg checks to determine on a visit-by-visit 
basis if an
adjustment is necessary.  I do not do orthopedic or neurological 
testing
that is not subluxation specific. Furthermore, I make it very clear to 
my
patients, and potential new patients, that my only objective is to 
correct
vertebral subluxations.  I also have every new patient watch my 
NACUCC video
in between x-rays and their analysis. (This is a video that the 
National
Awareness Campaign for Upper Cervical Care put together to explain, 
among
other things, that we do not treat symptoms, we simply restore body 
balance
by adjusting the upper cervical subluxations)
Because I only „treat¾ subluxations, my analysis is direct and to the 
point
for subluxation only.  I feel I would be over utilizing unnecessary 
services
if I performed (and charged for) unnecessary testing that does 
nothing in
determining the chiropractors only objective, the detection and 
correction
of vertebral subluxations.

The Assistant States Attorney General offered me stipulations that 
if I sign
them, would make all of this go away.  I cannot sign them with out 
putting a
nail in the coffin of subluxation-based chiropractic.  I need your 
help.  I
have been told my legal costs could reach the Twenty-five thousand 
dollar
mark.  I need help with this.   I am in contact with the same lawyer 
that
helped Ted Koren with the FTC and Jim Turner, a high media profile 
attorney
from TX.

If you can assist me I would appreciate your prayers and any 
financial help
you have to offer.  I also need you to forward this to EVERYONE you 
know!

Our right to practice our specific scope of practice is on the lineä

„For the love of the art¾