MBCE
WINTER 2001 NEWSLETTER
NOTICE
THE
MATERIAL CONTAINED HEREIN, MAY BE ALTERED FOR BREVITY AND OR FOR THE
PURPOSES OF WEB PUBLICATION. THE MBCE ASSERTS THAT THE INFORMATION BELOW
IS SUBSTANTIALLY CONSISTENT WITH THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT.
Last chance,
Don=t
be late,
Renewals are
due December 31!
Credits
Between
1/1/2000
and 12/31/2001
|
Continuing Education Credits Are Due
AND
Licensees
may now renew online at
www.mn-chiroboard.state.mn.us
and
then clicking on:
Online Renewal and Information
Changes
|
Boundary/Abuse Credits
Between
1/1/1997
and
12/31/2001
|
|
The
Minnesota Board of Chiropractic Examiners
is
proud to announce that the first online renewal
was
completed on
November
28, 2001
by
Executive Director,
Larry
A. Spicer, D.C.
|
Total Credits
Between
1/1/2000
and 12/31/2001
|
the
Chiropractic Board is only the second
state agency, and the first
health care regulatory board, to allow for online
renewals? (The
first state agency was the Department of Public Safety allowing
for renewal of license tabs.)
|
Address
change capabilities!
The
MBCE invites licensees to try the online address change form at
www.mn-chiroboard.state.mn.us
Changes
made on the web form should be effective within 48 hours.
During this initial implementation phase we ask that online users
check back after 48 hours to verify that the changes they made were
accepted and notify the Board of any problems.
State statute and rule require that information changes be filed
with the Board within thirty days of the change.
Please note that name changes require a certified copy of official
legal documents approving the change.
If you have additional questions about the use of this form please
contact:
John
Burbey, Communications Coordinator
at
(612) 617-2222 or by email at john.burbey@state.mn.us
Emerging Issues . . .
Articles in this section are designed to inform
practitioners of the new issues affecting the profession.
The activation of online renewals (including application and
payment of fees with Visa or Mastercard) through the Board=s
web site is just one improvement. This
feature has been in development stages for nearly five years and by the
time this issue is printed, licensees should have received and begun
planning for license and registration renewals due December 31, 2001.
While the system is not able to show individual continuing credit
hour accumulation, it will show a statement indicating whether the
continuing education credit requirement has/has not been met.
Other public information about your license is also visible for
your review and comment. Plans
for future enhancements include making this information available to the
public through a public search feature.
MINNESOTA
BOARD OF CHIROPRACTIC EXAMINERS
NAME AND/OR ADDRESS CHANGE FORM
All
information provided on this form is public information as required by
statute and rule. (Name
changes require a certified copy of a certificate of marriage or court
order authorizing the name change and must be attached.)
If you have changed your name or address, you must inform the Board
in writing within 30 days of the change.
The address you place on record with the Board is public
information. To make updating
this information easier the Board is including a form that licensees may
clip, save, and then use when needed.
An online change feature is available at
www.mn-chiroboard.state.mn.us
New/Current
Information:
__________________________________________________________________________________
Name
(first, middle, last, other)
__________________________________________________________________________________
New
Address (include clinic name if applicable)
__________________________________________________________________________________
Street
County
Country
__________________________________________________________________________________
City/Town
State
Zip Code
__________________________________________________________________________________
E-mail
address
Fax number (Please include area code)
Circle
the optional mailing list(s) your
name should appear on: Newsletter
/ Rules
__________________________________________________________________________________
MN
License/Registration Number
Phone Number (Please include area code)
__________________________________________________________________________________
Other
License/Registration Number(s)
Phone Number(s) (Please include area code)
__________________________________________________________________________________
Signature
(Required)
Effective Date (Required)
...................................................................................................................................................................
Old/Out-of-Date
Information:
__________________________________________________________________________________
Former
Name (first, middle, last, other)
__________________________________________________________________________________
Former
Address (if applicable): Street:
County
Country
__________________________________________________________________________________
City/Town
State
Zip Code
__________________________________________________________________________________
Public
Phone Number (Please include area code)
RETURN THIS
FORM TO:
MINNESOTA
BOARD OF CHIROPRACTIC EXAMINERS
2829
University Avenue Southeast, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414-3220
Featured Statute
Minn.
Stat. Section 144.335
ACCESS
TO HEALTH RECORDS
The
board receives numerous complaints every year alleging that a chiropractor
refuses to release a patient=s
records because of an outstanding bill.
Retention of records for non-payment of a bill is not allowed by
statute or rule.
Chapter
144.335, subdivision 2 Patient access, states:
(a)
Upon request, a provider shall supply to a patient complete and current
information possessed by that provider concerning any diagnosis, treatment
and prognosis of the patient in terms and language the patient can
reasonably be expected to understand.
(b)
Except as provided in paragraph (e), upon a patient=s
written request, a provider, at a reasonable cost to the patient, shall
promptly furnish to the patient (1) copies of the patient=s
health record, including but not limited to laboratory reports, X-rays,
prescriptions, and other technical information used in assessing the
patient=s
health condition, or (2) the pertinent portion of the record relating to a
condition specified by the patient. With
the consent of the patient, the provider may instead furnish only a
summary of the record.
Records
may be retained, according to subdivision 2 (c) only when the doctor Areasonably
determines that the information is detrimental to the physical or mental
health of the patient or is likely to cause the patient to inflict self
harm, or to harm another . . .@ While the
statute cites no other conditions under which a doctor may withhold
records, the provider may still be required to give this information to a
third party.
Further,
subdivision 5 Costs sets limits on the fees a doctor may charge in
response to a written request for retrieval, copying, and supplying
records, including x-rays. You
should be advised that these fees are based on the Consumer Price Index.
Current costs can be found by going to the Board=s
web site, clicking on AFrequently
Asked Questions@ then AAccess to Health Records@
then AIssue
Brief.@
To
prevent placing yourself at legal risk, you are encouraged to review the
rule in its entirety and consult with your attorney.
Please DO NOT
contact the Board to ask for advice on such issues.
The Board is prohibited from providing private legal advice to
licensees.
For
more information on recent news regarding other billing issues and fraud
investigations see page 6 of this Newsletter.
What
affects your continuing education credits???
Last
year the Board began assigning an MBCE ID number to all approved classes
given by approved sponsors. Sponsors
are required to report earned credits under that number and licensees
should be able to count on the existence of that number as an indication
that classes are valid towards license renewal under most circumstances.
Exceptions to this may occur when the Board audits or reviews
revised schedules received from sponsors and finds that changes have been
made to rules such that a class topic is no longer allowed to be counted.
Also
a delay can occur in assigning credit if there is a name discrepancy
between the name on the attendance report and the name on file with the
Board. As a licensee you can
help ensure that proper credit is received by always signing in for
classes under your name as it appears on your
license card and/or by writing in your MBCE license number.
Licensees
need to be aware that future changes are being contemplated regarding how
continuing education hours are reported.
Please read this newsletter regularly during the coming year to
stay abreast of these change.
Office
Staff Members
Name
Title
Larry
A. Spicer, D.C.
Executive Director
Karen
Dorff
Office Manager
Micki
King
Health Program Rep.
Lori
Blanski
License
Coordinator
John
Burbey
Continuing Education
Coordinator
RULES...
The
Board continues to work on the promulgation of Rules regarding the
practice of chiropractic. The
State of Minnesota has a structured rules promulgation process with
specific procedures and time lines.
Please call the office and check our website (www.mn-chiroboard.state.mn.us)
for new and changing information. Or if you wish, you may send us a
written note and ask to be placed on the ARules
List@
where we would send you regular updates of the status of rules as they go
through the rules promulgation process.
If you have questions or comments on any rule you may call our office at
612-617-2222 at any time. However,
we wish to remind you that all comments must be submitted in writing if
they are to be presented to the Board and/or to be included in the
official record.
Copies
of the full text of any rule may be acquired by contacting Micki King at
612-617-2222
or
by sending a written request to:
MBCE
- Rules List Coordinator
2829
University Avenue SE
Suite
300
Minneapolis,
MN 55414-3220
BOARD
MEETING UPDATE
Action
taken by the MBCE at its September 20, 2001 meeting included:
T
Meeting dates for the year 2002 were set.
T
The Executive Director reported on:
*
2001 Legislative Changes
*
December 1 New Licensee Orientation
*
License Transfer Process
*
Staffing Plans for Strike
*
Online Renewals
T
The Executive Director also gave updates on:
*
Executive Committee Meetings
*
Rules Process
*
A Potential Public Hearing
T
Rosemary Kassekert gave an update on activities of the
Council of Health Boards and the HPSP Committee
T
Discussion occurred regarding the policy of posting licensees= discipline status on the Board=s
web site
T
A discussion occurred regarding the status and findings of
the Patient Exploitation/Fee Splitting Task Force
T
The Executive Director went over the closing report of the
FY2001 budget
T
Dr. LeRoy Otto reported on recent activities at the FCLB and
also reported that the NBCE tests are set for November 10 and 11,
2001
Recent
Investigative Issues:
As
you may be aware, the Board, the Attorney General, and Federal
Investigators have been involved in a significant investigation regarding
the utilization of Arunners@
or Acappers@
or other illegal forms of acquiring patients.
In short, payment, compensation or special considerations for the
acquisition of patients is under substantial scrutiny and the penalties
are serious. If you are aware of this activity going on, you are
encouraged to report it (as required by your license). If you are yourself
involved in it, you are strongly encouraged to rethink your approach.
***Item
of Special Interest***
Be careful on your billing statements ...
Recently,
a number of complaints have arrived at the Board office regarding false
information placed on billing forms under the question AHas
the patient ever had the same or similar . . .?@ Doctors should be careful about intentionally or
unintentionally misdirecting insurance companies regarding previous
injuries by either failing to answer this question, or by answering Ano@
when the patient has had an injury to the same area currently under
treatment. For example, a
patient treated for a previous injury resulting in right-sided neck pain,
is under treatment for a new injury with predominantly left-sided neck
pain. Many doctors are afraid to trigger a review by insurance
companies by deciding that this injury is not the Asame
or similar.@
While the doctor may think that this is defensible, there is a
great likelihood that they will be placed in the position of having to
defend this statement in front of the Board in response to a complaint.
The Board suggests that doctors try to be as out front as possible
regarding prior histories.
Want
to consider
becoming a board member?
The
process is simple and the rewards are great. Contact the Secretary of
States Office for an application. (Note: You must have been practicing in
Minnesota for at least 3 years.) The Secretary of State contact
information is:
Administrator:
Renee CoffeyPhone number: (651) 297-5845
Fax
number: (651) 296-9073
E-mail:
Open.appointments@state.mn.us
Web
site: www.sos.state.mn.us
NEW
LICENSEES
October
2001
BRENDA
K. FORTIN DC
ALVIN
J KASKIE DC
MICHAEL
J WAIND DC
November
2001
MICHAEL
I CROTEAU DC
TRACY
S KAY DC
STATISTICS OF MN LICENSED CHIROPRACTORS AS OF
|
Licenses:
2114 Active
188 Inactive
2302 Total
Registrations:
495
Acupuncture
84
Independent
Examiners
328 Professional Firms
44 Preceptors
|
MBCE
Board Members
Name
Term Expires
John
Colvard, D.C.
Jan. 2002
Rosemary
Kassekert
Jan. 2005
LeRoy
Otto, D.C.
Jan. 2003
Joan
Patalonis
Jan. 2003
Gary
Pennebaker, D.C.
Jan. 2004
Mark
O. Reeve, D.C.
Jan. 2005
Timothy
J. Whelan, D.C.
Jan. 2004
2001 - 2002
Special Dates
|
Board Meeting
February
14, 2002
April
11, 2002
July
11, 2002
September
12, 2002
November
14, 2002
Executive Committee
December
11, 2001
Office
is Closed for the following Holidays
December
25, 2001 - Christmas
January
1, 2002 - New Years Day
January
21, 2002 - Martin Luther King Day
February
18, 2002 - Presidents Day
|
Board
Member Accomplishments
The
Board is proud to announce
the
election of Board Member LeRoy Otto, DC
to
his first three-year term as Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Board=s
District II Director. Dr.
Otto previously served as acting and alternate director for District II.
The
new alternate director is
Dr.
Valorie Prahl from Iowa.
The
Mission of the Minnesota Board of Chiropractic Examiners (MBCE) is:
To
protect the public through effective licensure, enforcement of the statutes
and
rules governing the practice of chiropractic, to ensure a standard
of
competent and ethical practice in the profession.
The
Minnesota Board of Chiropractic Examiners (MBCE) does not discriminate on
the basis of race,
color,
national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in employment or the
provision of services.
