Abstract
Access to the clinical laboratory by chiropractors is an important issue in the context of the role of the chiropractor as a primary health care provider and the public’s right to optimal health care in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. In its efforts to gain the right to do so in Canada, the profession will have to identify and be able to justify the use of tests that would enhance the ability of its constituents to participate in the delivery of health care more effectively.
In this article we have presented a set of tests which was originally developed as part of a presentation on laboratory services restructuring to the Ontario Ministry of Health by a joint committee of the College of Chiropractors of Ontario, the Ontario Chiropractic Association, and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1996. A rationale for the use of each test in the context of chiropractic practice is presented. It is argued that the list of tests could be more, or less extensive than presented, but that it is necessary for the profession to engage in constructive debate and identify its needs more precisely in the interest of more effectively fulfilling its mandate as a primary health care profession.
Keywords: chiropractic, manipulation, legislation, laboratory, diagnosis
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Selected References
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