Can Chiropractors advertise as Dr. Jones/Dr. Smith etc

calfmuscle

Hi guys,

I was just wondering chiropractors are allowed to advertise as simply Dr. Jones or Dr. Smith??

I have seen some advertised in this way and I think its very misleading to the public.

locum-motion

That sound you hear is a can of worms being opened.

In my opinion, and I think in the majority of people's opinion, a 'Doctor' is one of two things:
a) a registered medical (or dental) practitioner
b) a person who has obtained a PhD or similar Doctoral-level degree from a recognised University.

Chiropractors do not obtain their quals from recognised universities, they get them from colleges of chiropractic.
Chiropractors are not externally regulated like doctors, pharmacists, dentists etc. They are registered with their own association.

It is the colleges of chiropractic and the chiropractic associations that have decided to bestow a so-called degree of 'Doctor of Chiropractic' and the honorific of 'Dr.' upon their graduates/members.

AFAIK, no other bodies recognise Chiropractors as 'Doctors' other than themselves.

I don't know if it's actually illegal to call yourself 'Dr.' if you don't fall into one of the categories at the top of this post, but in my opinion, it should be.

calfmuscle

locum-motion wrote: »

That sound you hear is a can of worms being opened.

In my opinion, and I think in the majority of people's opinion, a 'Doctor' is one of two things:
a) a registered medical practitioner
b) a person who has obtained a PhD or similar Doctoral-level degree from a recognised University.

Chiropractors do not obtain their quals from recognised universities, they get them from colleges of chiropractic.
Chiropractors are not externally regulated like doctors, pharmacists, dentists etc. They are registered with their own association.

It is the colleges of chiropractic and the chiropractic associations that have decided to bestow a so-called degree of 'Doctor of Chiropractic' and the honorific of 'Dr.' upon their graduates/members.

AFAIK, no other bodies recognise Chiropractors as 'Doctors' other than themselves.

I don't know if it's actually illegal to call yourself 'Dr.' if you don't fall into one of the categories at the top of this post, but in my opinion, it should be.

Thanks, you have summed up my opinion on this, but I'd still like to know if it is legal or not. I know DR is a protected term but maybe its only Dr. Name MD??

cambridge

You cannot provide medical treatment/advice without being licensed to do by the state. Do get a licence you need, amongst other things, a recognised degree in medicine.

Alternative treatments like chiropractor and acupuncture do not require licencing of any kind and as long as they do not pretend to offer a medical service they can do so as they wish.

It is not illegal to refer to yourself as Dr Nick, as long as you do not pretend to offer a legitimate medical service. People awarded PhDs and other doctoerates from universities are the only people entitled to refer to themselves with the Dr title. The majority of medical doctors in Ireland do not have doctorates but still use the term without issue.

I have no legal legislation etc. to quote but really there is nothing stopping you calling yourself Dr Nick, provider of chiropractic treatment, regardless of how legitimate (recognised university phd) or bogus (made up university phd) in the field.

UDP

calfmuscle wrote: »

Thanks, you have summed up my opinion on this, but I'd still like to know if it is legal or not. I know DR is a protected term but maybe its only Dr. Name MD??

Yes, it is fully legal to call yourself 'Dr'. I can go around legally putting down 'Dr UDP' anywhere.

You cannot claim to be a registered medical practitioner in Ireland nor any of the following:
clinical biochemist
dietitian
medical scientist
occupational therapist
orthoptist
physiotherapist
podiatrist
psychologist
radiographer
social care worker
social worker
speech and language therapist

If you can show that they are leading you to believe they are medical doctors then you would have a case against them for fraud but just using the title 'Dr' would not be enough to prove that.

locum-motion

UDP wrote: »

...If you can show that they are leading you to believe they are medical doctors then you would have a case against them for fraud but just using the title 'Dr' would not be enough to prove that.

This is an important point, particularly if you consider it in conjunction with the followng part of the original post: (my emphasis)

calfmuscle wrote: »

... to advertise as simply Dr. Jones or Dr. Smith??...

Chiropractors are presumably reasonably intelligent people*. They know that that can't give the impression that they're a medical doctor in their ads. That's why their ads usually say "Dr. Forename Surname, DC (Doctor of Chiropractic" or words to that effect, and not "Dr. Forename Surname".

Calfmuscle, have you seen ads where they don't specify the DC or Doctor of Chiropractic bit?



*: caveat: If any of them actually believe their 'subluxation' claptrap, then I exclude them from my assertion that they're intelligent. Nobody who is intelligent could actually believe some of the ****e that chiropractors spout, even (or especially) themselves.

calfmuscle

locum-motion wrote: »

This is an important point, particularly if you consider it in conjunction with the followng part of the original post: (my emphasis)



Chiropractors are presumably reasonably intelligent people*. They know that that can't give the impression that they're a medical doctor in their ads. That's why their ads usually say "Dr. Forename Surname, DC (Doctor of Chiropractic" or words to that effect, and not "Dr. Forename Surname".

Calfmuscle, have you seen ads where they don't specify the DC or Doctor of Chiropractic bit?

*: caveat: If any of them actually believe their 'subluxation' claptrap, then I exclude them from my assertion that they're intelligent. Nobody who is intelligent could actually believe some of the ****e that chiropractors spout, even (or especially) themselves.

I was walking home yesterday and noticed that the chiropractic clinic around the corner has a large sign saying the name of the clinic in large writing at the top, with Dr. Jane Doe and Dr. Tom Smith (names made up) below it in large writing. There is no other text on the sign although it is clear that the clinic is chiropractic from the name.
I was just surprised as it would seem to mislead people into thinking that chiro's are in fact medical doctors! :mad:

ciara84

And when your album sales wasn't doin too good who's the Doctor they told you to go see?

Hi, I'm Dr. Dre, I rap and stuff. (see how it works?), anyone can call themselves anything they want, its not illegal and I dont think it should be up to the government to regulate what people chose to call themselves, having said that ofcourse there needs to be laws for false advertising etc to protect society, so you can call yourself a doctor but shouldn't be able to say you are a physician.

I actually worked with someone in the states whos name was "Major (something) (something)", was really confusing since he was never in any sort of army or anything

calfmuscle

ciara84 wrote: »

Hi, I'm Dr. Dre, I rap and stuff. (see how it works?), anyone can call themselves anything they want, its not illegal and I dont think it should be up to the government to regulate what people chose to call themselves, having said that ofcourse there needs to be laws for false advertising etc to protect society, so you can call yourself a doctor but shouldn't be able to say you are a physician.

I actually worked with someone in the states whos name was "Major (something) (something)", was really confusing since he was never in any sort of army or anything

I think calling yourself a doctor makes the public think you are a physician. You dont "visit the physician", you "go to the doctor."

Although naming children with titles could be great craic! (well not for them, :pac:)

locum-motion

ciara84 wrote: »

...I actually worked with someone in the states whos name was "Major (something) (something)", was really confusing since he was never in any sort of army or anything

You're joking?

There was a character in "Catch 22".

His surname was Major.

His dad, whose given name was Major and whose name was therefore Major Major, had decided to get revenge on the world for his own stupid name by giving his son a worse one. Therefore he gave his child a first and a middle name, hence Major Major Major.

He then joined the Army, and by the time the events at the beginning of the book happened, had attained the rank of Captain, hence Captain Major Major Major.

Then, Captain Major Major Major got promoted. A pint* for the first person who can tell me what the next rank up from Captain is in the US Army.

But that was fiction. I didn't think anyone would actually call their child 'Major' in real life.





*: Prize may not actually consist of a pint, and may in fact be a figment of the poster's own imagination.

opinion guy

locum-motion wrote: »

That sound you hear is a can of worms being opened.

In my opinion, and I think in the majority of people's opinion, a 'Doctor' is one of two things:
a) a registered medical (or dental) practitioner
b) a person who has obtained a PhD or similar Doctoral-level degree from a recognised University.

Chiropractors do not obtain their quals from recognised universities, they get them from colleges of chiropractic.
Chiropractors are not externally regulated like doctors, pharmacists, dentists etc. They are registered with their own association.

It is the colleges of chiropractic and the chiropractic associations that have decided to bestow a so-called degree of 'Doctor of Chiropractic' and the honorific of 'Dr.' upon their graduates/members.

AFAIK, no other bodies recognise Chiropractors as 'Doctors' other than themselves.

I don't know if it's actually illegal to call yourself 'Dr.' if you don't fall into one of the categories at the top of this post, but in my opinion, it should be.

In Ireland.
This isn't true in every country.
In the US they are called Doctors. They can apply to residency programs as mainstream medical grad and as Doctors of osteopathy can. Doesn't mean they will get in of course - but they are eligible to apply.
They also have Doctors of Naturoapthy or something like that over there but I don't really know what that is or means to be honest.

drzhivago

opinion guy wrote: »

In Ireland.
This isn't true in every country.
In the US they are called Doctors. They can apply to residency programs as mainstream medical grad and as Doctors of osteopathy can. Doesn't mean they will get in of course - but they are eligible to apply.
They also have Doctors of Naturoapthy or something like that over there but I don't really know what that is or means to be honest.

sorry to rain on parade here but dr of chiro cannot apply to medical residency programs

dr of osteopathy can

completely different careers

ciara84

locum-motion wrote: »

But that was fiction. I didn't think anyone would actually call their child 'Major' in real life.

actually, Major is a pretty common name in America it turns out, this guy worked for Fox news as a presenter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Garrett

opinion guy

drzhivago wrote: »

sorry to rain on parade here but dr of chiro cannot apply to medical residency programs

dr of osteopathy can

completely different careers

I ain't having a parade ? I have little if any tolerance of chiropractors.

Its what I thought - apparently I am wrong so

lonestargirl

I had a long discussion on here years ago with someone who was adament that chiroprators were not covered by the medical ionising radiation act* because they were not practicing medicine.

*the act requires that x-rays be prescribed by a medical practitioner or dentist

calfmuscle

lonestargirl wrote: »

I had a long discussion on here years ago with someone who was adament that chiroprators were not covered by the medical ionising radiation act* because they were not practicing medicine.

*the act requires that x-rays be prescribed by a medical practitioner or dentist

Just curious if the act says an xray must be Prescribed by a medical practitioner or dentist does that stop stop anyone from purchasing an xray machine and xraying patients privately?

Sorry im on my phone but genuinely interested

lonestargirl

calfmuscle wrote: »

Just curious if the act says an xray must be Prescribed by a medical practitioner or dentist does that stop stop anyone from purchasing an xray machine and xraying patients privately?

Sorry im on my phone but genuinely interested

There are 2 issues:
1) you need a license from the RPII to possess an x-ray machine, they do not concern themselves with who/what is being exposed
2) the SI states medical ionizing radiation must be prescribed by a medical practitioner
or dentist and must be justifiable. It's clear that for a medical reason then it must be prescribed. The question is if I were to get hold of an x-ray and offer people the chance to look inside themselves would I be breaking the law?

I'm on my phone too but I'll dig out the link to the SI in the morning.

lonestargirl

SI 478

This SI applies to

4.1. These regulations shall apply to the following medical exposure:


(a) the exposure of patients as part of their own medical diagnosis or treatment;


(b) the exposure of individuals as part of occupational health surveillance;


(c) the exposure of individuals as part of health screening programmes;


(d) the exposure of healthy individuals or patients voluntarily participating in medical or biomedical, diagnostic or therapeutic, research programmes;


(e) the exposure of individuals as part of medico-legal procedures.

4.2. These regulations shall also apply to exposure of individuals knowingly and willingly helping (other than as part of their occupation) in the support and comfort of individuals undergoing medical exposure.

Delancey

TBH anyone who thinks that a Chiropractor calling themselves Dr. is actually a qualified medical practitioner is an imbecile and as long as they do not tout themselves as such then I fail to see the problem.

If I called myself ' Dr. Delancey - Sexologist ' would that fool anyone other than a half wit ?

Dave!

I wouldn't have thought that it was very widely known that chiropractors aren't 'real' medical practitioners... I could understand someone being misled. If I didn't take an active interest in the subject of complimentary/alternative medicine then I'd probably just assume that chiropractic is a perfectly legitimate field, and that they are regulated like any other health care professional.

ciara84

any opinions this kind of stuff? http://doctorbas.com/index.php?p=1 he is a GP, but provides homeopathic services as well.

Chuck Stone

I went to a Chiropractor once.

opinion guy

Does your head stick out at a right angle from your neck now ?

Chuck Stone

opinion guy wrote: »

Does your head stick out at a right angle from your neck now ?

Yep.


Na, I went on a recommendation because I was desperate to get rid of the pain (sciatica from herniated disc) and was willing to try any old mad shite.

When I came out after receiving 'treatment' I was thinking... 'WTF just happened'?

MrCreosote

ciara84 wrote: »

any opinions this kind of stuff? http://doctorbas.com/index.php?p=1 he is a GP, but provides homeopathic services as well.

This is even worse. At least with a chiropractor you know what you're getting.

This is a person using their medical qualifications to lend legitimacy to utter boll*x. Disgraceful.

byhookorbycrook

We had a guy locally who was a "spineologist",didn't last long though, word of the damage got out.