Sec. 20-28. Examination. Scope of practice. (a) The examination provided for in
section 20-27 shall consist of both a written and practical examination. The subjects of
the written examination shall be as follows: Anatomy, physiology, symptomatology,
histology, vertebral palpation, principles of chiropractic and adjusting, chemistry, hygiene, pathology, dietetics and diagnosis. The national board tests of the National Board
of Chiropractic Examiners may be accepted as the written examination provided it includes physiotherapy. The practical examination shall require the candidate to demonstrate clinical competency in basic chiropractic principles and procedures, including
orthopedics, neurology, diagnosis, x-ray, vertebral palpation and adjustment.
(b) Any chiropractor who has complied with the provisions of this chapter may:
(1) Practice chiropractic as defined in section 20-24, but shall not prescribe for
or administer to any person any medicine or drug included in materia medica, except
vitamins, or perform any surgery or practice obstetrics or osteopathy;
(2) Examine, analyze and diagnose the human living body and its diseases, and
use for diagnostic purposes the x-ray or any other general method of examination for
diagnosis and analysis taught in any school or college of chiropractic which has been
recognized and approved by the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners;
(3) Treat the human body by manual, mechanical, electrical or natural methods,
including acupuncture, or by use of physical means, including light, heat, water or exercise in preparation for chiropractic adjustment or manipulation, and by the oral administration of foods, food concentrates, food extracts or vitamins;
(4) Administer first aid and, incidental to the care of the sick, advise and instruct
patients in all matters pertaining to hygiene and sanitary measures as taught and approved
by recognized chiropractic schools and colleges.
(1949 Rev., S. 4381; P.A. 76-83, S. 2; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 81-471, S. 12, 71; P.A. 83-17, S. 2, 3; P.A. 96-225, S. 2, 4.)
History: P.A. 76-83 divided section into Subsecs., restated actions chiropractors may perform as power to practice
chiropractic, allowed them to prescribe vitamins and added Subdivs. (2) to (4) in Subsec. (b) re permitted diagnoses,
treatments, etc.; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services in Subsec. (a), effective
January 1, 1979; P.A. 81-471 deleted requirement that examination questions and answers be retained for six years by
department of health services; P.A. 83-17 amended Subsec. (a) to specify requirements of the practical examination and
to authorize acceptance of national board tests in lieu of written examination as specified; P.A. 96-225 added acupuncture
to the scope of practice in Subsec. (b)(3), effective June 4, 1996.
See Sec. 19a-31 re analysis of chiropractic specimens by licensed clinical laboratories.
Subsec. (b):
Cited. 220 C. 86, 91, 104, 107. Subdiv. (2) cited. Id., 86, 87, 93, 103-108. Subdiv. (3) cited. Id., 86, 107. Subdiv. (4)
cited. Id.
Sec. 20-28a. Exempt activities. No provision of this chapter shall be construed to
prohibit a student of chiropractic enrolled in an educational program of chiropractic in
a regionally accredited chiropractic college or institution approved solely for the purposes of this section by the Board of Chiropractic Examiners with the consent of the
Commissioner of Public Health, from performing, under the direct supervision of a
licensed chiropractor, such work as is incidental to his course of study at such institution.
(P.A. 93-296, S. 4, 10; 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-435, S. 59, 95; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: P.A. 93-296 effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 93-381 and P.A. 93-435 authorized substitution of commissioner
and department of public health and addiction services for commissioner and department of health services, effective July
1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner
and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995.
Sec. 20-28b. Professional liability insurance required, when. Amount of insurance. Reporting requirements. (a) Each person licensed to practice chiropractic under
the provisions of section 20-27 who provides direct patient care services shall maintain
professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice. The amount of insurance which each such person shall carry as insurance or
indemnity against claims for injury or death for professional malpractice shall not be
less than five hundred thousand dollars for one person, per occurrence, with an aggregate
of not less than one million five hundred thousand dollars.
(b) Each insurance company which issues professional liability insurance, as defined in subdivisions (1), (6), (7), (8) and (9) of subsection (b) of section 38a-393, shall
on and after January 1, 1995, render to the Commissioner of Public Health a true record
of the names and addresses, according to classification, of cancellations of and refusals
to renew professional liability insurance policies and the reasons for such cancellation
or refusal to renew said policies for the year ending on the thirty-first day of December
next preceding.
(P.A. 94-71, S. 3; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-180, S. 67, 166.)
History: P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-180 required addresses to be included with the
record of names in Subsec. (b), effective June 3, 1996.
Sec. 20-29. Disciplinary action. Grounds. The Board of Chiropractic Examiners
may take any of the actions set forth in section 19a-17 for any of the following reasons:
The employment of fraud or deception in obtaining a license, habitual intemperance in
the use of ardent spirits, narcotics or stimulants to such an extent as to incapacitate the
user for the performance of professional duties, violation of any provisions of this chapter or regulations adopted hereunder, engaging in fraud or material deception in the
course of professional services or activities, physical or mental illness, emotional disorder or loss of motor skill, including but not limited to, deterioration through the aging
process, illegal, incompetent or negligent conduct in the practice of chiropractic, or
failure to maintain professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability
for professional malpractice as provided in subsection (a) of section 20-28b. Any practitioner against whom any of the foregoing grounds for action under said section 19a-17 are presented to said board shall be furnished with a copy of the complaint and shall
have a hearing before said board. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with
the regulations established by the Commissioner of Public Health. Said board may, at
any time within two years of such action, by a majority vote, rescind such action. The
Commissioner of Public Health may order a license holder to submit to a reasonable
physical or mental examination if his physical or mental capacity to practice safely is
the subject of an investigation. Said commissioner may petition the superior court for
the judicial district of Hartford to enforce such order or any action taken pursuant to
section 19a-17.
(1949 Rev., S. 4382; P.A. 77-614, S. 366, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 22, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 13, 71; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12;
P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-71, S. 9; P.A. 95-220, S. 4-6; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: P.A. 77-614 permitted refusal to grant certificate if applicant has violated provisions of chapter or related
regulations and replaced language detailing hearing procedure with provision for conduct of hearing in accordance with
regulations established by health services commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-484 revised section to apply
with regard to disciplinary actions rather than with regard to refusal to grant certificate and added provisions re fraud or
deception, physical or mental illness, emotional disorder, loss of motor skill or illegal, incompetent or negligent conduct
of practitioner, re orders to submit to physical or mental examination and re petitions to court for enforcement of orders
or actions; P.A. 81-471 made no substantive changes; P.A. 88-230 replaced "judicial district of Hartford-New Britain"
with "judicial district of Hartford", effective September 1, 1991; P.A. 90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230
from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September
1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-71 inserted new language concerning failure
to maintain professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice; P.A. 95-220
changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department
of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995.
Cited. 211 C. 508, 511, 514, 535-537. Cited. 220 C. 86, 88, 92-94.
Secs. 20-29a to 20-31a. Reinstatement of lapsed registration. Renewal certificates; fee. Board to account to State Treasurer. Fees to be credited to General
Fund. Sections 20-29a to 20-31a, inclusive, are repealed.
(1949 Rev., S. 4383, 4384; 1959, P.A. 616, S. 9-11; 1961, P.A. 467, S. 3; February, 1965, P.A. 85, S. 1; P.A. 80-484,
S. 175, 176.)
Sec. 20-32. Use of names and titles. Continuing education. Regulations. (a) No
licensee under the provisions of this chapter shall use the title "Doctor" or any abbreviation or synonym thereof unless he holds the degree of doctor of chiropractic from a
chartered chiropractic school or college, in which event the title shall be such as will
designate the licensee as a practitioner of chiropractic. No person shall practice as a
chiropractor under any name other than the name of the chiropractor actually owning
the practice or a corporate name containing the name or names of such chiropractors.
Each licensed chiropractor shall exhibit his name at the entrance of his place of business
or on his office door.
(b) All licensed chiropractors applying for license renewal shall be required to participate in continuing education programs. The Commissioner of Public Health shall
adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to (1) define basic requirements for
continuing education programs, (2) delineate qualifying programs, (3) establish a system
of control and reporting, and (4) provide for waiver of the continuing education requirement for good cause.
(1949 Rev., S. 4385; P.A. 95-31; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: P.A. 95-31 added Subsec. (b) requiring participation in continuing education programs and the adoption of
related regulations; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with
Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995.
Cited. 150 C. 302.
Sec. 20-33. Penalties. Any person, except a physician or surgeon licensed under
the provisions of chapter 370, who practices or attempts to practice chiropractic, or any
person, including such physician or surgeon, who buys, sells or fraudulently obtains
any diploma or license to practice chiropractic, whether recorded or not, or who uses
the title "Chiropractor", "D.C.", or any word or title to induce the belief that he is engaged
in the practice of chiropractic, without complying with the provisions of this chapter,
or any person who violates any provision of this chapter, shall be fined not more than
five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than five years or both. For the purposes
of this section, each instance of patient contact or consultation which is in violation of
any provision of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense. Failure to renew a license
in a timely manner shall not constitute a violation for the purposes of this section.
(1949 Rev., S. 4387; P.A. 76-83, S. 3; P.A. 84-526, S. 3; P.A. 96-123, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 76-83 deleted reference to the title "Ph. C."; P.A. 84-526 amended section by changing penalty for
violation of any provision of chapter to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment of not more than five
years, and added provisions that each instance of patient contact or consultation shall constitute a separate offense and
failure to renew license in timely manner is not a violation for purposes of section; P.A. 96-123 added physicians and
surgeons to those prohibited from fraudulent use of term "chiropractor".
Cited. 141 C. 288. Cited. 211 C. 508, 511, 515, 516, 537, 538.