I write in response to your inquiry regarding chiropractors licensed in New York State providing nutritional service and products.

I write regarding your inquiry about the use of physiotherapeutic modalities by chiropractors licensed in New York State. This letter is based on past opinions of the Education Department that have been issued in response to various inquiries from members of the public.

Article 162, §8351 of the New York State Education Law authorizes the licensure of certified athletic trainers. A person so licensed is authorized to provide services “under the supervision of a physician and limits his or her practice to secondary schools, institutions of postsecondary education, professional athletic organizations, or a person who, under the supervision of a physician, carries out comparable functions on orthopedic athletic injuries, excluding spinal cord injuries, in a healthcare organization.”

Education Law, Article 132, section 6551(3), states that chiropractors licensed in this State may not "prescribe, administer, dispense or use in his practice drugs or medicines." Such durable medical equipment as cervical collars, cervical pillows, traction kits, support belts, whirlpool equipment, orthotic and other non-electrical devices are not "drugs or medicines." Consequently, such items may be purchased without prescription, and, thus, may be ordered or recommended by chiropractors for their patients within the definition of chiropractic practice in Article 132.

I write in response to your inquiry regarding lawful scope of chiropractic practice in New York State and if using x-ray on extra-spinal parts of the human body falls within that scope.

I write in response to your recent inquiry regarding whether or not chiropractors licensed in New York State are permitted to practice homeopathy.

I write in response to your recent inquiry regarding employment of chiropractors by physicians licensed in this state.

Section 6551 of Education Law defines the practice of chiropractic as "detecting and correcting by manual or mechanical means structural imbalance, distortion, or subluxations in the human body for the purpose of removing nerve interference and the effects thereof, where such interference is the result of or related to distortion, misalignment or subluxation of or in the vertebral column."

Section 6551 of Education Law defines the practice of chiropractic as:

I write regarding your inquiry about chiropractic use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and CT scans of the brain in New York State.

I write in response to your inquiry regarding discounted fees for patients who pay cash for professional services.

I write in response to your inquiry regarding chiropractic care of peripheral injuries. A formal Department opinion on that subject was issued in an August 31, 1999 letter from Frank Muñoz, Executive Coordinator for Professional Responsibility. The relevant portion of that opinion is reprinted below: