Notice to Members
April 2, 2020, 4:30 p.m.
Dear Colleagues,
We hope this message finds you in good health and that you’re managing the current environment as well as possible. As we previously shared, it is important to lean on each other during this difficult and unprecedented time.
Here is our update for today:
- Chiropractic care remains limited to urgent, critical and emergency care. Chiropractic care remains limited to urgent, critical and emergency care only. Please review the Notice to Members from March 30, 2020 for more details.
As a reminder, emergency rooms do not book appointments. Having patients scheduled for appointments is not indicative of providing only emergency care.
Currently there is no timeline for the length of this order. We understand that this uncertainty is very difficult to manage. Please know we are monitoring the situation daily and will continue to communicate details as they become available.
- Be clear in your professional communications that you are complying with the public health order. Please ensure your communications are free of semantics and clearly states that your clinic is “closed except for emergencies.” Clinics should not be listed as “open for emergencies,” as that is being interpreted by the public as clinics aren’t abiding by the public health order. Public health and the ACAC are fielding concerns from the public daily regarding this issue. These concerns can require the ACAC to further investigate, which can cause undue stress when chiropractors are following the public health order but their communication is unclear.
- Communicate your clinic availability across all of your communication channels. There are many ways that chiropractors choose to communicate to patients including clinic signage, voicemail, websites and social media. Please ensure your messaging to the public indicates that you are “closed except for emergencies” and is consistent on all your communication channels.
- Patient marketing should be suspended while the public health order is in effect. Similar to point #2, clinics that are continuing to engage in marketing are raising concern with the public that they aren’t abiding by the public health order. Please suspend patient marketing on all channels, including your website, signage and social media, while the public health order is in place.
- Provide contact information if your clinic is completely closed. While clinics have the option to provide urgent, critical and emergency care, some clinics have chosen to close altogether. If you have chosen to completely close your clinic, your patients should still be able to contact you, as you are their chiropractor and understand their clinical history. You must have arrangements in place to refer patients to the most appropriate person to manage their health-care needs if you are unavailable. That could be another chiropractor or another health practitioner. The ACAC does not and cannot manage a list of chiropractors who are seeing patients.
- Keep connected with your patients. Just as these times are causing anxiety and fear for you, the same is happening for your patients. Try calling four or five patients each day to see how they are doing and offer them encouragement during this time. Not only will your patients likely appreciate hearing from you, this practice can bolster your mental health and build stronger connections with your patients.
Finally, we understand there are quite a lot of questions regarding the federal and provincial benefits. We are working closely with the CCA and our legal and financial counsel to provide answers that are relevant for you. Please continue to read these updates and visit the ACAC website.
We hope this information is helpful. Be safe and be healthy, and we’ll connect with you again tomorrow.
Warmest regards,
Dr. Todd Halowski
Registrar
Alberta College and Association of Chiropractors
11203 - 70 Street NW
Edmonton, AB, T5B 1T1
P 780.420.0932 | F 780.425.6583
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