Can a DC advertise himself legally as a medical doctor?

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TheFuture_22

TheFuture_22

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I came across a business card for a chiropractor that has listed under his business name in bullet points: Medical Doctor, Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, and Nutrition. How is this legal to blatantly advertise yourself as a medical doctor when you are a chiropractor? This seems very misleading to patients.
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I have also seen others advertise themselves as: Family Physicians or Family Care Practitioners.
 
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Don't know the legalese but certainly seems sketchy to me. Usually they skate by on terminology but the phrase "medical doctor" seems pretty clear cut...

Survivor DO
 
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FutureDO22 said:
I came across a business card for a chiropractor that has listed under his business name in bullet points: Medical Doctor, Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, and Nutrition. How is this legal to blatantly advertise yourself as a medical doctor when you are a chiropractor? This seems very misleading to patients.
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technically it seems like Medical Doctor should be nothing but an MD.

Chiropractors tend to be a bit sketchy in my opinion, but im sure people are aware anyways that a chiropractor is not a doctor.
 
survivordo said:
Don't know the legalese but certainly seems sketchy to me. Usually they skate by on terminology but the phrase "medical doctor" seems pretty clear cut...

Survivor DO
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I was thinking the same thing. There has to be laws about misrepresenting yourself in such a way though. I could see getting away with family care practitioner as that term is very vague, but the terms medical doctor and family physician both describe a specific profession. That is when I think they cross the line from being misleading to outright lying.
 
Dallasmavs said:
technically it seems like Medical Doctor should be nothing but an MD.

Chiropractors tend to be a bit sketchy in my opinion, but im sure people are aware anyways that a chiropractor is not a doctor.
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I know many people who think that chiropractors are specialists. I have also heard many horror stories of chiropractors telling people to go against the medical advice of their PCPs. One person was told they might have cancer, and the physician wanted to get a biopsy. The chiropractor was telling the person to stop seeing their physician and instead take supplements, diet, etc without getting the biopsy. This kind of advice can be very harmful in cases such as these.
 
Dallasmavs said:
technically it seems like Medical Doctor should be nothing but an MD or DO.

Chiropractors tend to be a bit sketchy in my opinion, but im sure people are aware anyways that a chiropractor is not a doctor.
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FTFY

Chiropractors are doctors. They have a DC degree. they are called Dr. So-and-so. They have as much right to be called "doctor" as the PhD professors at your undergraduate university. They are not, however, MEDICAL doctors.

dsoz
 
dsoz said:
FTFY

Chiropractors are doctors. They have a DC degree. they are called Dr. So-and-so. They have as much right to be called "doctor" as the PhD professors at your undergraduate university. They are not, however, MEDICAL doctors.

dsoz
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Sorry that's what I meant. I meant doctor in the term of MD/DO which a chiropractor is not
 
Dallasmavs said:
Yes.... He asked what about DO. I was saying that's what it would be for DO if the chiro tried to copy DO like he did with MD
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Oh ok, so many people think it stands for medical doctor that I thought you did as well. I think he was asking if a DO could advertise himself as a medical doctor though.
 
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Dallasmavs said:
DO would be doctor of osteopathic medicine. that's assuming the chiro was mimicking the abbreviations for MD
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dsoz said:
FTFY

Chiropractors are doctors. They have a DC degree. they are called Dr. So-and-so. They have as much right to be called "doctor" as the PhD professors at your undergraduate university. They are not, however, MEDICAL doctors.

dsoz
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Yea DOs are doctor of osteopathic medicine but aren't they also medical doctors?
 
nightowl0721 said:
Yea DOs are doctor of osteopathic medicine but aren't they also medical doctors?
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Yes they are. Unless you're referring to MD which most people typically say is medical doctor. Either way DO/MD is a doctor. A chiropractor is not that type of doctor.
 
nightowl0721 said:
Yea DOs are doctor of osteopathic medicine but aren't they also medical doctors?
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DOs and MDs are both "medical doctors". No one else is.

They can't however expand the degree incorrectly and claim something which they are not or do not have.

"Doctor of Medicine" is not the same as a "Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine". Technicalities...
 
Im pretty sure, and this may depend on which state you live in, but DOs can refer to themselves as medical doctors. Not as MDs, but medical doctors. I guess DCs can do the same thing because they are doctors and they provide medically related treatments. You'd probably never use "medical doctor," though. Your business card would say Dr. Cliquesh, D.O. Anesthesiology or Dr. Cliquesh anesthesiology; not Dr. Cliquesh Medical doctor.
 
Nothing like a good 'ol bash chiropractors thread on SDN. Professionalism at its finest.

OP, I'm assuming you are looking at the clinics business card or company business card. It's not uncommon at all to list all services on your card. The Chiro most likely employs an MD, PT, LMT etc and is advertising for it.

Use some common sense. Of course it's not legal for a DC to advertise himself as anything other than a DC or board approved diplomate and it's clearly written under their respective state laws what the penalty for advertising otherwise is.
 
cliquesh said:
Im pretty sure, and this may depend on which state you live in, but DOs can refer to themselves as medical doctors. Not as MDs, but medical doctors. I guess DCs can do the same thing because they are doctors and they provide medically related treatments. You'd probably never use "medical doctor," though. Your business card would say Dr. Cliquesh, D.O. Anesthesiology or Dr. Cliquesh anesthesiology; not Dr. Cliquesh Medical doctor.
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You would be hard pressed to
Find people on this forum who would say a DC is a medical doctor. I think that's going a bit far.
 
Back 5 said:
Nothing like a good 'ol bash chiropractors thread on SDN. Professionalism at its finest.

OP, I'm assuming you are looking at the clinics business card or company business card. It's not uncommon at all to list all services on your card. The Chiro most likely employs an MD, PT, LMT etc and is advertising for it.

Use some common sense. Of course it's not legal for a DC to advertise himself as anything other than a DC or board approved diplomate and it's clearly written under their respective state laws what the penalty for advertising otherwise is.
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No one really bashed chiropractors....
 
Dallasmavs said:
You would be hard pressed to
Find people on this forum who would say a DC is a medical doctor. I think that's going a bit far.
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I do not disagree with you. I'm not saying DCs are physicians, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are allowed, at least in some states, to advertise themselves as medical doctors. Just to be clear, I'm talking out of my ass and I know very little about DCs.
 
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dsoz said:
FTFY

Chiropractors are doctors. They have a DC degree. they are called Dr. So-and-so. They have as much right to be called "doctor" as the PhD professors at your undergraduate university. They are not, however, MEDICAL doctors.

dsoz
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I agree, which is why I like the title physician. Only MD/DOs can call themselves physicians, but many people can call themselves doctors.

But advertising yourself as more than you are, even if not legally a issue, is ethically an issue. Can you trust that person?
 
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Dallasmavs said:
No one really bashed chiropractors....
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Making the statement that someone who has earned the degree DC is not actually a doctor is bashing. Next step would be calling them quacks.
 
NYEMMED said:
I agree, which is why I like the title physician. Only MD/DOs can call themselves physicians, but many people can call themselves doctors.
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yup; I pretty much only use the term "physician" when referring to physicians.
 
Back 5 said:
Nothing like a good 'ol bash chiropractors thread on SDN. Professionalism at its finest.

OP, I'm assuming you are looking at the clinics business card or company business card. It's not uncommon at all to list all services on your card. The Chiro most likely employs an MD, PT, LMT etc and is advertising for it.

Use some common sense. Of course it's not legal for a DC to advertise himself as anything other than a DC or board approved diplomate and it's clearly written under their respective state laws what the penalty for advertising otherwise is.
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I'm honestly not bashing chiropractors. I have just been seeing this more lately, and I was wondering if it was legal or not. The DC was not working with an MD or anything. The business employs a couple of chiropractors from what I can tell.
 
Post a picture of the business card.
 
Most chiropractors can't prescribe medications, so they aren't medical doctors in the sense that most people are going to be expecting. I don't know whether there is a legal problem with a chiropractic doctor advertising as a medical doctor, but I would imagine it to be terribly misleading at least.
 
Back 5 said:
Making the statement that someone who has earned the degree DC is not actually a doctor is bashing. Next step would be calling them quacks.
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I explained that I meant doctor in the terms of MD/DO.
 
It is possible this person has both an MD and DC degree. I saw this just a couple days ago, granted it was actually a DC that eventually went on to get a D.O. and specialize in PM&R, but needless to say its not impossible he is rightly advertising himself with all of his credentials. Perhaps he was a DC that went on to attend an allopathic medical school.
 
sterlingh87 said:
It is possible this person has both an MD and DC degree. I saw this just a couple days ago, granted it was actually a DC that eventually went on to get a D.O. and specialize in PM&R, but needless to say its not impossible he is rightly advertising himself with all of his credentials. Perhaps he was a DC that went on to attend an allopathic medical school.
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That is possible, but I don't remember seeing MD or DO after his name.
 
What is preventing you from looking him up online? Do you remember his name or where you saw his card? Name of his business? All of this discussion is based off of what you think you saw. It's all hearsay to us.
 
NeuroLAX said:
What is preventing you from looking him up online? Do you remember his name or where you saw his card? Name of his business? All of this discussion is based off of what you think you saw. It's all hearsay to us.
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Sorry, I was watching the game which was awesome by the way. I looked it up, and he is just a DC according to what I could find on google.
 
I know that if I had pursued DC, I would not be telling people I got into medical school. So I would not call myself a medical doctor.

Whoever posted that they could have employed MD/DO services makes a good point, though.
 
FutureDO22 said:
Sorry, I was watching the game which was awesome by the way. I looked it up, and he is just a DC according to what I could find on google.
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Again, I would bet his card was simply advertising what his clinic has to offer. In FL it is commonplace to have Chiropractors list the services of a medical doctor on their company cards, as well as other providers such as LMT and PT.
 
Back 5 said:
Again, I would bet his card was simply advertising what his clinic has to offer. In FL it is commonplace to have Chiropractors list the services of a medical doctor on their company cards, as well as other providers such as LMT and PT.
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Ok, I see what you are saying. It looks like he has an orthopedic surgeon who works in the office next door that he refers some people to. It doesn't look like they operate under the same business name, hence the confusion. Thanks for clearing that up!
 
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There is a bill in NY, that if it passes, all medically/ health related advertisements must clearly state the title/ degree in the ad.
 
DC stands for Doctor of Chiropractic. A chiropractor may list themselves as 'doctor so and so' as long as their credentials are also listed on the card/advertisement.

The term 'doctor' is also used by those with a PhD, law degree, dental degree, etc.
I second was Back5 said, often chiropractors work in a multi disciplinary setting and will advertise all of the clinics offerings on their cards.

As for horror stories, they occur in every profession. Do not judge all by the actions of a few.
 
Back 5 said:
Nothing like a good 'ol bash chiropractors thread on SDN. Professionalism at its finest.

OP, I'm assuming you are looking at the clinics business card or company business card. It's not uncommon at all to list all services on your card. The Chiro most likely employs an MD, PT, LMT etc and is advertising for it.

Use some common sense. Of course it's not legal for a DC to advertise himself as anything other than a DC or board approved diplomate and it's clearly written under their respective state laws what the penalty for advertising otherwise is.
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Well said.
 
razor said:
I have seen an advertisement for a chiropractic physician where he claimed to be well-versed in common ailments and could serve as a primary care chiropractic physician.

Also, the American Chiropractic Assoc. website says they are in fact entitled to claim "physician."
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jurassic-park-50.png
 
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Students applying to medical school to be doctors and practice medicine... yet unsure if they would graduate as medical doctors...

:laugh:
 
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