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May a Chiropractic Physician Sign a Patient’s Application to Receive a Telecommunications Device?

By Adrienne Hersh, JD, ICS Legal Counsel · July 19, 20171 min read

Summarize this article with Paxson

A: Yes. Under the Illinois Public Utilities Act, 220 ILCS 5/13-703, both landline, and cellular phone service providers are required to provide assistive devices without additional charge to customers who are hearing, sight, or speech impaired. The law requires the customer to file a form signed by a licensed physician, speech-language pathologist or audiologist, certifying that the customer has a hearing, sight or speech disability. Because doctors of chiropractic are licensed physicians under the Medical Practice Act, they may certify these conditions. As always, the ICS recommends that all physicians should practice within their expertise; therefore, they should only certify conditions they are qualified to diagnose.

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About the Author

Adrienne Hersh, JD, ICS Legal Counsel

Adrienne serves as Illinois Chiropractic Society general counsel and provides legal advice and support on a wide range of legal issues affecting chiropractic physicians, including licensing and other health care regulations, scope of practice, insurance and reimbursement, business structuring, labor and employment, contracts, and litigation. Adrienne previously served for 8 years as general counsel to the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation (now the Division of Professional Regulation, Department of Financial and Professional Regulation), where she was chief legal counsel responsible for overseeing all legal issues and advising the 50+ licensing and disciplinary boards, including the Medical Disciplinary Board and the Medical Licensing Board. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Health Care Section, the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys, and the National Association of Chiropractic Attorneys.