Part IV NBCE Soon Required for Illinois Chiropractic Physician Licensure
Editor’s Note: This article was written prior to the deadline. Currently, ICD-10 is the only standard for submitting diagnosis codes on claim forms.
To qualify for licensure as a chiropractic physician, Illinois has required only Parts I, II and III of the examination of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. In fact, until recently, Illinois was the only state in the United States that did not require Part IV, the clinical component. The legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules has formally approved an amendment to the rule, and the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation is poised to adopt a rule that will add Part IV as a licensure requirement.
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The rule will become effective in the near future when the Department files it with the Secretary of State, at a time to be determined by the Department. The IDFPR has not published an exact date at this time, but the Department has completed all the necessary steps prior to filing and is legally able to adopt the rule at any time. When the rule is adopted and effective, the Part IV requirement will apply to all license applications filed with the IDFPR on or after that date. Those chiropractic physicians who are already licensed, as well as applicants whose applications are filed prior to the effective date, are not required to take Part IV for Illinois licensure. However, any applicant who files an application on or after the effective date will be required to provide proof of passage of Part IV, along with Parts I, II and III.
The Illinois Chiropractic Society has long supported the addition of Part IV to better assess candidates for practice and to facilitate licensure by endorsement in multiple states by equalizing testing requirements across various jurisdictions. The addition of Part IV also promotes further parity of chiropractic physicians with medical and osteopathic physicians under the Medical Practice Act. NBCE Part IV is similar to the Clinical Skills medical exam and the Performance Evaluation osteopathic exam, in that they are all practical exams involving staged interactions with patients.
Once adopted, the rule can be found at: 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.60(b)(1) (Section 1285.60(b)(1) of the Medical Practice Act Rules) and 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.70(d)(6) (Section 1285.70(d)(6) of the Medical Practice Act Rules). The ICS recommends that all students who have not yet applied for licensure stay abreast of effective date of the Part IV requirement and plan accordingly. ICS commends the IDFPR’s action in updating the rule to bring it in line with those of other states.
