Related Alabama Law: Public Health, Infection Control, and Business Practice Requirements
Public health overlay
Chiropractic practice sits inside Alabama's broader public health law. Reportable disease requirements, immunization and exemption rules for patients, and the state health officer's authority are background concepts. In a clinical setting, the practical overlay is infection control: standard precautions, hand hygiene, appropriate use of barriers, and safe handling and disposal of sharps and regulated waste. The Board may adopt rules incorporating these standards, and failure to comply can be unprofessional conduct.
Business practice requirements
A chiropractor in business must attend to entity formation, professional corporation rules, and the requirement that professional services be provided by licensed persons. Alabama law restricts who may own a professional practice; fee-splitting with unlicensed persons is prohibited. Employment relationships, billing, and insurance claims must be accurate; fraudulent billing is both a business violation and a discipline ground. Also know the basic requirements for business licensure and the handling of patient records on sale or closure of a practice.
Traps to watch
- Questions implying an unlicensed investor may share in professional fees. That is a classic prohibition.
- Items that treat infection control as optional office policy rather than a regulatory obligation.
- Confusing a business license with a professional license; both may be required.
Rule of thumb
Ask who is providing the service and who is being paid. If an unlicensed person provides professional care or shares professional fees, the arrangement is likely unlawful regardless of how it is labeled.