Scope of practice and prohibited conduct
Scope questions test the boundary between lawful chiropractic care and medicine, surgery, pharmacology, and delegated tasks. Montana defines chiropractic practice in statute and limits it through Board rules; the list of adjunctive procedures is regulatory, not unlimited.
Core rules
- Chiropractic focuses on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of neuromusculoskeletal and related physical conditions through manual manipulation and adjustment and authorized adjunctive procedures.
- Diagnostic imaging may be used within the Board's rules; ordering and interpretation must match training and law.
- Surgery, prescribing or administering drugs, and other excluded medical acts are outside scope. A chiropractor may refuse and refer.
- Delegation is task-specific: an assistant may perform only Board-authorized procedures under the required supervision; the supervising chiropractor remains responsible.
- Prohibited conduct includes treating outside competence, false or misleading diagnosis, unlicensed practice, impairment, exploitation, and fraudulent documentation.
Worked example
A patient with fever and localized sinus pain asks the chiropractor to prescribe an antibiotic. Prescribing is outside chiropractic scope. The chiropractor should document the request, explain the limit, refer for medical evaluation, and provide only lawful supportive care.
Traps
- Reading adjunctive procedures as any therapy the clinic owns.
- Assuming an assistant may perform an adjustment because the chiropractor is nearby.
- Using a diagnosis solely to support billing rather than care.
- Confusing referral with abandonment; document the referral and follow-up.