Nebraska Statutes and Regulations Governing Chiropractic
Domain 2 tests the legal hierarchy behind Nebraska chiropractic practice: statutes, Department rules, and Board guidance. You need to know which source controls when they appear to conflict.
Sources and hierarchy
Nebraska Revised Statutes Chapter 38 contains the Uniform Credentialing Act and the chiropractic provisions. The Department of Health and Human Services administers credentialing, while the Board of Chiropractic advises on standards and discipline. Administrative rules in Title 172, Nebraska Administrative Code, Chapter 21, fill in application, continuing education, and practice details. A statute controls over a rule; a rule controls over a board policy statement or website summary.
What the law regulates
- Licensure and qualification to practice.
- Scope: adjustment or manipulation and authorized adjunctive procedures; prohibited conduct.
- Discipline for unprofessional conduct, incompetence, fraud, and violations.
- Delegation and supervision: unlicensed staff may not perform chiropractic adjustments.
Worked example
A clinic owner tells an unlicensed front-desk employee to perform soft-tissue adjustments when the chiropractor is double-booked. A complaint is filed. The owner argues the employee only used a handheld tool. Under Nebraska law, the issue is not the label or the device; it is whether the employee performed an act reserved to a licensed chiropractor. Allowing unlicensed practice exposes both the employee and the licensee to discipline. The defensible response is to stop the practice, retrain staff, and document the corrective action.
Traps
Traps: assuming a neighboring state's scope applies in Nebraska; citing the Board website when the rule says otherwise; and treating corporate ownership or clinic policy as authority to expand scope.