New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 16 - OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING
Chapter 4 - CHIROPRACTIC PRACTITIONERS
Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 16.4.1.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. "Advertising" means any communication whatsoever, disseminated by any means whatsoever, to or before the public or any portion thereof, with the intent of furthering the purpose, either directly or indirectly, of selling professional services, or offering to perform professional services, or inducing members of the public to enter into any obligation relating to such professional services.

B. "Application for licensure" applicants applying for licensure in New Mexico whether by examination or without examination must submit an application for licensure that will be provided by the board and available of the board site.

C. "Application for licensure without examination" applicants applying for licensure without examination are those who have held a chiropractic license in another jurisdiction.

D. "Background findings" the board may deny, stipulate, or otherwise limit a license if it is determined the applicant holds or has held a license in another jurisdiction that is not in good standing, if proceedings are pending against the applicant in another jurisdiction, or information is received indicating the applicant is a danger to patients or is guilty of violating any of the provisions of the Chiropractic Physicians Practice Act, the Uniform Licensing Act, Impaired Health Care Providers Act. The results of the background check must either indicate no negative findings, or if there are negative findings, those findings will be considered by the board. The board shall formally accept the approval of the application at the next scheduled meeting.

E. "Board" means the New Mexico chiropractic board.

F. "Chiropractic" means the science, art and philosophy of things natural, the science of locating and removing interference with the transmissions or expression of nerve forces in the human body by the correction of misalignments or subluxations of the articulations and adjacent structures, more especially those of the vertebral column and pelvis, for the purpose of restoring and maintaining health for treatment of human disease primarily by, but not limited to, adjustment and manipulation of the human structure. It shall include, but not be limited to, the prescription and administration of all natural agents in all forms to assist in the healing act, such as food, water, heat, cold, electricity, mechanical appliances, herbs, nutritional supplements, homeopathic remedies and any necessary diagnostic procedure, excluding invasive procedures, except as provided by the board by rule and regulation. It shall exclude operative surgery and prescription or use of controlled or dangerous drugs, except as permitted by statute and corresponding regulation.

G. "Chiropractic adjustment" means the application of a precisely controlled force applied by hand or by mechanical devise to a specific focal point on the anatomy for the purpose of creating a desired angular movement in the skeletal joint structures in order to eliminate or decrease interference with neural transmission or to correct or attempt to correct a vertebral subluxation using, as appropriate, short lever, high velocity, low amplitude line of correction force to achieve the desired angular movement or neuromuscular reflex response.

H. "Chiropractic assistant" means a person who practices under the on-premises supervision of a licensed chiropractic physician.

I. "Chiropractic physician" includes doctor of chiropractic, chiropractor and chiropractic physician and means a person who practices chiropractic as defined in the Chiropractic Physician Practice Act.

J. "Complaint/review committee" an ad hoc committee established by the board to review all complaints and applicants with background findings. Complaint/review committee shall consist of one professional board member, one chiropractor with an active license for five years in New Mexico in good standing, the board's executive director, board's compliance liaison, and board's investigator. Recommendations regarding the complaints and licensure of the applicants will be given to the board at its next scheduled meeting.

K. "Electronic signatures" will be acceptable for applications submitted pursuant to Sections 14-16-1 through 14-16-19 NMSA 1978.

L. "Impairment fee" means: that in addition to the license renewal fee, each chiropractor subject to renewal will be assessed an impairment fee to be set aside for the purpose of the impaired practitioners program.

M. "Licensure by examination" applicants applying for licensure by examination in New Mexico are those candidates for licensure that have never held a chiropractic license in any other jurisdiction.

N. "Mobilization" means a non-thrusting manual therapy involving movement of a joint within its physiological range of motion. Mobilization is a passive movement within the physiological joint space administered by a clinician for the purpose of increasing normalizing overall joint range of motion.

O. "NBCE" national board of chiropractic examiners.

P. "PACE" providers of approved continuing education.

Q. "Pre-paid treatment plans" include any agreement between a licensee and patient or prospective patient that includes payment or collection of money for treatment planned, anticipated or held in reserve to occur or potentially occur more than 14 days following the payment or collection of those monies.

R. "Spinal manipulation or articular manipulation" means the application of a direct thrust or leverage to move a joint of the spine or extremity articulation to the paraphysiologic end range movement but without exceeding the limits of anatomical integrity.

S. "Vertebral subluxation" means a complex of functional, structural or pathological articular changes, or combination thereof, that compromise articular junction, neural integrity and may adversely influence organ system function or general health and well-being.