Commission Information

Name and Term Expiration Date of Members

Composition of the Chiropractic Quality Assurance Commission

The mandate of the Chiropractic Quality Assurance Commission (CQAC) is to promote the delivery of quality health care to the residents of the state by regulating the competency and quality of professional health care providers under their jurisdiction. CQAC accomplishes this mandate through a variety of activities in collaboration with the Department of Health, Health Professions Quality Assurance.

CQAC duties include:

• Establishing qualifications for minimal competency to grant or deny licensure of chiropractors.
• Regulating the competency and quality of professional health care providers under its jurisdiction by establishing, monitoring, and enforcing qualifications for licensure.
• Establishing and monitoring compliance with continuing education requirements.
• Ensuring consistent standards of practice.
• Developing continuing competency mechanisms.
• Assessing, investigating and making recommendations related to complaints against physicians and physician assistants which may range from a Notice of Correction to a Revocation of licensure.
• Serving as reviewing members on disciplinary cases and serve on disciplinary hearing panels.
• Serving as members of standing committees, when appointed.
• Developing rules, policies, and procedures that promote the delivery of quality health care to the residents of the state.

Qualifications:

CQAC is made up of 11 chiropractors, and three public members, appointed by the Governor. All members must be citizens of the United States and must be residents of Washington.

Chiropractic commission members must have been licensed to practice chiropractic in Washington for a period of five years before appointment.

Public member representatives may not:

• Be a member of any other health care licensing board or commission.
• Have a fiduciary obligation to a facility rendering health care services.
• Have a material or financial interest in the rendering of health services.

Commissioner Participation Expectation Guidelines

The following expectation guidelines are intended to serve as a reference for current members and for prospective appointees of CQAC:

• Attend regular CQAC meetings, scheduled for one to two days during business hours on Thursday and Friday every two months. CQAC establishes its meeting schedule six to nine months in advance. The typical time commitment ranges between 10 to 15 days per year which also may include an annual CQAC workshop, and the Department of Health one-day Board, Commission, Committee conference.
• CQAC members may be appointed to one of the following:
  • Planning/Executive Committee.
  • Continuing Education/Continued Competency/State Exam Committee.
  • Sexual Boundaries Committee.
  • Continuity of Cases Committee.
  • Articles for Plexus Magazine Committee.
  • Instrumentation and Procedures/Standard of Care Committee.
• Prepare for all meetings by reading materials sent one to two weeks in advance of the scheduled meeting date. The packets take an average of two to four hours to read prior to each business meeting. In addition, time is spent reviewing complaint files prior to each meeting.
• Participate on disciplinary panels that may meet by telephone or in person several times per year. Sometimes panels meet with short advance notice in order to respond to emergent situations to protect the public. Hearings may also be scheduled separately from regular meetings because of the number of cases that need to be heard.
• Assist newly appointed CQAC members as necessary.

Total Annual Time Commitment:

Performance Guidelines-Newly Appointed Commissioners

• Attend an initial orientation that outlines the legal authority of CQAC, the roles and responsibilities of CQAC members, ethics, confidentiality, the legal liability of CQAC members and the Department of Health, the organizational structure of the Department of Health, roles and responsibilities of Department of Health staff, roles and responsibilities of staff attorneys and Assistant Attorneys General (AAGs), disciplinary processes, rule-making and other issues.
• Attends committee meetings if necessary.
• Performs duties of current members.

Current Meeting Schedule

Regular CQAC business meetings and panels are scheduled every two months.

Most CQAC meetings and panels are held in Tumwater, Washington. At least one CQAC meeting per year is held in Kent, Washington. One meeting may be held in Eastern Washington each biennium.

Become a Board, Commission or Committee Member.