Legislation that allows chiropractic students to work hands-on with real patients cleared a Senate committee Monday.
Senate Bill 144, introduced by Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, stated that students can do so only as part of their college instruction and under the watch of a licensed professional.
Hawai‘i is one of only five states in the U.S. that does not allow student chiropractors to intern under existing professionals, according to Dean Shivvers, president of the Hawai‘i State Chiropractic Association.
“We support this bill because we think it will help bring more chiropractors to the island, which we’re short on,” he said during the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services meeting. “Because they would have had hands-on time with real-life patients instead of just at school.”
Chiropractors are health care professionals who use their hands to examine and treat bones, muscles and joints. This practice includes realigning the spine and helping with stiff joints.
The chiropractic profession is more than a century old, beginning in the U.S. Hawai‘i was the first to recognize the practice as a health care professional in 1925. The profession was first placed under the medical board until the chiropractic board was created.
The state has approximately 285 chiropractors, according to the Hawai‘i State Chiropractic Association.
The measure passed with amendments recommended by the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. The bill included that students have to be enrolled in an accredited chiropractic college and work under a licensed chiropractor who has at least five years of professional experience.
SB 144 will now need to pass the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee before it goes to the full Senate for approval.
