Frequently Asked Questions

A. To enhance the protection of the public by advancing the quality of chiropractic continuing education, for the benefit of the chiropractic regulatory boards;
B. To establish the criteria and characteristics of approved chiropractic continuing education experiences;
C. To provide doctors of chiropractic with a dependable basis for selecting approved continuing education experiences;
D. To provide a basis for uniform acceptance of continuing education credits among chiropractic regulatory agencies;
E. To provide feedback of information to CE providers about their programs, and encourage periodic self-evaluation, with a view towards continual improvement and strengthening of continuing education activities.

Which other professions have some type of national or international centralized approval programs for CE?
 
Dentists
Pharmacists
Accountants
Optometrists
Opticians
Veterinarians
Veterinary Technicians
Long Term Care Administrators
Social Workers
Nurses
Nurse specialists in numerous fields
Counselors
Psychologists
Canadian rehabilitation professionals
Disability management specialists
Bankers
Fundraising professionals... just to name a few!

What is FCLB?

The Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) is a non-profit association of government agencies which license and regulate doctors of chiropractic. Established in 1926, FCLB works to protect the public and to serve our member boards by promoting excellence in chiropractic regulation. Membership includes regulatory boards in the United States, US Territories, Canada, Australia, and Mexico.

What is PACE?

Providers of Approved Continuing Education (PACE) is a service of FCLB. Providers of continuing education programs who wish to have courses of study accepted for CE credit toward license renewal may apply for recognition status with PACE. PACE Recognized Providers agree to comply with the FCLB PACE Policies & Procedures and FCLB PACE Criteria for Quality Continuing Education. These two documents establish uniform requirements to assist regulatory boards in granting relicensure credit.

How does PACE work?

Providers of continuing education may apply to PACE for recognition status.
If accepted, Recognized Providers may use the PACE logo only on their qualifying programs. A PACE Recognized Provider may not use the logo on a course or program that does not meet PACE standards.
 
PACE Recognized Providers’ qualifying courses of study are registered with FCLB and posted in a searchable database on the FCLB website.

Credits earned by individual doctors in courses which meet PACE requirements are reported to FCLB’s ALLDOCS registry, which (among other features) maintains CE records to assist chiropractic regulatory boards and professionals. FCLB issues reports to member boards to help ensure compliance by doctors of chiropractic with relicensure requirements.
Participating providers pay an initial application fee, an annual recognition fee, and a modest fee to register courses and attendees.

What are the PACE requirements?

PACE is governed by two primary authoritative documents:

PACE Policies & Procedures

• Developed by the FCLB PACE Committee with ongoing input from Review Team volunteer experts, PACE Recognized Providers, chiropractic regulatory boards, and other stakeholders
• Approved by the FCLB Board of Directors and implemented by the FCLB PACE Committee
• Reviewed regularly by FCLB to ensure validity and efficacy

Criteria for Quality Continuing Education

• Approved by the FCLB Board of Directors and implemented by the FCLB PACE Committee
• Reviewed regularly by FCLB to ensure validity and efficacy
• In addition, the PACE Workbook is also under development. This document will provide helpful references, resources, and examples to assist CE providers.

Is it mandatory to be a CE provider recognized by PACE?

No. Participation in PACE is voluntary. FCLB member chiropractic regulatory boards decide to accept or recognize PACE requirements within their jurisdictions and CE providers elect to apply for PACE recognition.
 
Chiropractic regulatory boards are legally responsible for approving chiropractic continuing education as part of the licensure renewal process. PACE is designed to assist FCLB member boards in the significant substantive and administrative responsibilities associated with reviewing and approving CE providers and their programs.
 
In response to a determined need of the membership, FCLB undertook the development and implementation of PACE to lessen administrative burdens on chiropractic regulatory boards, while at the same time providing uniform criteria as a basis for CE approval.
 
The mission of FCLB member boards is to protect the public. Consistent with this mission and acting through representatives of the member boards, PACE has been developed by FCLB as a voluntary service to chiropractic regulation. As with all FCLB programs, chiropractic regulatory boards are represented and have the opportunity to participate in the development, implementation, and continued improvement of PACE.

FCLB recommends that chiropractic regulatory boards adopt the PACE requirements as the requirements of the board. In addition, and to provide flexibility to the boards and to meet the unique needs of each jurisdiction, boards may approve individual CE programs determined to meet the board’s criteria and to be in the public interest.

Can a program which is not offered by a PACE provider ever get to use the logo?

Yes. The program must be accepted and offered by a PACE provider and offered under its authority. This means the PACE Recognized Provider takes the responsibility for full compliance with PACE requirements.
 
For example, a program on whiplash might be developed by a well-qualified instructor, who does not seek full recognition status. A postgraduate education department of a chiropractic college (if it has achieved recognized PACE status) might want to include this class in its array of offerings. The college would be responsible for ensuring that the program complied with PACE requirements. It would also be able to extend appropriate and qualifying administrative support as required by PACE, such as records retention.

Who qualifies as a recognized provider?

Any entity or individual may apply. The provider must have been offering continuing education programs for at least one year. Organizations, educational institutions, departments, units or private providers are just some of the categories that may qualify.

Recognition will be extended to those who comply with the FCLB PACE Policies & Procedures and FCLB PACE Criteria for Quality Continuing Education. These include (but are not limited to) submitting and completing an initial application, substantiating compliance with PACE requirements, payment of required fees, registering programs and participants, and proper display of the recognition status (use of the PACE logo and/or approval language). Please refer to the governing documents for details.

How much does it cost?

BOARDS FCLB member boards pay nothing to participate in the program. PACE reduces the regulatory board’s workload and standardizes approval criteria.

Also, reports are generated for each FCLB member board to document CE credits for individual licensees. This improves the current system of random audits of all practitioners by identifying those who may need to document legal compliance with renewal requirements.

PROVIDERS An initial application fee (of which $500 is non-refundable) of $1500 for non-profit providers and of $10,500 or for-profit providers is assessed to process the application and review the provider’s compliance with PACE requirements. This includes the first year’s recognition fee if the applicant is granted status as a Recognized Provider.

Initial approval is for a maximum of one year. Subsequent reapproval may be granted for up to three years upon successful completion of a reapplication, payment of a reapplication fee and required annual recognition fees, and demonstration of continued compliance with PACE.
Each course which qualifies for the use of the PACE logo must be registered with FCLB in advance of the course being held.

Following completion of the program, a $10 records fee for each participant must be forwarded to FCLB along with a list of participants to support the costs of maintaining this data in the FCLB ALLDOCS database.

What is the application process?

An applicant must submit the required fee and a completed application and support materials which describe and document how the provider will comply with the FCLB PACE Policies & Procedures and FCLB PACE Criteria for Quality Continuing Education. The application also includes such items as contact information, instructor vitae, administrative qualifications, documentation of a needs assessment, previous program offerings, etc. The PACE Committee is charged with determining whether the provider is both willing and able to comply with the program requirements.

The PACE Committee assigns the application to a Review Team of volunteer experts, who study the material to determine whether compliance can be assured. The Team reports its findings to the PACE Committee, which may remand the application back for further information or it may recommend to the FCLB Board of Directors that recognized status be granted or not.

The PACE Committee meets regularly to study the reports of the Review Teams and make its recommendations to the FCLB Board of Directors, which has final authority to grant recognized status. The initial application process will take approximately four months.

Is there an appeal process if the provider disagrees with a decision by the FCLB Board of Directors?

Yes. PACE allows for both reconsideration and appeal. Please see the FCLB PACE Policies & Procedures for details. The Appellate Commission also handles appeals in cases where recognized status might be removed for non-compliance.

How are complaints about PACE Recognized Providers handled?

The complaint process is outlined in the PACE Policies & Procedures. Signed complaints regarding non-compliance with PACE requirements will be subject to formal review by the PACE Committee. The process ensures a uniform procedure and timely resolution. Complaints outside the domain of the PACE program (such as fee disputes) will not be considered.