 |
 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(February 2013) |
Regulation of acupuncture is done by governmental bodies to ensure safe practice.
|
| The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(February 2013) |
Regulation of acupuncture is done by governmental bodies to ensure safe practice.
In 2000, the Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Victoria, Australia (CMBV) was established as an independent government agency to oversee the practice of Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture in the state. [1] In 2005 the Parliamentary Committee on the Health Care Complaints Commission in the Australian state of New South Wales commissioned a report investigating Traditional Chinese medicine practice. [2] They recommended the introduction of a government-appointed registration board that would regulate the profession by restricting use of the titles "acupuncturist", "Chinese herbal medicine practitioner" and "Chinese medicine practitioner". The aim of registration was to protect the public from the risks of acupuncture by ensuring a high baseline level of competency and education of registered acupuncturists, enforcing guidelines regarding continuing professional education and investigating complaints of practitioner conduct. Currently acupuncturists in NSW are bound by the guidelines in the Public Health (Skin Penetration) Regulation 2000 [3] which is enforced at local council level. In 2012 the CMBV became the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia, and in 2013 established an interim accreditation standard for the profession in partnership with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. [4] The legislation put in place stipulates that only practitioners who are state-registered may use the following titles: Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Registered Acupuncturist, Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioner, and Registered Chinese Herbal Medicine Practitioner.
In Brazil, acupuncturists are not required to have any college level education. Currently, biomedicians, [5] biologists, [6] pharmacists, [7] among other health professionals, have regulated acupuncture.
While some medical doctors defend that practicing acupuncture is exclusive to medical doctors, the National Council of Health came in public to clarify the matter [8]
The Parliament is on their way to pass a law that will definitely stablish who can practice acupuncture. [9]
In Canada the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec have acupuncture licensing programs. In many provinces that are not subject to government regulation, employers will require candidates qualify for membership at the local chapter of the Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Association of Canada. [10] The province of Ontario, Canada, created the Traditional Chinese Medicine Act in 2006, which created the College of Traditional Chinese Practitioners and Acupuncturists. [10] To be licensed in Ontario, acupuncturists need to register with the college, pass a series of tests and demonstrate an experience-equivalent of having seen more than 2,000 patients over five years. [11]
In Quebec, the practice of acupuncture has been regulated since 1995 by the Ordre des acupuncteurs du Québec (OAQ).[ citation needed ]
At least 28 countries in Europe have professional associations for acupuncturists. [12]
Since 1955, the French advisory body Académie Nationale de Médecine (National Academy of Medicine) has accepted acupuncture as part of medical practice. [13] Acupuncture is also routinely reimbursed by social security when performed or prescribed by a doctor or practitioner. [14]
Following the German acupuncture trials from 2006 to 2007, the Federal Joint Committee (an agency similar to the National Institutes of Health in the United States) passed a law which allows the reimbursement of acupuncture treatment by the public health insurance system for the following ailments: chronic lower back pain [15] and chronic knee pain caused by osteoarthritis. [15] In 2006, German researchers published the results of one of the first and largest randomized controlled clinical trials. [16] As a result of the trial's conclusions, some insurance corporations in Germany no longer reimburse acupuncture treatments. [16] The trials also had a negative impact on acupuncture in the international community. [16]
In Japan, acupuncture practitioners are licensed by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare after passing an examination and graduating from a technical school or university. [12]
Traditional/lay acupuncture is not a regulated health profession. Osteopaths have a scope of practice for Western Medical Acupuncture and Related Needling Techniques. [17] The state-owned Accident Compensation Corporation reimburses for acupuncture treatment by registered health care practitioners and some traditional/lay acupuncturists that belong to voluntary professional associations. [18]
In 2022, the Ceylon Association of Medical Acupuncturists (CAMA) was established as a self-regulatory body for the practice of Acupuncture and TCM in Sri Lanka.
Background
Medical acupuncture was introduced to Sri Lanka by Professor Anton Jayasuriya Archived 2023-03-31 at the Wayback Machine . In 1974, Professor Jayasuriya was granted a scholarship by the Government of Sri Lanka and the World Health Organization (WHO) to study acupuncture in the People's Republic of China. After receiving his certification to practice, Professor Jayasuriya embarked on a mission to teach the art of acupuncture and traditional medicine. [19] His teachings attracted a wide range of individuals from over 140 countries who were interested in complementary medicine. However, it is worth noting that these teachings or individuals who completed the training did not have a government-authorized regulatory body to be registered, nor were they registered in the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) or the Ayurvedic Medical Council as acupuncture practitioners. As a result, there was an increase in malpractice of acupuncture in Sri Lanka. [20]
To address the issue of unregulated acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) malpractice, a group of medical acupuncturists who graduated from the acupuncture program at Kaatsu International University (KIU) took the initiative to form a self-regulatory body. Their aim was to gather professionals in the field of acupuncture and TCM to maintain high professional standards in the practice of acupuncture in Sri Lanka.
On June 22, 2022, this self-regulatory body, known as the Ceylon Association of Medical Acupuncturists (CAMA), was initiated by Dr. Vimukthi Asahara, Dr. Adheesha D. Dayarathna, and Dr. Imesha Hemasinghe. The inaugural general meeting of CAMA was held on July 21, 2022, with the participation of 17 members. Dr. Vimukthi Asahara was elected as the first president of the association, Dr. Imesha Hemasinghe as the vice president, and Dr. Kaveesha D. Ranasinghe as the secretary. Dr. C. Indrapala was appointed as the chief advisor.
It is important to note that on January 7, 2015, the Kaatsu International University (KIU) initiated a bachelor's degree program in acupuncture, which was the first recognized program of its kind by the University Grants Commission [21] and the Ministry of Higher Education in Sri Lanka. [22] This program aimed to establish a solid academic foundation for acupuncture practitioners in Sri Lanka.
The formation of the CAMA and the recognition of the acupuncture program at KIU signify significant steps towards ensuring the safe practice of acupuncture and maintaining high professional standards in Sri Lanka.
Acupuncturists are not a nationally regulated profession in the United Kingdom. Acupuncture practice is regulated by law in England and Wales for health and safety criteria under The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, which has been recently amended by the Local Government Act 2003. Each local authority implements its own policy in accordance with the Act. For example, the London boroughs use the London Local Authorities Act, 1991/2000. Premises and each practitioner offering acupuncture must be licensed. As there is no formal certification of acupuncture, practitioners are exempted from licensing by virtue of being current members of approved acupuncture associations such as the British Acupuncture Council. Physiotherapists are also required to be current members of an approved acupuncture association as body piercing is not part of the entry level curriculum for state registered physiotherapists regulated by the Health Professions Council. The approved acupuncture organisations have rigorous codes of practice and educational requirements and members are covered by the appropriate indemnity insurance. An estimated 7,500 practitioners practise acupuncture to some extent and belong to a relevant professional or regulatory body. About 2,400 are traditional acupuncturists who mostly belong to the British Acupuncture Council, which requires its members to be trained in both traditional acupuncture and relevant biomedical sciences. Approximately 2,200 registered doctors and other statutorily regulated health professionals belong to the British Medical Acupuncture Society. Some 6,000 physiotherapists belong to the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists and 250 nurses belong to the British Academy of Western Acupuncture. There are also practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine who belong to one or more associations. [23]
The principal body for professional standards in traditional/lay acupuncture is the British Acupuncture Council, [24] The British Medical Acupuncture Society [25] an inter-disciplinary professional body for regulated health professional using acupuncture as a modality. The Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists. [26]
Acupuncturists in the United States are trained and licensed according to criteria set by three professional organizations, all founded in the early 1980s:
Acupuncture regulation in the US began in the 1970s, prompted by an article by New York Times reporter James Reston. [35] In 1973, Nevada became the first US state in the nation to authorizing the practice of acupuncture, and many states thereafter followed suit. [36]
The Food and Drug Administration first regulated acupuncture needles in 1972 as "investigational devices" and later recognized needles for acupuncture uses in 1996. [33] In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration changed the status of acupuncture needles from Class III to Class II medical devices, meaning that needles are regarded as safe and effective when used appropriately by licensed practitioners. [37] [38]
As of 2004, nearly 50% of Americans who were enrolled in employer health insurance plans were covered for acupuncture treatments. [39] [40]
Physical therapists (PTs) in New Jersey must end their use of dry needling by the end of August, after the State Attorney General's office ruled that it was not part of a PT's legal scope of practice. [41] [ dead link ][ needs update ]
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientific knowledge, and it has been characterized as quackery.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence of effectiveness or logical mechanism of action.
Acupressure is an alternative medicine technique often used in conjunction with acupuncture or reflexology. It is based on the concept of life energy (qi), which purportedly flows through "meridians" in the body. In treatment, physical pressure is applied to acupuncture points, or ashi trigger points, with the aim of clearing blockages in these meridians. Pressure may be applied by hand, by elbow, or with various devices. There is no scientific evidence for the existence of acupuncture points, meridians, or qi.
Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In European countries, a person professionally trained to give massages is traditionally known as a masseur (male) or masseuse (female). In the United States, these individuals are often referred to as "massage therapists". In some provinces of Canada, they are called "registered massage therapists."
A respiratory therapist is a specialized healthcare practitioner trained in critical care and cardio-pulmonary medicine in order to work therapeutically with people who have acute critical conditions, cardiac and pulmonary disease. Respiratory therapists graduate from a college or university with a degree in respiratory therapy and have passed a national board certifying examination. The NBRC is responsible for credentialing as a CRT, or RRT,
Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturopaths. Difficult to generalize, these treatments range from the pseudoscientific and thoroughly discredited, like homeopathy, to the widely accepted, like certain forms of psychotherapy. The ideology and methods of naturopathy are based on vitalism and folk medicine rather than evidence-based medicine, although practitioners may use techniques supported by evidence. The ethics of naturopathy have been called into question by medical professionals and its practice has been characterized as quackery.
Osteopathy, unlike osteopathic medicine, which is a branch of the medical profession in the United States, is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. In most countries, practitioners of osteopathy are not medically trained and are referred to as osteopaths.
Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) is a private university located in Whittier, California and specializing in the health sciences. SCUHS programs include acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which are regarded by the mainstream medicine and science communities as pseudoscience. Academics are organized into four colleges and schools: the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, the College of Eastern Medicine, and the College of Science & Integrative Health. The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission.
Dry needling, also known as trigger point dry needling and intramuscular stimulation, is a treatment technique used by various healthcare practitioners, including physical therapists, physicians, and chiropractors, among others. Acupuncturists usually maintain that dry needling is adapted from acupuncture, but others consider dry needling as a variation of trigger point injections. It involves the use of either solid filiform needles or hollow-core hypodermic needles for therapy of muscle pain, including pain related to myofascial pain syndrome. Dry needling is mainly used to treat myofascial trigger points, but it is also used to target connective tissue, neural ailments, and muscular ailments. The American Physical Therapy Association defines dry needling as a technique used to treat dysfunction of skeletal muscle and connective tissue, minimize pain, and improve or regulate structural or functional damage.
The American Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) is a private graduate school of traditional Oriental medicine and acupuncture in Roseville, Minnesota. It was established in 1997 in response to the encouragement of staff and faculty at the Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Jinan, China. Classes began in 1999 in a small collection of rooms in the University Technology Center building in Dinkytown, near the University of Minnesota. At that time there were about 40 full and part-time students and the school consisted of two class rooms, four treatment rooms and a small series of adjoining offices which served as reception, administration office and pharmacy. The one clinic consultation room was little more than a closet with a window and enough space for a desk and two chairs.
The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) is a regulatory body in the United Kingdom which provides a voluntary register of complementary, rather than alternative medicine, therapists. The key purpose of CNHC is to act in the public interest and enable proper public accountability of the complementary therapists that it registers.
Physical therapy education varies greatly from country to country. Worldwide, physical therapy training ranges from basic work site education in hospitals and outpatient clinics to professional doctoral degree and masters programs.
Health professional requisites refer to the regulations used by countries to control the quality of health workers practicing in their jurisdictions and to control the size of the health labour market. They include licensure, certification and proof of minimum training for regulated health professions.
In the Japanese medical tradition and in Japanese martial arts traditions, the word Hara is used as a technical term for a specific area (physical/anatomical) or energy field (physiological/energetic) of the body. An alternative Japanese reading of the character is Fuku, the Chinese reading is Fu.
Emperor's College is a private for-profit graduate school of traditional Asian medicine in Culver City, California. Founded in 1983, it offers master's and doctoral programs with accreditation in acupuncture and Asian medicine.
Texas Health and Science University (THSU) is a private for-profit university with its main campus in Austin, Texas and a second campus in San Antonio. It offers graduate and doctoral degrees in acupuncture, and traditional Chinese medicine with a Chinese herbal medicine specialty.
The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) is a self-regulatory body for the practice of traditional acupuncture in the UK.
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), infrequently spelt as the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency, is a statutory authority founded in 2010 which is responsible, in collaboration with the Medical Board of Australia, for registration and accreditation of health professionals as set out in the Australian legislation called the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. As of 2018, approximately 586,000 health professionals were registered with the AHPRA, containing 98,400 medical practitioners, and 334,000 nurses and midwives. This rose to 825,720 registered health professionals in 2021.
Cheng Dan'an was a Chinese acupuncturist who founded the first school of acupuncture in modern China, made widespread changes to the practice, and served as chairperson of the Chinese Medical Association.
Since 1955, the French Academy of Medicine accetr ted and included Acupunchlre as a part of medicine because it includes both diagnosis and therapeutic treatment
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