Dear Fellow Acupuncturists, Students, Faculty, and Supporters,
In late March, a double or “companion” set of bills were brought before committee, in both the North Carolina House and Senate, aiming to further impinge upon our professional scope of practice
In the bills, chiropractors seek to not only reduce their own chiropractic educational requirements – significantly reducing their licensing examination content – but also to allow them to lower their standards for practicing acupuncture. The bill seeks to allow the NC Board of Chiropractic the unfettered freedom to define the acupuncture training standards for their members however they please, and with no reference to the statutory requirements governing acupuncturists. The bill would also give no oversight by any other organization as to how this body approves acupuncture standards.
Lowering educational requirements of any healthcare practice is not in the best interest of the patients and allowing chiropractors to define acupuncture independent of licensed acupuncturists is a dangerous precedent.
We need to stop the infringement upon our scope of practice and acupuncture standards must be defined and informed by acupuncture experts. The complexity of acupuncture cannot be adequately taught in abbreviated courses currently employed by chiropractors. If they are allowed to expand their scope further into acupuncture, it will dilute our work, and put the patients at risk.
We are calling upon you, your patients, clients, neighbors, or friends who may help us in contacting our local representatives by Monday of next week (April14th).
Below is a script that you can email to your North Carolina House and Senate State District representative. We have included a District Map for you to identify whom to contact. We strongly suggest you also call or even visit your house and senate representatives in person.
We are asking them to BLOCK or VOTE NO on the following two bills (included in the script below): Senate Bill 405 and House Bill 702.
The situation is dire. Please do not let this opportunity pass.
You may contact us for further information.
Sincerely,
NCSAAM Board Members
The Script:
We are contacting you for your support in opposing Senate Bill 405 and House Bill 702. These bills reduce the educational requirements for chiropractors in NC, and further seeks to allow the NC Chiropractic Board to establish acupuncture training standards for chiropractors without legislative oversight.
The Senate Bill 405 and House Bill 702 seek to reduce the standards for acupuncture practice by doctors of chiropractic. Neither of these bills defines which standards will be used to define “acupuncture” as is practiced by chiropractors, despite statutory definitions defining the practice for acupuncturists.
To fail to establish how these standards are to be defined directly puts the public at risk and lowers the standard of medical care for NC residents, and creates a two-tiered healthcare system.
The standards for the practice of acupuncture in NC are detailed in NC General Statutes – Chapter 90 Article 30. These define Acupuncture as “A form of health care developed from traditional and modem Chinese medical concepts that employ acupuncture diagnosis and treatment, and adjunctive therapies and diagnostic techniques, for the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health and the prevention of disease.”
The requirements for a licensed acupuncturists in NC are rigorously defined in North Carolina:
- Successful completion of a three-year postgraduate acupuncture college or training program approved by the Board.
- Submit proof of successful completion of a licensing examination administered or approved by the Board.
- Submit proof of successful completion of the Clean Needle Technique Course offered by the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
- This has the great potential to infringe upon the scope of practice of acupuncture by acupuncturists. This bill also puts the health and safety of NC residents at risk in the hands of uneducated healthcare practitioners.
We respectfully ask for your support in upholding the standards of our profession by opposing Senate Bill 405 and House Bill 702. Please BLOCK or vote NO to protect the integrity and requirements of our medicine
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