Australia has now regulated Traditional
Chinese Medicine which is both welcome and a pointer to the future here in North
America and elsewhere. TCM has become well-structured
and matured in china itself in a natural alignment with modern medical science
and the only thing delaying its complete adoption elsewhere is mere prejudice. Australia has blown that door open and we no
longer face pioneering costs in introducing a similar regime here.
China now has a tri level co pay
medical system in place. Every diagnosis
provides three levels of care as follows:
1
full Western regime (usually most costly)
2
mixed therapy (moderate cost and an attempt to
integrate)
3
TCM only
It goes without saying that this
will also create a body of statistical evidence that will soon inform informed decisions
by both patient and doctor.
My sense is that TCM has
thousands of years of practice dealing with chronic maladies that is missing in
Western medicine, while Western medicine is better at dealing with the
immediately fatal or debilitating were TCM is plausibly hit and miss.
Otherwise, the weight of time is
slowly reforming and merging both medical traditions to everyone’s benefit.
Chinese Medicine Becomes
Regulated
Nov 17, 2011 by Craig
Gibson
Thankfully all professions, including natural health practitioners, are
increasingly regulated which helps to ensure they have undergone the requisite
training, are insured and have registered with the appropriate regulatory
body. Chinese
medicine (acupuncture and
Chinese herbal medicine), which is practised and utilised widely throughout
Australia, has recently been added to the existing health professions that are
regulated in all states/territories of Australia. Until recently each State and
territory had implemented its own regulatory framework, which has resulted in a
fragmented and inconsistent status quo – particularly for consumers. ntpages
spoke to Debra Gillick, Executive Officer for the Chinese Medicine Board of
Australia, for more background on the new legislation and its implications.
Firstly, tell us a little about Chinese Medicine regulation in
Australia.
“The CMR Board of Victoria was the first statutory authority to
regulate Chinese medicine in Australia. The Chinese Medicine Registration Act
2000 became fully operational in Victoria on 1 January 2002 and was later
replaced by the Health Professions Registration Act 2005 which will soon be
replaced by national legislation. What this means is that since 1 January 2002
it has been a legal requirement for all acupuncturists and practitioners of
Chinese herbal medicine in Victoria to be registered – which is the equivalent
to having a license to practise. From 1 July 2012 however this will
became a legal requirement throughout Australia.”
What is your role now?
“I support the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia through my
employment with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - AHPRA.
AHPRA provides administrative support for the national baords of 14 regulated
health professions in Australia. The Board's function is to apply the law in
protecting the public through regulation of the practice of Chinese medicine
including acupuncture and the prescribing and dispensing of Chinese herbs. This
is achieved via the process of registration of practitioners and investigation
into the professional competence and fitness to practise of registered
practitioners. This requires the Board to ensure practitioners are suitably
qualified and to investigate complaints (notifications) about them.”
What is the background behind the current move to regulate health
professions?
“In Australia, for any health profession to become regulated by law
(often referred to as statute) the parliaments of all states must agree it is
necessary in order to protect the public. In effect, it is deemed that the
particular health practice should not be offered unless the practitioner has
been properly assessed to be adequately qualified, currently competent and is a
fit and proper person to practise in that profession.”
Do associations not provide some measure of protection for consumers?
“Yes, but not in the same way. Associations are effectively groups of
practitioners who form an alliance to primarily represent their own
interests. This is highly valued and fulfills an important role,
especially when there is no statutory regulation - but they are voluntary with
no legislative power.”
Which professions will be regulated – and from what date?
“Already the following ten health professions are regulated in all
States/territories of Australia:
Chiropractic
Dental care practice
Medical practice
Nursing and midwifery
Optometry
Osteopathy
Pharmacy
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Psychology
The following four health professions, which are currently regulated in
some but not all jurisdictions, will become regulated
in all States/territories of Australia from 1 July 2012:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice
Medical Radiation practice
Occupational Therapy
Chinese medicine (acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine)
What is the primary objective of this regulation?
“As with all the other regulated professions, the primary purpose of
statutory regulation is protection of public health, safety and welfare.”
How are standards developed for registration and accreditation?
“Boards develop draft codes and guidelines, circulate them to
stakeholders and published them on their websites for consultation. Under
the National Law, the following five mandatory standards are required for
approval by the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council, for each of
the regulated health professions:
Professional indemnity insurance
Criminal history
Continuing professional development
English language skills: and
Recency of practice
The National Law requires the national Boards to undertake wide-ranging consultation on proposed registration standards and codes and guidelines.”
What checks will a practitioner be subjected to?
“Every registration applicant must submit an application with evidence
of their qualifications, have a criminal history check and provide evidence of
compliance or agree to comply with the mandatory standards. Some
applicants may be subject to checking of qualifications and competence.”
How do I make sure a practitioner is registered?
“The national public register is available on the Australian Health
Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHRPA) website 24 hours a day. Chinese medicine
will be added to this from 1 July 2012.”
Will practitioners be required to have professional indemnity insurance?
“Yes, as was the case in Victoria. This is one of the mandatory
standards.”
What would qualify as unethical or incompetent behaviour by a
registered practitioner?
“This is a big question. The Victorian Board issued practice
guidelines for registered practitioners which have been available on its
website. The national Board takes over on 1 July 2012 and will be required to
deal with Chinese medicine practitioners whose professional conduct or fitness
to practise is in question. Anyone can make a notification to the Board
about a Chinese medicine practitioner who is, or was, registered with the
Board. The Board will then investigate and find out if anything is
wrong. If people have concerns or queries about registered practitioners they can
contact AHRPA via their website or
by calling 1300 419 495.”
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