TCM University Education in China - data and analysis

[Guest guest]

On 10/03/2005, at 7:21 AM, acuman1 wrote:

>

> Is there malpractice suits in Australia? I woudl suspect that any

> insurance

> company that requires undertrained providers would be open to

> litigation.

> Perhaps a acupuncturist class action suit for restriction of trade? I

> know it is a

> different country, but there must a loophole that woudl require

> competency for

> the patients sake.

> Dave

>

>

 

Hi Dave,

 

The health insurance company in the situation of MD's and acupuncture

is the public health system ie. the government (medicare). MD's are

generally sued for malpractice frequently, and have the insurance

premiums to prove it. The crazy premiums for obstetrics has pushed many

out of this speciality, and I think a similar thing is happening with

pediatrics. Medicare in this country does not cover non-MD TCM

practitioners and I don't see it happening in my lifetime (but we are

trying).

 

I think Australia is generally not as litigious as the USA (is

anyone?) and I have no idea about the possibility of a class action

regarding restriction of trade.

 

The issue of competency is of course a very important one. Acupuncture

associations have been pushing for higher educational requirements for

MD's who want to use acupuncture in their practice for years; and some

headway has been made in this regard. Our profession is also trying to

educate the public as to what chinese medicine is and what

qualifications they should look for when they seek these services. If

the public increasingly demands and engages the services of fully

qualified practitioners who are members of professional associations or

registered under legislation; the MD's will

increasingly have to satisfy these requirements as well to continue to

get patients who want this service. Of course, this is a slow process

and the simple fact that patients can often get such services basically

" for free " through an MD; it is an uphill battle for our profession.

 

The fact remains that the only way TCM practitioners will get into the

public health care system is if the public overwhelmingly demands it

and the government can afford it when the public health care system is

already in trouble trying to cover the services it currently does. Most

of the revenue the government collects from complementary health

related products and services ironically goes into supporting the

failing western medical system. However, the government is increasing

its support for research into complementary therapies and undertaking

studies comparing the cost/benefit ratio's of these different health

systems. The results of such research has been good for us and the

government can now see that in many cases their money may well be

better spent on complementary services. The problem is how to make the

transition without enough money in the coffers for medicare as it is.

 

When the registration bill for chinese medicine was passed in

parliament in my state; the MD's were exempt from this legislation

which left their own board and associations with the responsibility of

ensuring their members were sufficiently trained to offer TCM services.

This exemption was included late in the process to allow the bill to

pass through parliament, as the medical fraternity had the political

clout and would have blocked the bill. Unfortunately, once the MD's put

their hand up for exemption, so did the physiotherapists, the

chiroprators, the osteopaths, the nurses, the pharmacists, the dentists

(!!!) and the the optometrists (!!!) as the new legislation could

" theoretically " reduce their scope of practice.

 

Thankfully, for herbology, these institutions have basically waived

this exemption and now require their members to have the same

qualifications as those eligible for registration for chinese herbal

medicine through the Board; so in this regard they

must have the same education qualifications as primary TCM herbalists

to provide this service. Acupuncture however is still a different

kettle of fish and the MD board's still have a much lower educational

requirement to allow their members to practice this modality than the

board requires of acupuncturists.

 

It should be noted that the vast majority of MD's practice a biomedical

style of acupuncture that is more of a " painful area, stick needle in

it " type of service or common point protocols for morning sickness etc.

I really don't think they practice any type of traditional acupuncture,

which is a concern for what impression the public gets from such

services in regards to what they think acupuncture really is and what

it can treat.

 

Increasing numbers of MD's are attempting to incorporate complementary

therapies into their practice as they are generally less risky for some

conditions, and in other conditions they actually provide the MD with a

way to address a condition beyond " take an aspirin " or prescribing

pharmaceuticals that may more harm than good just to be seen to be

doing something for the patient. Complementary therapies are very

popular with the australian public and increasingly, the government. MD

institutions are becoming very aware of the value of these modalities

and are encouraging their members to seek training in these modalities

and incorporate them into their practice. The training these MD's a

required to take is still not up to scratch in the majority of cases

and I think many provide these services because it is what the patient

wants and the patients go to them before a true acupuncturist or other

complementary therapy provider due to the fact they can get refunds in

the public health system for this service.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Steve

[Guest guest]

Dear List,

 

I have enjoyed this discussion and would like to thank many for their

kind words off-list recently. Unfortunately, these discussions have

consumed a lot of my time in the past few days and I need to pull back

a little get some other things done:P

 

Roger, please contact me off-list if you want to discuss the data

further.

 

Best wishes to all,

 

Steve