Dear ATCMA members and colleagues,

 

On January 23, 2024, the Ministry of Health published draft proposed amendments to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner and Acupuncturists Regulation, as well as to the Physical Therapists Regulation, the Occupational Therapists Regulation, and the Dietitians Regulation. All regulation amendments proposed by government are subject to a three-month notice period (unless the Minister of Health shortens the timeframe), which means that all members of the profession and the public have until April 16 to submit feedback on the proposed amendments.

 

We know that the proposed amendments are challenging to interpret, making it difficult for practitioners to know how best to respond. Since the announcement, the ATCMA has been working to gather information that will factor in to our formal response to the proposed amendments. We have engaged a government relations firm to assist with our efforts, and we have been communicating with the CTCMA, other associations, and other knowledgeable sources. Here is what we can share with you so far:

  • It appears that Chinese herbal medicine (TCM) is not being treated as a restricted act. This is alarming! However, we believe this is an error in understanding by the authors of the proposed amendment, and that it can be rectified.  Once we are able to provide more context for this, we encourage you to raise this issue with the MOH and your MLA as Chinese herbal medicine should be a restricted act.
  • Although the updated wording seems to leave room for modalities like PIT and high velocity thrust manipulation, they have not been explicitly included. It will be important to emphasize to government that these are very well documented everyday skills that TCM professionals use in China, Europe, and North America. As with the certified practices that were included in the Physiotherapist proposed regulation amendment, TCM regulation should include the comprehensive range of currently used TCM tools to our scope.  Fifteen years of promises for a modernized scope of practice need to be addressed prior to amalgamation.  Why does the current government continue to put the advancement of our profession last while others are officially allowed to modernize?
  • The update removes scope definitions by registration title. This is a concern, as clarity on the scope of practice for each title is necessary for public protection.
  • Acupuncture and TCM will be regulated as one profession. This is good, as “TCM” is the umbrella term for all modalities that we practice in British Columbia regardless of registration title, whether it is acupuncture, herbal medicine, or manual therapies.  We encourage everyone to give feedback on the good parts of the update as well as areas of concern.

 

As we work to develop our response on the proposed regulation amendment, we need ALL REGISTRANTS to be at the ready to take action! This might include: reaching out to local government and your MLA; asking patients to give written feedback on the proposed regulation amendment; talking to the media.  We need to work together to support all TCM professionals to ensure that we have options to treat our patients safely, and to hold government responsible for treating us equally to our fellow health care professions.

 

We will soon be publishing a list of facts and figures points that you will be able to draw from in your communications with government, your MLA, your patients and potentially the media. Let’s leverage the momentum of change brought to us by the Wood Dragon, and be ready to fight for our profession. Stay tuned and be ready to act! Our patients trust us to help them, and our ability to do that depends heavily on our regulation. When we work together as ONE VOICE for TCM, we will be HEARD!

 

 

尊敬的 ATCMA 会员和执业者们，

 

2024年1月23日，卫生部公布了给中医针灸管理局、物理治疗师管理局、职能治疗师管理局和营养师管理局的拟议修订草案。 由于政府提出所有法规修正案均须经过三个月的通知期（除非卫生部长缩短时间），所以这意味着所有专业人士和公众必须在 4 月 16 日之前提交有关拟议修正案的反馈。

 

我们知道拟议的修正案难以阐明，使得从业者很难知道如何最好地回应。自该公告发布以来，ATCMA 一直在努力收集关键信息，以用于我们对拟议修正案的正式回应的写作因素。 我们聘请了一家政府关系公司来协助我们的工作，并且我们一直在与 CTCMA、及其他公会和其他知情人士进行沟通。 到目前为止，我们可以与您分享的内容如下：

 

  • 中草药（TCM）似乎并未被视为限制性行为。 这令人震惊！ 然而，我们认为这是拟议修正案的作者的理解错误，并且是可以纠正的。 一旦我们能够为此提供更多背景信息，我们鼓励您向卫生部以及您的省议员（MLA）提出这个问题，并且提出中草药应该受到限制。
  • 尽管更新的措辞似乎为PIT 和正骨手法等方式留出了空间，但它们尚未明确包含在内。因为这些是中医专业人员在中国、欧洲和北美使用的日常技能且有着有详细记录所以向政府强调是及其重要的。 且与物理治疗师拟议的法规修正案中包含的认证执业一样，中医法规应将目前使用的中医工具范围全面纳入我们的范围。 在合并之前，需要兑现十五年来对执业范围现代化的承诺。 为什么现任政府会继续把我们职业的进步放在最后，而其他职业却被官方允许实现现代化？
  • 该更新删除了按注册名称划分的执业范围定义。 这是一个令人担忧的问题，因为只有明确每个注册名称的执业范围才能更好的保护公共。
  • 针灸和中医将作为一个职业受到监管。 这很好，因为“TCM”是我们在卑诗省执业的所有模式的总称，无论注册名称如何，无论是针灸、草药还是手法疗法。 我们鼓励大家就已更新的好的部分以及所需关注的领域提供反馈。

 

我们在努力地对拟议的法规修正案做出回复的同时，我们也需要所有注册者做好采取行动的准备！ 其可能包括： 向当地政府和您的省议员（MLA）做出及时反馈； 要求患者就拟议的法规修正案提供书面反馈； 以及与媒体交谈。 我们需要共同努力，一起支持所有中医专业人士，确保我们有选择安全地治疗患者，并让政府有责任平等地对待我们和其他医疗保健专业人士。

 

我们很快将发布一系列事实和数据点，这样您就可以用于在与政府、省议员（MLA）、患者以及潜在的媒体的沟通之中。让我们利用木龙给我们带来的变革动力，准备好为我们的职业而战。

 

请继续关注并准备好采取行动！ 我们的患者相信我们会帮助他们，而我们的能力在很大程度上取决于我们的监管。当我们共同努力一起做为中医界的一个声音，我们的声音将会被听到！