Advocacy and Representation Current ATCMA Issues

Advocacy and Representation Current ATCMA Issues

What are some examples of the issues are we working on right now?

In addition to providing you resources, answering your practice questions, delivering educational courses, and getting you discounts and deals on services and products, we have an ongoing (and sometimes growing) list of big projects that we’re working on.

• TCM Regulations updates 

ATCMA has been in communication with the provincial government and with regulators to discuss our Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists Regulations document (https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/290_2008). After our concerted efforts and stakeholders’ feedback to have the following key issues addressed in the government’s proposed changes, our regulations document is currently reverted back to the original one. It will need to be updated and revised prior to the start of the HPOA, so the ATCMA is continuing our efforts.

There are 4 key issues to address:

1. Pinyin should be reinstated.
2. Our ability to prescribe Chinese herbs and herbal formulas as part of our Restricted Activities.
3. Ensure that the definitions of our titles are clearly stated and differentiated (this has now been updated in our TCM bylaws).
4. Scope of Practice updates, including Point Injection Therapy: We continue to try to find avenues to press the Minister of Health to sign the Ministerial Order on a PIT Roster. This is a registry of practitioners who are trained in PIT and permitted to perform it. The CTCMA submitted a request for this Order in August 2021, but the MOH did not sign it. We have been meeting with MLAs, ProReg, and other TCM association leaders to discuss TCM regulations and scope of practice, including the addition of PIT. We have been attending events with MLAs and the MOH to bring recognition of the ATCMA to the decision makers in an effort to become the go-to source for all things TCM.

• Changes in Health Canada’s Upcoming Fee Changes for TCM Herbs

ATCMA has been communicating with government and stakeholders about the upcoming fee changes Health Canada is placing on Natural Health Products (NHPs), including any processed Chinese herbs (raw herbs are exempt) like concentrated herbal powders and herbal tablets, capsules, pellets, patches, topicals, moxibustion products, and more.

Distributors and manufacturers have told us that these fees will likely lead to higher costs that will be passed down to us and our patients. Further, they are likely to result in a decrease in availability to the wide array of herbal and TCM products that we use, as companies will need to decide if carrying a particular herb or TCM product is financially viable or not.

 For more about that, click here: https://atcma.org/blog/health-canadas-proposed-regulatory-changes-and-their-impact-on-traditional-chinese-medicine-tcm

• Bill36, Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) (https://bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/bills/billsprevious/3rd42nd:gov36-3)

ATCMA is working with other healthcare associations to ask questions and identify possible items of concern.

• Collaboration with other health profession associations

ATCMA belongs to the Coalition of Health Profession Associations which meets at least once per quarter to discuss areas of common concern.

For updates on some of our collaborative work, click here: https://atcma.org/blog/?category=Collaboration

• Discussions with ICBC

Our Executive Director meets with ICBC twice a month (or more frequently, as needed) to discuss issues of concern and upcoming changes to ICBC’s procedures and policies.

We also discuss specific issues with specific ICBC claims that our members are facing, and our relationship manager at ICBC investigates and helps resolve these issues. This is a benefit unique to ATCMA members.

We help practitioners review treatment plans that are rejected or only partially approved.

Our Executive Director is on the ICBC Healthcare Advisory Group. This group includes all healthcare professions that are funded by ICBC. We meet at least once per quarter to discuss issues of concern and upcoming changes at ICBC that will affect our members.

For news and updates on ICBC, click here: https://atcma.org/blog/?category=Icbc

• Student outreach

Each year we visit several TCM and acupuncture schools in BC this year to talk about life after school and practice management resources, and to explain the difference between the CTCMA/regulators, and a professional association.