Ontario pushes traditional medicine regulation
into question by a contentious bill that has passed to a second
reading in the Ontario legislative assembly in Canada, with
professional associations polarized over the issue.
Members and professionals from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) community in the province say they are in favor of regulation but are against a bill they say discriminates against the Chinese medical tradition. The main bone of contention is that it makes it legal for anybody to perform acupuncture, but the matter has relevance to supplement and herbal companies in North America because it illustrates issues of regulation and credibility that frequently dog the industry, which has strove to be taken more seriously by mainstream healthcare.
Ontario's proposed Bill 50 on the regulation of the TCM was put to a first reading in 2005. It defines the art in the following terms:
"The practice of traditional Chinese medicine is the assessment of body system disorders through traditional Chinese medicine techniques and treatment using traditional Chinese medicine therapies to promote, maintain or restore health." This includes acupuncture, herbal therapy, tuina massage, and therapeutic exercise.
"We are proceeding with our promise to protect Ontarians who choose alternative health care like traditional Chinese medicine," said health and long-term care minister George Smitherman of the proposed bill. "If passed, this legislation will ensure that traditional Chinese medicine is delivered by practitioners with a high level of competence."
But its detractors say that who the government judges to have a sufficient level is a grey area, as the bill would permit a variety of healthcare professionals to administer acupuncture while simultaneously removing some of the rights and privileges of TCM doctors.
As such, members of the alternative medical community in Ontario have been protesting the bill, citing it undervalues the TCM profession and even puts public safety at risk.
"Our concern is that there will be people practicing out there without enough hours of training and practice," the Ontario Association of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine president Marylou Lombardi told NutraIngredients-USA.com.
Ontario's ministry of health and long-term care did not respond to NutraIngredients-USA.com's questions in time for the publication of this article.
The principal arguments against the bill among trade associations pertain to the perception that performing acupuncture or compounding and prescribing natural health products could now be opened up to all health professionals - such as pharmacists, radiologists and chiropractors. And this leads critics to proclaim the bill as dangerous.
However, opponents also raise the issue of TCM practitioners' rights and privileges being restricted under Bill 50. They say if the bill is implemented, the title of TCM "doctor" will merely be an honorary one without any of the rights and privileges granted to regulated health professionals.
The Canadian Association of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine declined to comment to NutraIngredients-USA.com for this article.
Ontario is not the first province in Canada to propose a TCM regulatory body. The Government of British Colombia established the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Colombia in 1996. The College is a self regulatory body operating under the provincial government.
