All Chinese medicine practitioners in British Columbia must now be licensed to practise. This is the first registration requirement of its kind in North America.
Years of lobbying led to the creation of the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia in 1996, says college chair Mason Loh, but demand for the licensing system has been driven by patients. “Some people say that bringing a 3000-year-old healing system in line with other health care professions is impossible,” he says. “Well, this registration has shown that it can be done.”
There are now 4 licensed categories of Chinese medicine in BC: doctor of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), registered TCM practitioner, registered TCM herbalist and registered acupuncturist.
The college is encouraging consumers to report concerns and to find licensed practitioners online (www.ctcma.bc.ca/registrants.htm). There are currently about 900 TCM practitioners in BC — most are acupuncturists — and to be registered they must carry a minimum of $1 million in malpractice insurance.
Over the past 4 years, about 550 of them have applied for a 1-time, points-based opportunity to obtain licensure in the different categories (the rest will write licensing exams). About half have had their credentials evaluated so far. Applicants must provide proof of education, names of patients and patient-contact information for credentialing purposes.
The college then attempts to verify overseas qualifications, a process registrar Randy Wong calls “horrendous.” Adds Wong: “Sometimes it takes years of digging,” says Wong.
The college has so far discovered 16 cases of fraudulent credentials, and these applicants were rejected. Some may face prosecution. — Heather Kent, Vancouver