S565

Thank you to everyone who opposed this bill. I have been informed that all references to acupuncture have been removed from the chiropractic bill.

PLEASE Protect Acupuncture: Oppose Bill S565

Please protect the profession of acupuncture. Take 5 minutes and print out the following and fax it to these senators. Or just make a quick telephone call to register your opposition to this bill. PLEASE.

Senator Stephen M. Sweeney, Primary Sponsor
Senate Commerce Committee Members
Senator Nia H. Gill (Esq), Chairperson

RE: S565 Strong Opposition

Dear Senators:
I wish to express my strong opposition to Bill S565, which would allow Chiropractors
to include acupuncture and Chinese herbs in their scope of practice, with minimal
training.

When I put my health and well being into the hands of a licensed healthcare professional,
I expect them to be fully trained and competent. Even though MDs practice acupuncture
with abbreviated training, chiropractors are not trained as MDs, and have inadequate
training in dealing with blood borne illnesses and invasive procedures. They also have
significantly less training overall, than an MD.

This bill significantly compromises public safety and consumer confidence by
allowing the licensure of lesser-trained health care providers and in allowing this
licensure, also lowers the standards of education of the profession of acupuncture
and Oriental Medicine.

Please Vote Against S565

Thank you.

Name_______________________________________________________________

City/State_____________________________________________________________

Email/Phone___________________________________________________________

Re: S565 STRONG OPPOSITION

Senator Nia H. Gill (Esq.)
Chairperson, Senate Commerce Committee
425 Bloomfield Avenue, 2nd Floor
Montclair, NJ 07042
sengill@njleg.org
973.509.0388 phone
973.509.9241 fax

Senator Raymond J. Lesniak
Vice Chair, Senate Commerce Committee
985 Stuyvesant Ave.
Union, NJ 07083
senlesniak@njleg.org
908.624.0880 phone ext.17
908.624.0587 fax

Senator Nicholas P. Scutari
Senate Commerce Committee
1514 East Saint Georges Ave., 2nd Floor
Linden, NJ 07036
senscutari@njleg.org
908.587.0404 phone
908.587.9312 fax

Senator Gerald Cardinale (DDS)
Senate Commerce Committee
350 Madison Ave.
Cresskill, NJ 07626
sencardinale@njleg.org
201.567.2324 phone
201.567.8514 fax

Senator Robert W. Singer
Senate Commerce Committee
2110 West County Line Rd.
Jackson, NJ 08527
sensinger@njleg.org
732.901.0702 phone
732.901.0587 fax

PRIMARY SPONSOR
Senator Stephen M. Sweeney
Kingsway Commons
935 Kings Highway, Suite 400
Thorofare, New Jersey 08086
sensweeney@njleg.org
856.251.9801 phone
856.251.9752 fax

Call to Action: OPPOSE Chiropractic Acupuncture Bill

I urge all supporters of acupuncture and Chinese medicine to please take 5 minutes out of your day to call and email the following two assembly persons regarding this bill. Please leave a message with their office OPPOSING this bill. In addition, please send an email (you can use the text below, just cut and paste it). This is urgent. Chiropractors are trying to pass a bill that would allow them to practice acupuncture without going to acupuncture medical school. Their training would consist of a couple hundred hours (a weekend course and home study). Acupuncturists spend 4 years in school and over 3,000 hours studying acupuncture. Should this bill pass, the quality of care will be dangerously low and the risk to public safety dangerously high.

Assemblyman Joseph Roberts: asmroberts@njleg.org: 856-742-7600
Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman: aswWatsonColeman@njleg.org: 609-292-0500

Hi. My name is __________ and I am requesting that Assemblyman Joseph Roberts and Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman OPPOSE Assembly Bill 3122, the Chiropractic Scope of Practice Bill. This bill allows chiropractors to practice acupuncture (an entire system of Chinese medicine) with abbreviated (barely any) training and presents a significantly increased risk to public safety. Unless all references to acupuncture are removed from the bill, I am OPPOSED to A3122. This is a significant public safety issue and I urge an opposition to this bill.

Thank you very much for considering my position on this issue.

Acupuncture Politics

Politics and powerful lobbyists have infiltrated the profession of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Today marks a significant decline in the profession as chiropractors have finally managed to influence the New Jersey State legislature by passing through the assembly committee a bill that would allow them to practice acupuncture with a minimal few hundred hours of training. This exception has already been carved out for M.D.'s, unfortunately, and now, with this precedence, the chiropractic lobbyists have widened the loophole.

What is acupuncture without the theoretical framework of Chinese medicine? It's just sticking needles in people. And, unfortunately, an uneducated patient without understanding the distinctions in training, can undergo significant harm. The qualifications of the average acupuncturist is stated below. Compare that to the chiropractors and M.D. acupuncturists. Not to mention that many acupuncturists like myself, spend their entire careers training in this medicine....

Excerpted from an older post on Acupuncture vs. Medical Acupuncture

It is not uncommon for prospective patients to call my office and ask whether or not I am a "medical doctor." Typically, this question stems from the fact that some medical insurance companies will only reimburse if acupuncture is performed by an MD, and the lack of understanding of the training of Chinese medicine practitioners and that of the medical doctor.

Practitioners of Chinese medicine train for approximately 4 years in medical school, just like medical doctors. The difference is that we spend 75% to 80% of our time training in the theories and practice of Chinese medicine, including extensive clinical internships and externships. The remainder of our training is in western medicine and sciences. Cognizant of the fact that we live in a world dominated by western science, the practitioner of Chinese medicine must be knowledgeable of western medicine.

During our time in medical school, we spend over 3,000 hours studying acupuncture (channels, acupoints, clinical techniques and applications), Chinese medical theories, physiology and pathophysiology, herbal medicines (including herb combinations, synergies, and formulations), classical Chinese medicine, and treating patients under the guidance of supervising acupuncturists and herbalists. Not to mention that many practitioners, like myself, have extensive post-graduate training with senior practitioners and masters in the field.

So, what training do MDs or Chiropractors have in acupuncture? None. The one's who will advertise as "medical acupuncturists" have trained for approximately 200 hours, typically a weekend course and some "homework." This is the standard recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) so that doctors know when to refer out to fully-trained acupuncturists. MDs, osteopaths, naturopaths and chiropractors only have this limited training. They are not practicing Chinese medicine, just using needles. Sticking needles in someone without knowledge of the underlying theories of Chinese medicine is not practicing acupuncture and is not recommended by this practitioner.

Acupuncture is strong medicine with the power to bring awareness of our imbalances to the body and mind and help correct them. Despite what you hear from an MD, its influence extends far beyond neural pathways and the release of endorphins. Improper training in and use of this sacred healing art is an affront to every skilled practitioner and to the majesty of Chinese medicine.

A strong foundation in the principles of Chinese medicine is prerequisite to being a good acupuncturist. But it is only the beginning. The simple act of inserting a needle requires significant cultivation on the part of the practitioner to feel for the arrival of Qi under the needle. According to Yanagiya Sorei and Shudo Denmei, two famous Japanese master acupuncturists, forcing an acupuncture needle into the skin of a patient is akin to rape. In 1980 Master Yanagiya stated:

Inserting needles and applying moxa, this is an art. Ours is a profession which requires a sense of adventure. Isn't it incredible how all manner of diseases can be cured with nothing more than a needle or a few pieces of moxa? Isn't it grand how needles and moxa can be used to create the effect of all manner of medicine?

Acupuncture is of the mind. This should be considered very carefully. One needle can be used to unlock the key to all manner of diseases. It is only natural, therefore, that one's technique needs to be perfected.

Which kind of acupuncturist will you go see?