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Monday, October 05, 2009

Board Rules Designed for Patient Protection

By Kelly O'Donnell
Superintendent, New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
          Many New Mexicans rely on doctors of oriental medicine for some or all of their health care. The New Mexico Board of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine exists to ensure that these New Mexicans are cared for in a safe, effective and ethical manner. Recently, the board adopted rules that clarify and limit the ability of doctors of oriental medicine to prescribe and administer drugs and other substances that have not been proven safe. This carefully considered and long-debated action by the board will protect the public and the integrity of a health profession upon which a growing number of New Mexicans rely.
        With appropriate training, doctors of oriental medicine may utilize a number of natural substances in their practice. In some instances, these substances may be injected, either on the tips of acupuncture needles, with hypodermic needles or intravenously. The new rules clarify the types of injection that may be performed and the substances that are approved for each type of injection. The new language protects both patients and practitioners by clearly delineating safe and acceptable practices.
        While some substances and/or modalities previously utilized by a small minority of practitioners — human growth hormone and intravenous hydrogen peroxide for example — are prohibited under the new rules, more than 90 percent of the substances previously authorized for patient use remain in the new formulary. Minerals and water soluble vitamins, for example, are still approved for intravenous therapy. On the other hand, intravenous use of drugs such as procaine and other substances not approved by the FDA for intravenous use will no longer be allowed.
        Non-western medicine, whether it be traditional Native American medicine, homeopathy or acupuncture, is a long-standing, vital component of New Mexico's health care system. A broad range of practitioners offering a wide array of services helps ensure that everyone's health care needs are met. Ensuring access to health care is an important role of government, but so, too, is ensuring that health care consumers are not endangered by untested therapies or substances when they receive treatment from a practitioner licensed by the state. The board's decision to restrict certain substances balanced these two objectives in a way that protects both patients and the profession.
        The new rules will have little or no effect on the vast majority of New Mexico doctors of oriental medicine. Only about 30 of the 600 Doctors of Oriental Medicine currently licensed in New Mexico have the expanded prescriptive authority to which the new rules apply, and only a fraction of these practitioners currently offer services that will be prohibited under the new rules.
        I applaud the members of the Board of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for their long hours of research and review and commend them for putting public safety first.