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04 Sep 2014
The regulator for Chinese medicine, the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia (National Board), is urging people to check that their Chinese medicine practitioner is registered.
The regulator for Chinese medicine, the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia (National Board), is urging people to check that their Chinese medicine practitioner is registered (including acupuncturists, Chinese herbal medicine practitioners and Chinese herbal dispensers), and to only visit registered practitioners.
Registered Chinese medicine practitioners must meet national standards to ensure that they are adequately trained, qualified and experienced to practice. If their practice falls below these standards, the practitioners are held to account by the National Board, as per the 13 other regulated health professions in Australia.
Protecting the public is the National Boards’ main objective.
National Board Chair for Chinese medicine, Professor Charlie Xue, said that consumers are able to easily check if their practitioner is registered, by going to the Board’s website.
‘The best way to ensure you and your family are accessing Chinese medicine services that meet professional standards is by only seeing practitioners who are registered. Checking that your practitioner is registered is as easy as going to the website and entering their name and location.’
‘If your practitioner does not appear on the register, they are not registered and you can’t be sure that they are providing an adequate service’, said Prof Xue.
All registered practitioners appear on the register, as will any conditions or undertakings that apply to their registration, except for conditions relating to a practitioner’s health.
‘If anyone has a concern about a registered practitioner, or about someone who is presenting themselves as being a registered practitioner when they are not, please let the National Board know by making a notification,’ said Prof Xue.
To lodge a complaint or a concern about a registered practitioner, go to the website of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). AHPRA receives complaints on behalf of all the national boards.
Download a PDF of this Media release - Regulator urges consumers: Check that your Chinese medicine practitioner is registered - 4 September 2014 (197 KB,PDF)