December 2007
AOMSM  Update

Your Source for News & Information

on Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in Massachusetts
 
In This Issue
Latest on MA Acupuncture Regulations
Last Call for Comment on ACAOM Proposed First Professional Doctoral Accreditation Standards
Herbalists and the FDA Good Manufacturing Practices Regs
Views of the AAAOM Conference
Membership

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To the members and friends of the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Society of Massachusetts (AOMSM):
 
Best wishes for a joyous holiday season and a healthy, productive 2008!
 
 From the AOMSM Board
 Nancy Gilfoy
 Susan Patten
 Deirdre D'Silva
 Bhaird Campbell
 Eileen Dube
 Allyson O'Connell Nevard
 Dawn Meltzer

Latest on MA Acupuncture Regulations

AOMSM received a communication from Eileen Prebensen, Senior Policy Counsel for the Committee on Acupuncture, responding to the letter sent in July asking for some clarification regarding the draft revisions to the Massachusetts acupuncture regulations. She expects the Public Comment period for the regulations to be announced in early 2008 and AOMSM will receive official notification of that announcement.  There will be time during the comment period for us to sit down and talk about concerns and she assures us there will be ample opportunity to discuss the proposed changes and for the AOM community to have input.

Last Call for Comment on ACAOM Proposed Accreditation Standards for an Entry Level Doctoral Degree

December 15 is the new cutoff date for comment on the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine's (ACAOM) first draft of the proposed First-Professional Doctoral Accreditation Standards. These standards would be used to establish doctoratal programs if and when a doctorate degree becomes the entry level degree for acupuncturists. To comment on these standards, go to www.acaom.info. After the ACAOM Doctoral Task Force reviews the feedback, the Task Force will make revisions and a second draft will be available for comments and input at a later date.

Herbalists and the FDA Good Manufacturing Practices Regulations 


One of the topics brought up at the AAAOM conference in October was the impact the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines on Good Manufacturing Practices will have on AOM practitioners. The consensus is that it won't effect most practitioners who use herbs. The only herbalists who will fall under the FDA guidelines are those who have their own pharmacies and are making formulas that they sell outside their own offices.

A proposal is being considered by AAAOM and NCCAOM to create a certification that demonstrates competence for those herbalists who combine and distribute custom herbal formulas. It would establish uniform standards for labeling, sanitation, and record keeping, and would demonstrate self-regulation by the AOM profession.

AOMSM Members Give Their Views of the  AAAOM Conference

JAMES MORAN
The conference was it seems a success on many levels. Portland is a beautiful city and the hotel was a very nice venue for the conference. It afforded views of snow capped Mt. Saint Helens to the north and Mt. Hood to the east. The educational offerings, were by in large, quite good. But most importantly the conference was significant in that it was a time of coming together, of reunification. It was a time to put the past behind and to look forward. A time to celebrate and to heal.

EVELYN FOWLER
Although I was at the AAAOM Conference in October, the primary purpose of my visit was to attend the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (CCAOM) meeting. CCAOM's mission is to promote educational excellence within the field of acupuncture and Oriental medicine and these biannual meetings provide an opportunity for member schools to discuss educational programs, curriculum changes, regulations that could impact the field, trends in enrollment, recognition of the field within the general population and medical community, and other issues important to our future.  Some of the topics we discussed were on curriculum, how CCAOM can help to promote the field - brochures, web site development; finances of the Council; ACAOM's process for developing the standards for the first professional doctorate and the impact the herbal regulations may have on the community.

NANCY GILFOY
I attended the conference representing AOMSM. I was a delegate in the election for the open AAAOM board positions, voting the proxies of the joint members of AOMSM and AAAOM, and I participated in the state association presidents meeting. 

The election process was extremely cumbersome, took a lot of time and was of questionable accuracy.  I spoke at the annual meeting and urged the election committee to consider changing to an electronic voting procedure where all members have the opportunity to participate and cast their own votes. 

The state association presidents meeting was an opportunity to learn about what it going on in other states. There was discussion of specific legislative issues individual states are dealing with, like dry needling in Colorado. And beginning conversation about how we can help each other with common concerns.  Minutes from the meeting will be published in the Nov/Dec AAAOM Qi Unity.  An ongoing e-group has been created and a coordinating committee was set up to come up with a structure for the presidents group so that the states can be a resource for each other and have input into the AAAOM board. Phranque Wright is the liaison with the AAAOM board. 

Overall, I came away from the AAAOM conference feeling that I had been part of a positive step forward for the acupuncture and Oriental medicine profession. There are challenges and opportunities coming up that are going to require strong advocacy and having a single national organization is an important first step. It seemed to me that the culture of the newly unified organization is still creating itself.  I would encourage everyone to get involved - check out the AAAOM website www.aaaomonline.org , sign up for a free subscription to Qi Unity, the e-newsletter, to keep up with timely developments and news, and if there is an issue that is really important to you, sign up for a committee. It's up to all of us to make sure AAAOM represents the best of all our visions for the future.