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Ontario plans to join British Columbia in regulating traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture¹ by the end of the year.

Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman made the announcement Friday, as a government-appointed panel released its recommendations.

The report contains 10 recommendations, including setting up a regulatory college to oversee² traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, as well as limiting those who can perform acupuncture to qualified³, regulated practitioners⁴. The other recommendations include:

* Establish different classes of practitioners, based on level of education, competency and experience. * Designate practitioners who use Chinese herbal medicines as herbalists. * Regulated health professional who use acupuncture in their practice should only be authorized⁵ to perform it if they meet educational and competency requirements set out by their college or board.

The province's 3,500 acupuncturists and Chinese medical practitioners currently have no set rules or standards to guide them.

Legislation outlining the regulations could be introduced by the end of the year, Smitherman said.

The panel of four provincial⁶ legislators, led by Tony Wong, began their consultations⁷ in March at Smitherman's request.

Enforceable standards for the industry is long overdue⁸, said Wong. 'I've heard that on a number of occasions people have left needles inside bodies of patients, and I've also heard that patients have actually gotten worse after treatment.'

The education would involve about 2, 000 hours of schooling⁹ for acupuncturists, or a few hundred hours for health professionals such as chiropractors who also provide acupuncture.

The national and provincial Chinese medicine associations applauded the move, saying it will legitimize the practice.

'As practitioners, we are glad that the standard is going to be set,' agreed Mary Wu, who heads a school for Chinese medicine in Toronto. 'We are waiting to meet the standard.

There are no details yet on how many of the regulations the province will implement¹⁰, although Smitherman noted¹¹ the government is not willing to cover the cost of the treatments.

British Columbia is the only province in Canada regulating both Chinese medicine and acupuncture. Quebec and Alberta regulate acupuncture.