MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2012 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Smith (39th)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-71-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "ACUPUNCTURE" FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE ACUPUNCTURE PRACTICE ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 73-71-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT PRACTITIONERS OF ACUPUNCTURE MAY PERFORM ACUPUNCTURE FOR A PATIENT ONLY IF THE PATIENT HAS RECEIVED A WRITTEN REFERRAL OR PRESCRIPTION FROM A PHYSICIAN AND THAT THE PROCEDURE SHALL BE UNDER THE GENERAL SUPERVISION OF THE PATIENT'S REFERRING OR PRESCRIBING PHYSICIAN; TO AMEND SECTION 73-71-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT APPROVED SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES OFFERING EDUCATION IN THE PRACTICE OF ACUPUNCTURE SHALL MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF THE ACCREDITATION COMMISSION FOR ACUPUNCTURE AND ORIENTAL MEDICINE (ACAOM); TO AMEND SECTION 73-71-37, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO REPEAL SECTION 73-71-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR PHYSICIAN REFERRAL AND SUPERVISION OF ACUPUNCTURE PRACTITIONERS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 73-71-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-71-5. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Accredited college of acupuncture" means any college, school or division of a university or college that offers the degree of Master of Science in Oriental Medicine (MSOM) or its equivalent and that is accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM).
(b) "Acupuncturist" means a person who has received a professional degree from a college of acupuncture and Oriental medicine.
(c) "Acupuncturist-patient relationship" means that the acupuncturist has assumed the responsibility for making clinical judgments regarding the health of the patient and the need for medical treatment, and the patient has agreed to follow the acupuncturist's instructions.
(d) "Acupuncture practitioner" means a practitioner licensed under this chapter to practice the techniques of acupuncture in this state and includes the term "acupuncturist."
(e) "Advisory council" means the Mississippi Council of Advisors in Acupuncture established in this chapter.
(f) "Board" means the State Board of Medical Licensure established in Section 73-43-1 et seq.
(g) "Complementary and integrative therapies" means a heterogeneous group of preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic philosophies and practices, which at the time they are performed may differ from current scientific knowledge, or whose theoretical basis and techniques may diverge from western medicine routinely taught in accredited medical colleges, or both. These therapies include, but are not limited to, acupuncture, acutherapy and acupressure.
(h) "Impaired practitioner" means a practitioner who is unable to practice acupuncture with reasonable skill and safety because of a physical or mental disability as evidenced by a written determination from a competent authority or written consent based on clinical evidence, including deterioration of mental capacity, loss of motor skills, or abuse of drugs or alcohol of sufficient degree to diminish the person's ability to deliver competent patient care.
(i) "Informed consent" means the acupuncture practitioner has informed the patient, in a manner that would be understood by a reasonable person, of the diagnostic and treatment options, risk assessment and prognosis and has provided the patient with an estimate of the charges for treatment to be rendered and the patient has consented to the recommended treatment.
(j) "NCCAOM" means the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
(k) "Physician" means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who is legally authorized to practice medicine in the State of Mississippi.
(l) "Practice of acupuncture" means:
(i) To treat, correct, change, alleviate or prevent disease, illness, pain, deformity, defect, injury or other physical or mental conditions by the techniques of acupuncture, including:
1. The administering or applying of an apparatus or other therapeutic technique as defined in this chapter; or
2. The using of complementary and integrative therapies as defined in this chapter; or
3. The rendering of advice or recommendation by any means including telephonic and other electronic communications with regard to any of the above.
(ii) To represent, directly or indirectly, publicly or privately, an ability and willingness to do an act described in this paragraph.
(iii) To use any title, words, abbreviation or letters in a manner or under circumstances that induce the belief that the person using them is qualified to do any act described in this paragraph.
(m) "Techniques of acupuncture" includes acupuncture, moxibustion or heating modalities, cupping, magnets, ion pumping cords, electroacupuncture including electrodermal assessment, application of cold packs, dietary, nutritional and lifestyle counseling, manual therapy (Tui Na), massage, breathing and exercise techniques, the administration of any herb and nutritional supplement and meridian therapy. The terms used in this paragraph are defined as follows:
(i) "Acupuncture" means the insertion and manipulation of needles to the body, trigger point dry needling, and the use of Oriental medicine and other modalities and procedures at specific locations on the body, for the prevention or correction of any disease, illness, injury, pain or other condition.
(ii) "Cupping" means the heating of air or mechanical creation of suction in a cup, application to specific locations on the body to induce local vasodialation and mechanical expansion of underlying tissue.
(iii) "Ion pumping cords" means the application of wires containing diodes to acupuncture needles that have been placed on the body.
(iv) "Magnets" means the application of magnets to specific locations on the body.
(v) "Electroacupuncture including electrodermal assessment" means the use of electronic biofeedback, and electrostimulation instruments.
(vi) "Cold packs" means the application of cold packs and ice to specific locations on the body to reduce heat conditions or inflammation in surface tissues of the body.
(vii) "Dietary, nutritional and lifestyle counseling" means in depth patient interviews and counseling to determine whether poor dietary, lifestyle or nutritional practices are a factor in a patient's illness and to educate toward a healthier lifestyle.
(viii) "Manual therapy (Tui Na) and Massage" means mobilization of skeletal and soft tissues.
(ix) "Breathing and exercise techniques" means the use of Qi Gong and other techniques of therapeutic breathing and exercise.
(x) "Administration of herbal and botanical substances" means the administration of herbs of animal, vegetable or mineral origin for health maintenance and the treatment of effects of disease.
(xi) "Vitamin, mineral or nutritional supplement" means a nutritional substance, including a concentrate or extract of such a substance.
(xii) "Devices for meridian therapy" means all assessment and/or treatment devices for use with acupuncture meridians.
SECTION 2. Section 73-71-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-71-7. All of the following shall apply to an acupuncture practitioner who is licensed to practice in Mississippi:
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(a) Before treating a patient, the practitioner shall advise the patient that acupuncture is not a substitute for conventional medical diagnosis and treatment and shall obtain the informed consent of the patient.
(b) On initially meeting a patient in person, the practitioner shall provide in writing the practitioner's name, business address, and business telephone number, and information on acupuncture, including the techniques that are used.
(c) While treating a patient, the practitioner shall not make a diagnosis. If a patient's condition is not improving or a patient requires emergency medical treatment, the practitioner shall consult promptly with a physician.
SECTION 3. Section 73-71-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-71-25. (1) The board shall establish standards for approval of schools and colleges offering education and training in the practice of acupuncture.
(2) Before approval of an institute of acupuncture, the board shall determine that the institute meets standards of professional education. These standards shall provide that the institute:
(a) Require, as a prerequisite to graduation, a program of study of at least two thousand five hundred (2,500) hours;
(b) Meet the minimum requirements of the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM);
(c) Require participation in a carefully supervised clinical or internship program; and
(d) Confer a certificate, diploma or degree in acupuncture only after personal attendance in classes and clinics.
SECTION 4. Section 73-71-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-71-37. (1) It is unlawful for any person to:
(a) Hold himself or herself out as an acupuncture practitioner unless licensed as provided in this chapter;
(b) Practice acupuncture, trigger point dry needling or any other form of acupuncture, or attempt to practice acupuncture, without an active license or as otherwise permitted by board rule established under the authority of this chapter;
(c) Obtain, or attempt to obtain, a license to practice acupuncture by fraud or misrepresentation; or
(d) Permit an employed person to engage in the practice of acupuncture unless the person holds an active license as a practitioner of acupuncture, except as provided by this chapter.
(2) Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both.
SECTION 5. Section 73-71-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for physician referral and supervision of acupuncture practitioners, is hereby repealed.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.