August 2004 Rules Hearing.


HOW THE PROFESSION CHANGES    Selah Chamberlain

A Rule Hearing is coming up on August 13th. You may say, “So what?” but “Yes, it's important, dagnabbit”, and I'll tell you why.

A proposed new rule would require 15 hours of Continuing Education every year. That means we will have to take 15 hours of continuing education approved by the NCCAOM every year if we want to renew our state licenses. This will be so whether we have kept up our NCCAOM diplomas or not—we'll have to meet their CE requirements.

We may at last have rules allowing Certified Acupuncture Detoxification Specialists—non-DOMs (CADS, see article OUR FOOT IN THE DOOR, in this issue) who do ear treatments in substance abuse and maybe other public health treatment programs, supervised by DOMs. This is in accordance with what the profession decided at the 2002 OMANM Annual Meeting (the one where a lot of people showed up).

There are rules that make it clear what those who have Expanded Prescriptive Authority can do. Expanded Prescriptive Authority will be called “Rx2,” clarifying it as an expanded successor to Extended Prescriptive Authority or “Rx1.”

There are rules making the older Extended Prescriptive authority permanent, so it won't sunset, forcing its holders to take Rx2 or lose what they can now do.

Rules will establish “licensure by endorsement” to extend recognition to out-of-state or out-of-country practitioners. Someone with years of experience elsewhere won't have to start school all over again to be able to practice here.

Other rules correct typos, punctuation errors and unclear wording, and other substantive maters.

And what is a “Rule Hearing?” The BAOM (Board of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, our licensing board) enforces our practice act, and makes the rules that make the practice act work.

Enforcement happens in their regular meetings. Often they set up committees to discuss other aspects, and hear different ideas about how to make the act work better. Sometimes one side of an argument is the only one heard during this committee phase. Sometimes great efforts are made to get “other sides” to show up and make their cases-- the “other sides” don't always respond—but sometimes they do and lively and full discussion ensues. Eventually the BAOM proposes changes to the Regulations, or “Rules”.

At this point there has to be a Rules Hearing. The Rules are available to the public on the BAOM's website (www.rld.state.nm.us/b&c/Acupuncture/) 30 days before the hearing. Everyone interested can show up at the meeting and say if they like the proposals or not, and what they do or don't like about them and if it's life-or-death important, or just relatively important. The BAOM listens to the public and then decides to adopt changes or not. Rejected changes are dropped at this meeting. New rules are adopted at their next regular meeting (Sept. 8 unless it's rescheduled). The Sept. 8th meeting is also open to the public, but the public doesn't have a right to put their oar in at that stage.

That's why it's important to show up at the Rules Hearing on August 13th—(location to be announce on the BAOM's website) if you care about any of these changes to our practice here in New Mexico.

Whether we show up or not, this is how the profession changes.