A Needling Controversy

Acupuncture licensing requires thousands of hours of training, but the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners' (TBCE's) rules allow chiropractors to perform the procedure and to do so with considerably less training. The Texas Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (TAAOM) is challenging those rules in a lawsuit, saying acupuncture is beyond the chiropractic scope of practice, and TBCE's inclusion of it constitutes a public health risk. The Texas Medical Association filed an amicus curiae brief to support TAAOM's case, citing the limitations on acupuncture practice in the Texas Occupations Code and the large disparity in required training hours between licensed acupuncturists and chiropractors who perform the technique.