McRae G
J Health Polit Policy Law. 1982 Spring;7(1):163-96. doi: 10.1215/03616878-7-1-163.
The ancient Oriental art and science of acupuncture, known in the U.S. for a decade, still is practiced here only to a limited extent and does not seem likely to spread. The primary reason, this article hypothesizes, is the stifling effect of acupuncture regulation, which typically prohibits trained nonphysician acupuncturists, mostly Orientals, from performing the therapy. Although all states permit licensed physicians to practice acupuncture with little or no training, few physicians have shown any interest in learning acupuncture and adding it to their practice. The result is that acupuncture services are scarce or unavailable in most states, and the public's newly recognized right to acupuncture treatment is therefore burdened or effectively denied. Current statutory and medical board regulation of acupuncture is described and evaluated from the standpoint of whether it encourages the practice of acupuncture by persons trained in the therapy. The article finds that both physician-limitation and supervised-practice regulations inhibit or eliminate acupuncture services, while acupuncture licensing laws foster availability of the therapy. The article recommends that states establish autonomous boards of acupuncture to license practitioners, and concludes that a coordinated national effort by acupuncturists and their lay and medical supporters will be necessary to achieve widespread adoption of licensing laws.
在美国已为人所知达十年之久的古老东方针灸医术与科学，在这里的应用仍然有限，而且似乎不太可能得到推广。本文推测，主要原因在于针灸管理规定的抑制作用，该规定通常禁止经过培训的非医师针灸师（大多数是东方人）进行这种治疗。尽管所有州都允许持照医生在几乎没有或根本没有接受培训的情况下从事针灸治疗，但很少有医生表现出学习针灸并将其纳入自己业务范围的兴趣。结果是，在大多数州，针灸服务稀缺或根本没有，因此公众新近认可的接受针灸治疗的权利受到阻碍或实际上被剥夺。从是否鼓励接受过针灸治疗培训的人员从事针灸业务的角度，对当前针灸的法定规定和医学委员会的管理规定进行了描述和评估。文章发现，对医生的限制规定和监督执业规定都会抑制或消除针灸服务，而针灸执照法有助于提供这种治疗。文章建议各州设立独立的针灸委员会，为从业者颁发执照，并得出结论认为，针灸师及其外行和医学支持者进行全国性的协同努力，对于广泛采用执照法是必要的。
