The regulation of Chinese Medicine in the U.S.

Abstract

: This study surveys the topic of regulation and reality of studies, the professional practice of Chinese Medicine (CM), the regulation and reality of Chinese phytotherapy, and the level of acceptance by the population in the U.S. The study refers to CM as Acupuncture and Traditional Medicine (AcuTM) to reflect the history and the development of the medicine in the U.S. While the origin of the practice of acupuncture in the U.S. may go back as far as the 1800s, the establishment of AcuTM in the U.S. has been defined by the 1971 article published in 1971 in The New York Times detailing the acupuncture treatment the columnist and journalist, James Reston, received in China. Nevertheless, acupuncture as a profession has only recently been recognized at a federal level in 2018, and quantitative and qualitative studies at a national level are lacking and/or more than a decade old. The information available in individual state and federal regulatory agencies was consulted as much as possible to obtain the most recent information. The singular theme that emerged in this study is changes and transformations of the profession in the U.S. due to its historical development in individual states impacting and affecting national regulations, which in turn, affect individual states as well as the study and the practice of the profession.