In recent times, there has been a lot of confusion as to which certification is required to practice acupuncture and have it be covered by extended health care. Acupuncture, in Ontario, is a practice regulated by Bill 50, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Act (TCM). Certain health professionals, including chiropractors, are regulated in this practice by their existing college, for example the College of Chiropractors of Ontario (CCO), and not the new College of TCM.
The legislative changes imply that in the case of chiropractors practicing acupuncture, insurers should rely on the College of Chiropractors of Ontario rather than ACO or AFCI certification. ACO certification or membership is no longer the standards to which chiropractors are held to in Ontario since the release of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Act and the CCO Standard of Practice.
In some instances, insurers are still requesting ACO certification numbers from chiropractors; this is no longer correct. Instead, insurers ought to seek assurance that the chiropractor has met the CCO Standard of Practice.
