The Star TRADITIONAL and Complementary Medicine (TCM) practitioners will be required to be registered and work at hospitals and medical institutions approved by a council.
The Traditional and Complementary Medicine Bill 2012, which was tabled yesterday, aims to regulate the country’s growing alternative medicine industry.
TCM practitioners must apply to the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Council to be provisionally registered and must undergo a residency of not less than one year with any hospital or institution identified by the council.
Anyone who fails to register with the council or a practitioner who practises in a non-recognised area will be subject to a RM30,000 fine, two years’ jail or both upon conviction. A maximum fine of RM50,000, three years’ jail or both will be imposed on repeat offenders.
The council will be responsible for establishing the eligibility of TCM practices, registering individuals providing such services and issuing practising certificates.
The 22-member council will also be responsible for developing a code of professional conduct and rules relating to the profession and to hear complaints on their services.
Its members will comprise officers from the Health Ministry, local universities, registered public practitioners and experts.
The council will also be empowered to appoint a medical officer from the ministry, with powers to investigate and issue a stop order against an errant practitioner.
The new law will also make it compulsory for practitioners to refer a patient to a medical or dental practitioner if an emergency occurs which is beyond his skills to treat.
A recognised practitioner is also prohibited from making spurious or misleading claims with regard to curative treatment or properties of medication.
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