Acupuncture licensing board acquiesces after four-year battle
For physical therapists in North Carolina, the reward was worth the wait.
The professionals claimed victory at last in their fight to protect dry needling last week, when the state’s acupuncture licensing board relented on its attempt to restrict the intervention, signing off on a settlement agreement in federal district court that acknowledges dry needling as a part of the PT scope of practice in the state.
The agreement acts as an end to a lawsuit from a combination of PTs and patients against the North Carolina Acupuncture Licensing Board (NCALB) that originated back in 2015.
“The Acupuncture Board finally yielded to the NCPTA’s demands,” said NCPTA President Kyle Covington, PT, DPT, PhD, in an online statement. “This tremendous victory sends a powerful message to those would seek to prevent our patients from receiving the treatment they need: no matter how tough the fight, no matter how long it takes, NCPTA will always stand up for our patients’ access to care.”
APTA Director of State Affairs Angela Shuman added that the decision is a big step for the PT profession in the Tar Heel State, and that all practitioners have a hand in the occasion.
“This is a major win for patients and physical therapists in North Carolina,” Shuman said. “But it could not have been achieved without some amazingly hard word by the North Carolina Chapter and its members, and APTA is proud of what they have accomplished.”
SOURCE: PT in Motion
