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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A bill to allow chiropractors to practice acupuncture without having an acupuncture license has been reported out of committee and sent to the Senate floor.
Supporters of the bill argued that chiropractors are highly trained and the 200-250 hours of additional acupuncture training and a national exam should be sufficient qualification.
"Senate Bill 249 takes language that, given these trainings and exams, these people can practice in the areas in which they certify," said the sponsor, Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan.
Opponents argued that 250 hours was not enough training.
"It has nothing to do with acupuncturists not wanting chiropractors to do acupuncture," Brent Ottley, a certified acupuncturist in Utah, said Thursday. "It is a question of what constitutes professional competence to practice."
Ottley said the average schooling for acupuncturists is four years, which includes 500 hours of class instruction and 700 hours of hands-on clinical training.
He said the current chiropractic training was good, but when chiropractors want to switch fields, the lack of clinical experience in acupuncture could be harmful.
"This is not something you can do effectively with 250 hours of training," he said. "You can't achieve competence in that time."
Jim Knight of the Utah Chiropractic Physicians Association said he has had many hours of acupuncture training, but knows when to make a referral to an acupuncturist.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
