Papers 134 ACUPUNCTURE IN MEDICINE 2004;22(3):134-136. www.medical-acupuncture.co.uk/aimintro.htm BMAS policy statements in some controversial areas of acupuncture practice Mike Cummings, Frankie Reid Introduction The safe and competent practice of acupuncture requires the practitioner to conform to a number of basic principles. These include minimising the risk of transmission of infection, maintaining sufficient knowledge of anatomy to guide safe needling, and seeking an orthodox medical diagnosis before embarking on treatment. Beyond these basic principles, there are certain circumstances in practice that generate regular debate amongst practitioners. This article details advice on a limited selection of such circumstances. In the latter half of 1998 the trustees of the BMAS agreed to double the educational activity of the society, and by 2000 the Foundation programme had increased from five to ten courses per year. As a result of this increased activity, there were greater demands on the teaching staff, and new lecturers and demonstrators were recruited. It became apparent that there were differences in the way staff approached certain clinical situations, principally as a result of different training backgrounds. In the interests of clarity and consistency for the course delegates, a series of policy statements was produced for guidance of staff at the Foundation level. They were drafted by one of the authors (MC), and circulated to the relevant teaching staff for comments before a final version was adopted. The statements were not a comprehensive list of clinical guidelines, but were consensus opinions on clinical topics that had been identified as a result of different or inconsistent approaches of staff. They are informed by evidence from case reports, and built on a foundation of knowledge derived from orthodox clinical medicine and basic sciences. These policy statements have recently been revised by the authors, and are presented here. It is likely that they will be updated periodically. The original policy statements formed a part of the BMAS Code of Practice, which also gives wider advice on professional behaviour. 1 Mike Cummings medical director BMAS Frankie Reid chair of education subcommittee BMAS Correspondence: Mike Cummings medical- director@medical- acupuncture.org.uk Abstract The safe and competent practice of acupuncture requires the practitioner to conform to a number of basic principles. These include minimising the risk of transmission of infection, maintaining sufficient knowledge of anatomy to guide safe needling, and seeking an orthodox medical diagnosis before embarking on treatment. Beyond these basic principles, there are certain circumstances in practice that generate regular debate amongst practitioners. This article details advice on a limited selection of such circumstances. This advice has been drawn from a set of policy statements originally drafted to facilitate clarity and consistency within the teaching of Western medical acupuncture provided by the BMAS. It is not comprehensive, but covers the areas where there were the greatest differences in approach among the teaching staff. The original policy statements were also incorporated into the BMAS Code of Practice. By using the guidance in this article, in addition to applying sound clinical judgement and a knowledge of relevant anatomy, we hope that practitioners will minimise both the theoretical risks and the reported serious adverse events related to acupuncture, yet be able to practise unencumbered by illogical restrictions. Keywords Acupuncture, practice, policy statements. group.bmj.com on September 2, 2016 - Published by http://aim.bmj.com/ Downloaded from