Unlicensed practitioners of complementary and alternative health care have long sought to escape the rigors and limitations of professional licensure. Under the provisions of H842 – Consumer Health Freedom Act (Parmon, Harrison, Johnson, Fisher), unlicensed health providers of complementary and alternative health care services (broadly defined) would not be in violation of the Medical Practice Act. The person providing the services would be required to make disclosures to the “patient” before providing services. Certain services and conduct would still be prohibited without a license, including:
1.      Performing surgery or any other procedure that harmfully punctures the skin of a person except finger pricking for screening purposes.
2.      Prescribing or administering X‑ray radiation.
3.      Prescribing or administering a legend drug, a legend device, or controlled substance.
4.      Performing a chiropractic adjustment of an articulation of the spine.
5.      Performing massage therapy, except for a practice already exempt from massage therapy violations.
6.      Providing to a person a diagnosis or treatment of a health condition and as a result of these services willfully causes that person recognizable and imminent risk of significant physical or mental harm.
7.      Holding oneself out as a physician, surgeon, or medical doctor or representing that he or she is licensed, certified, or registered by this State to practice a health care profession.
 

The NCMS is opposed to this bill, which has numerous problems. Most important, it would permit any person who is ineligible for licensure as a physician or other healing arts practitioner to provide health care services to the public in an unregulated environment.  The bill is on the House Health Committee calendar for Tuesday, April 21, 2009.