Balance

The Board of Directors provides leadership for carrying out CTCMA’s mission, which is to serve and protect the public interest by regulating and advancing safe, ethical and quality traditional Chinese medicine practice in British Columbia. These new members, elected from among CTCMA registrants, will provide great insight and depth to the work of the College over the next three years, alongside the other three registrant and six publicly-appointed Board members.

“As we look ahead, we can see that Beverly, Rachel and Poppi will be outstanding additions to our Board. Each is committed to serving the public interest and has been an active practitioner for many years. We are excited about the expertise and viewpoints they bring as we continue to lead the College forward,” says Jonathan Ho, Registrar and CEO.

We further announce that the Honourable Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, has reappointed five public Board members for a one-year term from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2019.

They are Edwin Liu, Joelle Berry, Jocelyn Stanton, Oleh Ilnyckyj and Peter Stevenson-Moore.

“These five Board members have already contributed a valuable body of expertise in policy and governance best practices. Their reappointments will ensure continuity in Board operations and in policy development. I welcome the opportunity to continue working with them,” added Ho.

CTCMA’s full slate of Directors for the coming year, effective January 11, is:

• Peter Stevenson-Moore, Chair
• Weija Tan, Vice Chair
• Joelle Berry
• Guo Ding
• Kimberley Graham
• Oleh Ilnyckyj
• Edwin Liu
• Rachel Ling
• Beverly Gail Osachoff
• Shawn-Poppi Suresh Hans Sabhaney
• Jocelyn Stanton
• Weidong Yu

At this time, we’d like to thank outgoing Board members Ben Cao, John Lee and Joseph Ranallo for their dedicated service. Board members come from all areas of our profession, working as a team to make sound policy and governance decisions in the public interest, steering College operations and ensuring fiscal responsibility. The Board is accountable to the public through the Ministry of Health.

For further information on the CTCMA Board, click here.

Information about the current continuing competency program requirements can be found at the “Continuing Education” page on the College website。

How well do you know the current Continuing Competency Program?

1. Do you know how many hours that you are required to complete in the program?

   • a minimum of 50 hours of continuing education activities during each 2-year reporting cycle

2. Do you know how many hours of activities must be in person (face-to-face)?

   • 6 out of 50 hours and they can be activities in Categories A1 and/or C

3. Do you know your reporting period?

   • A registrant can check through the Members Portal which shows the “next due year” of CE credits

4. Do you know how many hours can be structured interactive activities?

   • MAXIMUM 10 hrs per reporting period – however, there is no MINIMUM!

5. Do you know how to log your CE activities?

   • An activity log can be found on the website for electronic or paper recording

Please note that continuing education courses and activities will continue to be important even after the PSP is in operation, it will be recognized as a tool for learning, but not by meeting a fixed number of hours.  Hence, the effort and time a registrant spent on their learning is always useful for their own development and growth.

Here is the examination schedule.  Examination resources can be found on the Doctor of TCM Examination page on the CTCMA website.

In order to receive your wallet-size card and a valid seal or your student badge BEFORE your current one expires, please submit your completed renewal application by the first Monday of March.

Please note that CTCMA Bylaws s56(6): Where a registrant fails to pay a registration renewal fee on or before March 31, he or she ceases to be registered.

For complete details, please refer to Registration Renewal.

Full Registrants: Please renew your registration online through the Members Portal.

Student Registrants: If you are undertaking clinical training in a Traditional Chinese Medicine education program in B.C. after March 31st, you are required to renew your student registration to ensure your continuous registration.  Please renew your registration online through the Members Portal. 

Dual Registrants: If you wish to renew only one of your registrations (i.e. R.Ac. and Student to R.Ac. only; R.TCM.H. and Student to Student only), you are NOT eligible to renew online. For further information, please visit the “Dual Registration Renewal” webpage.

Please make sure your contact information is current and registrants can update the information themselves at the Members Portal at their convenience.

CTCMA staff will be present to hand out background information and answer individual questions. The focus will be on the exam application procedures and registration requirements.

• 1st Session (Victoria, BC): March 7, 2019 (7:00 pm to 9:00 pm), Thursday
  • Magnolia Room, Magnolia Hotel & Spa
  • 623 Courtney Street, Victoria , BC V8W 1B8
• 2nd Session (Vancouver, BC): March 11, 2019 (7pm – 9 pm), Monday
  • BWY B 1228 (Classroom), Vancouver Community College (Broadway Campus)
  • 1155 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5T 4V5

The event facilities will accommodate 40 – 50 students in each session. 

For those who missed it, consider attending in 2019.

Some registrants inquired about budgeting and committee expenses at the AGM.  Answers to Questions from the 2018 AGM was posted on the CTCMA website in November 2018 in response.

These fees were established following extensive market analysis. They will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index and reviewed every 5 years. Regardless of whether a driver is deemed responsible for a motor vehicle accident or not, it has been decided that they should not be out of pocket for treatment costs.

For your information, similarly preauthorized fees have also been established for massage therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, kinesiology, counselling and chiropractic.

Visit the links below for some very thorough and useful information. The Q&A link provides an excellent review of questions likely to be asked by healthcare practitioners.

• Announcement

• The Insurance (Vehicle) Regulation, B.C. Reg. 447/83 Amendments

• ICBC Facts Sheet

• Q&A for Healthcare Practitioners (ICBC)

• News updates for health service providers are posted at this ICBC webpage

The British Columbia Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Practitioners (ATCMA) was one of the organizations involved with ICBC during the consultation process for the coverage amendment.  Please contact the ATCMA office directly ([email protected] / 604-428-6226) for further information.

The Act is designed to address BC’s unique position in the nationwide opioid crisis by disrupting criminal access to equipment used to make tablets and capsules. “Controlled equipment” includes: automated, semi-automated or capable of being automated tablet press and encapsulating machines, pharmaceutical mixers or blenders, as well as associated dies, moulds and punches. Going forward, only those with a legitimate business or professional purpose will be permitted to own, use or possess controlled equipment. The Act also establishes a registrar and inspectors, sets out obligations for authorized owners and establishes a number of offences under the Act.

Under the Act, “authorized owners” include those authorized under an enactment of BC or Canada to manufacture drugs or natural health products, as well as those who apply for a waiver or register as a seller of controlled equipment. Manufacturers authorized to fabricate drugs or natural health products by virtue of a Drug Establishment Licence or Site Licence issued under the Food and Drugs Act (Canada) are automatically authorized owners under the legislation. 

Persons who have need of controlled equipment but are not licenced to fabricate under the Food and Drugs Act, must apply for a waiver or register as a seller by April 1, 2019. All authorized owners (fabricators, waiver holders, and registered sellers) must notify the registrar under the Act of their existing equipment, including their authority to own it, by July 1, 2019.

Instructions for how to apply for a waiver, register as a seller, or notify of existing equipment are available online. Also available online is information regarding the duties of authorized owners under the Act as well as links to the Act and the Regulation.

For information on the Act and associated Regulation, please visit the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s webpage: www.gov.bc.ca/pill-press.

Inquiries regarding ownership, waiver applications, seller registrations or compliance should be directed to the registrar under the Act, at [email protected]

Health Insurance Fraud

We have heard from registrants that they have concerns with health insurance fraud.  The following links are some resources to know more about this topic, to maintain professional in your practice, and to prevent it to affect you and your patients.

• Benefits fraud is a crime and hurt people who need healthcare

  • www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/insurance-fraud-that-could-be-costing-you-1.4951924

  • www.cbc.ca/news/business/benefits-fraud-collusion-rampant-1.4949434

  • Fraud=Fraud

• Health practitioners may be involved in these fraud schemes as an active participant and make personal gains; but they can also be victims of professional identity theft

  • www.ibc.ca/mb/auto/insurance-crime/staged-collisions/medical-services-fraud

• Take Actions to reduce healthcare fraud

  • Healthcare Anti-Fraud

Scams Targeting Individuals and Businesses

Most registrants practice as small businesses and can be targets for scammers both as individuals and as businesses.  The best defence is to educate yourself and avoid becoming a victim.

• The Government of Canada has published “The Little Black Book of Scams: your Guide to Protection against fraud” to help Canadians to recognize and protect against frauds.

For more information, please follow the link:

• TCM Spring Festival Banquet Media Release