Acupuncture: license requirements and title protection.

Existing law, the Acupuncture Licensure Act, establishes the Acupuncture Board to license and regulate the practice of acupuncture. Existing law requires an applicant for a license to practice acupuncture to furnish satisfactory evidence of completion of an approved educational and training program, unless the applicant satisfies specified other requirements. Existing law defines "approved educational and training program" to mean a school or college that offers education and training in the practice of an acupuncturist that, among other requirements, offers a curriculum that includes at least 3,000 hours, of which at least 2,050 hours are didactic and laboratory training and at least 950 hours are supervised clinical instruction. This bill, on and after January 1, 2032, would require an approved educational and training program to offer a curriculum that confers a doctoral degree in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine consisting of not less than 3,300 hours, of which at least 2,220 hours are didactic and laboratory training and at least 1,080 hours are supervised clinical instruction. Existing law makes it unprofessional conduct for an acupuncturist to use the title "Doctor" or the abbreviation "Dr." in connection with the practice of acupuncture unless they possess a license that authorizes that use or they possess a doctoral degree from a specified educational institutions. This bill would make those provisions applicable to the title "Doctor of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine" or the abbreviation "D.A.H.M." The bill would also prohibit a person from using the title "licensed acupuncturist" or the abbreviation "LAc" unless the person holds a valid, unrevoked, and unsuspended license pursuant to the act. The bill would make conforming changes.