LSL H.B. 1956 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS PUBLIC HEALTH H.B. 1956 By: Counts 4-9-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Acudetox, or auricular acupuncture, refers to the limited use of acupuncture needles in the ear for the treatment of chemical dependency. Acudetox is an ancillary treatment procedure used to supplement such traditional regimes as twelve-step programs and drug counseling. District judges, district and county attorneys, law enforcement personnel, medical doctors, nurses, and other human service professionals statewide support acudetox as a vital link in the recovery process. A pilot study at a Waco MHMR center with dually-diagnosed clients showed that acudetox treatments resulted in reduced drug use and a 93% reduction in inpatient hospital stays, saving $14,000 on 16 clients in a six-month period. Currently, the law requires a practitioner of acupuncture to have a license for full-body acupuncture, which currently requires approximately four years of schooling. For many years, numerous individuals have practiced the limited use of acupuncture in the ear for treatment of addictions such as chemical dependency, alcoholism, and smoking. These treatments were administered by "acudetox technicians," and the vast majority were not licensed physicians or licensed full-body acupuncturists, but nurses, social workers, and licensed chemical dependency counselors. The Texas Board of Acupuncture Examiners recently voted to outlaw acudetox technicians in Texas. These individuals are now subject to criminal penalties if they continue to provide acudetox services. PURPOSE H.B. 1956 allows an acudetox treatment specialist to be certified with certain provisions, subject to rules adopted by the Texas Board of Medical Examiners for the certification, practice, and continuing education of acudetox specialists. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly grants additional rulemaking authority to the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners in SECTION 3, which stipulates that the rules must by adopted by January 1, 1998, and address the certification, practice and continuing education of acudetox specialists. SECTION 2 (Sec. 6.118(c), Subchapter F, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) references such rules. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sec. 6.02, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), to add the definition of "acudetox specialist," and renumber the subsections accordingly. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter F, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), by adding Sec. 6.118, as follows: Subsection (a) allows a person to be certified by the medical board as an acudetox specialist without holding a license if the person provides specified documentation and pays a certification fee in an amount set by the medical board. Subsection (b) stipulates that a person certified as an acudetox specialist may renew certification each year by presenting specified documentation and paying the certification renewal fee to the medical board. Subsection (c) allows an acudetox specialist to only practice acupuncture to the extent allowed by medical board rule and only under the supervision of a licensed acupuncturist or physician in a facility approved by TCADA for alcohol, substance abuse or chemical dependency treatment. Subsection (d) requires a program involving the services of an acudetox specialist to notify each program participant of the qualifications of the acudetox specialist and the procedure for registering a complaint with the medical board. Requires the program to keep a record of each client's name, date of service, and the name, signature and title of the acudetox specialist. SECTION 3. Requires the Texas Board of Medical Examiners to adopt rules for the certification, practice, and continuing education of acudetox specialists under Sec. 6.118 of the Medical Practice Act by January 1, 1998. SECTION 4. Emergency clause. Effective upon passage.