Your Association and volunteers have been busy in the past few months. Here are a few of the areas we have been active..
CTCMPAO:
We have actively re-engaged with our College. We participated in a direct consultation with regard to the Doctor Title working group. Many of our questions were answered and issues clarified. We support the work that the Working Group has completed to date, as well as the adjustments to the education and implementation timeline. We are excited to continue our dialogue with the CTCMPAO in the future.
Modernization of the Veterinarians’ Act:
In January, 2023, TCMO commented on the proposed modernization of the act that governs Veterinarians and procedures on animals in Ontario. The position of TCMO was that with additional training in animal handling and anatomy, our profession is eminently qualified to perform acupuncture on animals. The Act gained proclamation in May of this year, and subsequent to that, TCMO reached out to the College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO). We are pleased to mention that there is a meeting planned with the CVO to begin a conversation that we are hopeful will lead to our profession gaining the acceptance to perform acupuncture on animals.
Preferred Provider Networks:
You may have heard of employer-sponsored drug insurance and the preferred pharmacies that may be a part of these types of networks for prescription drugs. The Ministry of Finance recently issued a consultation on this subject, and one of the many areas of focus in the consultation was the possible effect of a Preferred Provider Network (PPN) on patient choice. TCMO responded to the consultation, upholding and highlighting that the autonomy of a patient to choose their own healthcare provider is essential. Not only does this allow a patient access to timely care, it also allows the patient to develop trust with their chosen practitioner, which will lead to better health outcomes. While we cannot be sure that PPN’s are a future direction for the provision of primary healthcare, TCMO remains vigilant on this issue.
CTCMASO:
We have been in regular conversation with the Council of Schools. We have recently co-hosted the TCMA Day at Queen’s Park, and truly enjoyed the participation of the Council,Schools, the staff and the schools. We believe that the profession is better with more support and more participation, and we look forward to collaborating in the future.
Integration Project:
As we consider how to achieve top-of-mind knowledge and acceptance within the broader healthcare community, we have contemplated a project that would integrate our profession into a community health care setting.
We have had a few meetings with possible interested clinics, and continue to work on the fine details of such an ambitious plan. One of our challenges is the cost of this type of pilot. With the support of a host clinic, we would be offering TCM and Acupuncture services on a full-time basis, with two practitioners, for a year. Further, these services would not bear a cost for the patient. This brings TCMO a significant challenge, How can we fund this project? If you have any suggestions, please get in touch with a member of the Board.