§ 3401a. Scope of practice
(a) A licensed acupuncturist may, in addition to the practice of acupuncture employing
fine needles, in a manner consistent with acupuncture theory, employ electrical, magnetic,
thermal, and mechanical skin stimulation techniques; nonlaboratory diagnostic techniques;
nutritional, herbal, and manual therapies; exercise and lifestyle counseling; acupressure;
and massage.
(b) A licensed acupuncturist shall not offer diagnosis of any human pathology except for
a functional diagnosis, based upon the physical complaint of a patient or acupuncture
theory, for purposes of developing and managing a plan of acupuncture care, or as
necessary to document to insurers and other payers the reason a patient sought care. (Added 2019, No. 30, § 23.)
§ 3402. Prohibitions; offenses; exemptions; evaluating nonacupuncturists
(a) Except as provided in subsections (d) through (g) of this section, a person shall
not practice acupuncture unless he or she is licensed in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter.
(b)(1) A person shall not use in connection with the person’s name any letters, words, or
insignia indicating or implying that the person is an acupuncturist unless the person
is licensed in accordance with this chapter.
(2) The only title a licensed acupuncturist may use in reference to that license is “licensed
acupuncturist” or its abbreviation, as “Lic. Ac.”
(c) A person who violates any of the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section
shall be subject to the penalties provided in 3 V.S.A. § 127.
(d) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent a student from performing
acupuncture under the supervision of a competent licensed acupuncturist instructor:
(1) within a school or a college or an acupuncture department of a college or university
that is licensed by the Vermont Agency of Education or certified by the Accreditation
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine;
(2) as a student in a Director-approved apprenticeship; or
(3) as an intern in any hospital.
(e) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent a person who is licensed or
certified as an acupuncturist in another state or Canadian province from practicing
acupuncture for no more than five days in a calendar year as part of a health care
professional educational seminar or program in Vermont, if the educational seminar
or program is directly supervised by a Vermont-licensed health care professional whose
scope of practice includes acupuncture.
(f) This chapter shall not be construed to limit or restrict in any way the right of a
licensed practitioner of a health care profession regulated under this title from
performing services within the scope of his or her professional practice.
(g) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent an unlicensed person from
engaging in auriculotherapy, an unregulated practice wherein needles are inserted
into the external human ear, provided such person:
(1) has appropriate training in clean needle technique;
(2) employs sterile, single-use needles, without reuse;
(3) does not purport to treat any disease, disorder, infirmity, or affliction;
(4) does not use any letters, words, or insignia indicating or implying that the person
is an acupuncturist; and
(5) makes no statement implying that his or her practice of auriculotherapy is licensed,
certified, or otherwise overseen by the State.
(h) The Director, with cooperation of the relevant professional regulatory boards, shall
monitor and evaluate whether nonacupuncturists employing acupuncture as a therapeutic
modality are doing so safely, within their scopes of practice, and in a manner consistent
with the public health, safety, and welfare. (Added 1993, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1997, No. 40, § 38; 2001, No. 136 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. June 13, 2002; 2005, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 38; 2007, No. 29, § 54; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 275, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2015, No. 111 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 17, 2016; 2017, No. 48, § 25; 2019, No. 30, § 23.)