The opinion
ACCEPTED
03-15-00262-CV
7670545
THIRD COURT OF APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
11/3/2015 8:31:01 PM
JEFFREY D. KYLE
CLERK
American College of Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine RECEIVED IN
3rd COURT OF APPEALS
9100 Park West Drive, Houston, TX 77063. Phone (713) 780.9777. www.acaom.edu
AUSTIN, TEXAS
11/3/2015 8:31:01 PM
JEFFREY D. KYLE
Clerk
Honorable Jeffrey D. Kyle
Clerk, Third Court of Appeals
209 W 14th Street, Room 101
Austin, TX 78701
Re: Texas Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine v. Texas Board of
Chiropractic Examiners and Yvette Yarborough, Executive Director in Her
Official Capacity, No. 3-15-00262-CV
Mr. Kyle:
On behalf of the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine1, I
respectfully submit this amicus curiae letter for your consideration in the above
referenced matter.
My perspective on the issue before the court is both personal and professional. I
am the president of the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
in Houston, Texas, a school founded by my father, Shen Ping Liang, Ph.D., L.Ac.,
who also played an instrumental role in negotiating the original language of the
Acupuncture Chapter of the Texas Occupations Code as a founding member of the
1
The American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, available at https://acaom.edu.
Texas Acupuncture Association, now the Texas Association of Acupuncture and
Oriental Medicine. Not in his wildest dreams would my father have imagined, just
four years after the long and arduous struggle to make acupuncture a legally
recognized and regulated profession in Texas, that another regulatory agency
would step in and undermine these efforts.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is a cultural treasure for all of mankind, and to
diminish the integrity of the practice of acupuncture for the gain of the chiropractic
profession diminishes not just the integrity of acupuncture, but also that of
chiropractic. I have previously stated my concern to the Chiropractic Board in the
rule making process that if a patient has an unfavorable experience with
acupuncture performed by a chiropractor as a result of insufficient training; both
the acupuncture and chiropractic professions bear the brunt.
Just as an acupuncturist wanting to practice chiropractic manipulation would be
required to become licensed in the practice of chiropractic, so too should a
chiropractor wanting to practice acupuncture be required to become licensed to
practice acupuncture. The Texas Board of Chiropractic Board Examiners itself
recognizes a Masters level of training as an entry level standard in articulating the
National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
(NCCAOM) acupuncture examination as one pathway by which chiropractors may
be allowed to practice acupuncture in Texas (A Masters level training is required to
sit for the NCCAOM exam).2 But unfortunately, the Chiropractic Board
simultaneously allows a far less rigorous standard of entry to practice with the 100
hour/no clinical training required National Board of Chiropractic Examiners
acupuncture exam.3
An ordinary citizen of Texas, when seeking acupuncture treatment, likely has
no knowledge of or way to discern the disparity of training that currently exists
between Licensed Acupuncturists and chiropractors who practice acupuncture and
who technically can legally represent themselves as acupuncturists without actually
being licensed in acupuncture4. Most people would likely just assume that if a
healthcare provider is performing acupuncture they must be a Licensed
Acupuncturist. A 2013 Houston Chronicle article on acupuncture exemplifies this
5
perfectly. In this article a Doctor of Chiropractic who practices acupuncture is
incorrectly identified as a Licensed Acupuncturist.
2
22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §78.14. See also National Certification Commission for Acupuncture
and Oriental Medicine, NCCAOM Certification Handbook 2015, available at
http://www.nccaom.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/Certification%20Handbook.pdf.
3
See National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, Acupuncture Brochure (page 3, Applicant
Eligibility), available at http://nbce.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/acu_brochure.pdf.
4
Even the Chiropractic Board confuses the issue. During a 2012 Chiropractic Board meeting,
Janet Kirben, then Chiropractic Board Chair refers to chiropractic licensees, “…who already are
licensed to practice acupuncture in this state and have been for quite a time.” Chiropractic Board
July 11, 2012 ad hoc meeting, at 0:02:41, available at
https://www.tbce.state.tx.us/Hearings/Acupuncture20120711.MP3. See also CR 249, Admission
No. 14 (admitting that the Chiropractic Board does not certify or license chiropractors in
acupuncture.)
5
See Houston Chronicle, Doctors Increasingly Are Turning to Acupuncture for Treatment of
Pain, available at http://www.chron.com/news/health/article/Doctors-increasingly-are-turning-to-
acupuncture-4919724.php.
At my school we have two dually licensed Doctors of Chiropractic/Licensed
Acupuncturists on faculty, and not one of these individuals thinks that how the
Chiropractic Board has operated is in the best interest of the chiropractic
profession, the acupuncture profession, or the public.
The State of Texas has seen fit to regulate the practice of acupuncture and to
establish minimum standards for practice. The rules adopted by the Chiropractic
Board undermine the requirements of both the Acupuncture Chapter and the
Chiropractic Chapter of the Occupations Code, and erode the integrity of both
professions. For these reasons, the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine submits this amicus letter and humbly requests that the Third Court of
Appeals reverse the decision by the District Court and render judgement in favor of
the Texas Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
Sincerely,
/s/ John Paul Liang
John Paul Liang Ph.D., L.Ac.
President
American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
9100 Westpark Drive
Houston, TX 77063
Phone: (713) 780-9786
jpliang@acaom.edu
Certificate of Amicus
Pursuant to Rule 11 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, this will
confirm that the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine has not
incurred any legal fees related to the drafting of this letter. The undersigned is an
employee and the President of the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine and neither the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
nor the undersigned have received or will receive any direct compensation for the
drafting or submission of this amicus letter.
/s/ John Paul Liang
John Paul Liang
Certificate of Compliance
I certify on behalf of Amicus Curiae, that this Amicus letter contains 729
words according to the word count feature of the software used to prepare this
amicus letter.
/s/ John Paul Liang
John Paul Liang
Certificate of Service
I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the above and foregoing
Amicus letter has been served to all attorneys of record as listed below on
November 3, 2015.
Joe H. Thrash
Assistant Attorney General
Administrative Law Division
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711
Joe.Thrash@texasattorneygeneral.gov
Craig T. Enoch
Enoch Kever, PLLC.
600 Congress Avenue, Suite 2800
Austin, Texas 78701
cenoch@enochkever.com
/s/John Paul Liang
John Paul Liang