The membership of the Committee consists of four acupuncturists, one physician with acupuncture experience, one physician member of the Board of Medicine, and one public member. The Committee's functions include licensing acupuncturists and disciplining acupuncturists who engage in malpractice or misconduct.
On January 22, 1988, the Committee on Acupuncture promulgated regulations governing the practice of acupuncture in Massachusetts, 243 C.M.R. 4.00-5.00. Massachusetts was one of the first states in the country to regulate the safe practice of acupuncture. These regulations included such topics as the educational and examination requirements for licensure, the grounds for disciplining acupuncturists, the use of acupuncture assistants, continuing acupuncture education, truthful advertising and the safe practice of acupuncture.
In 1998, Massachusetts repealed a law that required a patient to obtain a physician referral prior to seeing an acupuncturist. (Acts of 1998, Chapter 114, § 2).
On January 1, 2009, the Committee on Acupuncture promulgated revised regulations at 243 CMR 4.00 and 5.00. The Committee has also prepared a Section by Section Summary of the Acupuncture Regulations.