Legal Advice for Acupuncturists
Questioner
I am a starting acupuncturist and I need some advice. I would like to set up a practice where multiple people can be treated at the same time. It concerns a group setting where there are no separated rooms and walls. The clients do not have to undress, they can wear comfortable clothing so that I can reach the forearm, hands, lower legs and feet. Because I charge a low rate with a price between 15 and 35 euros, I have to treat more people in an hour to keep the practice going. The low rate is deliberate so that people can be treated more often. Clients pay between 15 and 35 euros. They can choose how much they can pay. No questions are asked why they choose a certain amount. It is not a new concept, it has been around for a long time in China and in America it has become a social business model. Now I'm stuck with a number of things: 1. The standard professional association requires that it must be a separate space. 2. I treat each patient individually with their own treatment plan, but in a shared space, professional association and insurance see this as group treatment, which is not reimbursed. I understand that I have to comply with their demands, but I don't really care. I want acupuncture to be affordable for the lower income group and not through a supplementary insurance with a fixed budget, which only middle and high incomes can afford. What steps should I take if I do not join a professional association? In the Netherlands, since January 2016, healthcare providers are required to register with a disputes/complaints committee. Most professional associations are also required to participate. So most professional associations are affiliated with a complaints committee or an umbrella organization. As a healthcare provider, I am legally required to register. I know that patients do not get reimbursed for the treatments. I do agree with the idea of further training/intervisions and first aid that it is part of my profession and that I do it too. I do everything according to the rules of practice, except for group treatment. I also don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to, I also work in a hospital where 2 to 4 people are placed in a room and privacy sensitive information goes back and forth between doctors and patients. So what exactly does privacy mean? In my acupuncture practice this will not be the case. Clients are taken aside for a short conversation and then they are placed in a common room. No talking is allowed in the room either. Clients do not have to take off their clothes. My treatment agreement and general terms and conditions have been adjusted accordingly. On my website I explicitly state that it concerns community acupuncture and that people are treated together. In fact, I do not do much differently than other acupuncturists. I do an individual intake with the associated steps that are part of acupuncture. Only placing the needles in a common room. It is not a problem for me not to register with a professional association, but what are your thoughts on this? Yours sincerelyLawyer
Without having delved into the matter, I wonder why you do not join the disputes committee as an individual practitioner? How do professional insurers deal with this? You should also consider this.Questioner
Day, If all goes well, one can register indirectly with a disputes committee and that goes through a professional association. Individual registration is not possible.Lawyer
Can you name the standard professional association, is it affiliated here https://www.degeschillencommissie.nl/over-ons/branches/branches-overzicht/Questioner
Umbrella body is RBCZ and KAB Complaints committee. I looked, they are not listed.Lawyer
Thank you. I will look into the underlying legislation and regulations and any case law for you; you may also always contact me directly.Lawyer
I am still missing a name, namely that of the standard professional association that imposes the obligations on you. The RBCZ is the register where you are required to report. But that is separate from the rules of the institution.Questioner
Thanks for looking into this. It is not a specific professional association that obliges me to register, but it does seem that this is how it works in practice if you want to register with a dispute committee. It is true: most professional associations are affiliated with RBCZ or Kab complaints committee. Since January 2016, it has been mandatory that all healthcare providers in the Netherlands, including ZZP érs, in the complementary and alternative field must join a dispute committee. KAB and RBCZ are two of them. I saw on both websites that only professional associations can join. Individual joining is not possible. I assume that the WKKgz obliges me to do so and thus indirectly obliges me to join a professional association. (https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/kwaliteit-van-de-zorg/inhoud/wet-kwaliteit-klachten-en-geschillen-zorg) Am I free to not join?Lawyer
The point is what the new law obliges you to do and I have studied that law. It gives a healthcare provider the right to make its own dispute settlement, but it must ultimately be submitted to the committee and you must register. I do not read anything about imposing membership of a professional association (that is not possible either, but it is possible that an insurer will have a problem with this). Have you actually spoken to the committee itself about this?Questioner
I have contacted the KAB and they responded directly that it is not possible to join them individually. Only via the professional association. At the RBCZ it is clearly stated also via a professional association. RBCZ is sometimes a register for therapists but they also handle complaints. And if I want to speak to the committee about what topic should I talk about?Lawyer
The point is that a law or an underlying rule allows you to be required to join a professional association. I will search in policy rules and guidelines, but you can better contact me directly.Neem de volgende stap
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