CHC supports registration
December 13, 2013
The Complementary Healthcare
Council of Australia has joined
with the Australian Self Medication
Industry and the Australasian
Integrative Medicine Association to
support the independent Australian
Register of Naturopaths and
Herbalists (ARONAH), as a means of
ensuring that un-registered health
professionals can continue to
receive information about products
they use for their patients.
The move is a response to
proposed advertising reforms (PD
05 Jun) which would restrict any
promotion of therapeutic goods to
those registered with the Australian
Health Practitioner Regulation
Agency (AHPRA).
The CHC, ASMI and AIMA say that
ARONAH “mirrors” the AHPRA for
complementary medicine health
professionals, with the system
providing “a level of confidence
that there are strict qualification
benchmarks, codes of conduct and
other professional obligations”.
According to CHC ceo Carl
Gibson, with the ARONAH as the
registration system for naturopaths,
herbalists and nutritionists, the TGA
and the public “can have greater
confidence that only those who
are suitably trained and qualified
receive the information that is vital
for them to continue to practice in
a competent and ethical manner”.
He said it’s expected that
ultimately naturopaths, herbalists
and nutritionists will be included
under the National Registration and
Accredited Scheme, but a series
of reviews are being undertaken
before more health professions will
be considered for inclusion.
In the meantime the proposed
advertising reforms would stop
them from being able to access
sufficient technical information
on substances, including current
research and treatment of disease
that “may not necessarily be
appropriate for the average
consumer,” Gibson said.
“We urge the Department of
Health to support the ARONAH, as
we are confident that this model
will be a sustainable system...
until such a time that statutory
registration can be achieved”.
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