Complementary Health Newsletter - April 2003

In this edition:
Health Select Committee Inquiry into Trans-Tasman Therapeutic Goods Agency (TTTGA)
Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Bill
Have Your Say on the Future of Complementary Alternative Medicine in New Zealand
Complementary Health Database

Health Select Committee Inquiry into Trans-Tasman Therapeutic Goods Agency (TTTGA)

You may recall in my last newsletter I explained that the Green Party was trying to stop government moves to hand over the regulation of dietary supplements to an Australian based Trans-Tasman Therapeutic Goods Agency (TTTGA).

The Green Party organised eight public meetings around the country, just prior to the election, to alert New Zealanders to the Government's intentions. We also presented a petition signed by 30,000 New Zealanders to the Health Select Committee, calling on the Government to abandon its proposal and to investigate instead alternative ways of regulating dietary supplements. This was accepted by the select committee, which agreed to set up an inquiry into the Government's proposal to establish a trans-Tasman agency to regulate therapeutic products.

The inquiry gets underway on 7 April in Auckland. Further meetings will be held in Wellington on 30 April and on 21 May. The Government had been intending to establish the TTTGA shortly after the election. Fortunately, the holding of the inquiry has put their plans on hold, but official papers reveal the Government still seems intent on going ahead with it — though they will need to get enough political support, eventually, to get the legislation through the House.

Ministry of Health officials also appear determined to proceed with the agency. They have been testing dietary supplements in Wellington and issuing 'scare' stories about dietary supplements to justify their argument that onerous, restrictive and expensive Australian-style regulation of the industry is essential.

The Green Party agrees that we need a new regulatory regime, based on risk assessment, to govern dietary supplements. It would be useful to have: an electronic database of all suppliers, ingredients and products on the market; notification of new ingredients; assurances that all supplements have been marketed according to risk-based good manufacturing practice systems and so on. These could all be set up relatively easily within New Zealand.

We are totally opposed, however, to the present proposal, which involves handing over our sovereignty in this area to an agency based in Australia and set up under Australian law. We are also opposed to an official (the Managing Director of the TTTGA), as the 'statutory decision maker', having complete delegated power over decisions to approve therapeutic products, make rules, set fees and so on.

The inquiry will take about three months and, at the end of it, the health select committee will recommend what it considers to be the most effective legislative and regulatory regime to govern dietary supplements in New Zealand.

The terms of reference of the inquiry are as follows, to:

• Consider the legislative and regulatory regimes governing dietary supplements and traditional remedies in other countries.
• Consider an appropriate regulatory framework to govern dietary supplements and traditional remedies in New Zealand, including assessments of:
  a. Whether this should be by the proposed joint trans-Tasman therapeutic agency, including an examination of the process followed in developing this proposal,
  b. The risk created by the use of dietary supplements and traditional remedies,
  c. The compliance costs that would be imposed and any added cost to consumers,
  d. Whether indigenous complementary medicinal/rongoa products and extracts used for alternative therapy would be protected.

The inquiry does not extend to pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter medicines or medical devices.

Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Bill

The Health Select Committee is presently considering the Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Bill, which will impact on all health practitioners — including complementary health practitioners. The bill establishes a new framework for the regulation of health professions where there is a risk of harm to the public. It establishes registering authorities for each profession, which will certify that practitioners are competent to practice; and will review their ongoing competence and suspend them if there is a serious risk of harm to the public.

Each health profession will be required to draw up a 'scope of practice' that will define which services a practitioner is qualified and competent to offer. Where two or more professions provide the same service (such as acupuncture), the registering bodies of the different professions will need to agree on consistent standards and competencies. If they cannot agree, the dispute will be referred to the Minister of Health for resolution.

The Government has agreed to include osteopaths in the bill. I am working with acupuncture groups to try to extend coverage to acupuncturists — who have been seeking professional registration for more than 20 years. Some complementary health practitioners are worried about the costs the new regime will impose, particularly the new Disciplinary Tribunal that will be established to hear serious complaints about health practitioners. (Most routine complaints will continue to be dealt with by the Health and Disability Commissioner). Others are concerned that it will have implications for complementary health professions which are not covered by the bill, or do not pose a risk of harm to the public. Health Ministry officials have assured us that this will not be the case.

Once the bill has been reported back from the select committee in a month or so, I will produce a newsletter outlining exactly what has been agreed and how it may affect complementary health practitioners. There are likely to be quite a few amendments to the bill by the select committee.

Have Your Say on the Future of Complementary Alternative Medicine in New Zealand:

Next week, the seven-member Ministerial Advisory Committee on Complementary and Alternative Health (MACCAH) is releasing its first major public discussion document: - Complementary and Alternative Medicine — Current Policy and Policy Issues in New Zealand and Selected Countries.

Part 1 of the document reviews the policy framework for complementary healthcare in various other countries. Part 2 considers what sort of policy framework we should have in New Zealand. The committee is seeking discussion and feedback on questions such as what research needs to be done in New Zealand, what steps we should take to further integrate complementary healthcare into mainstream health; and what consumer's information needs are relating to complementary healthcare and so on.

Printed copies are available from Wickliffe Press, which is based in Dunedin but has a Wellington phone number at (04) 496 2277

The committee will then hold a series of public meetings and hearings around New Zealand to get feedback on the proposals. In Auckland there will be a public meeting on the evening of 9 May, followed by two days of hearing submissions.

In Christchurch there will be a public meeting on 6 June, followed by two days of hearings. In Wellington a public meeting is planned for 27 June, followed by two days of hearings. The timetable and venue of public meetings and hearings will be confirmed nearer to the dates.

The Ministerial Advisory Committee in 2001 was set up (as a result of a Green party budget bid) to advise the Minister of Health on issues to do with complementary and alternative health, and provide advice in areas such as regulation, consumer information, research, and integration. It is funded to run until June 2004.

Complementary Health Database

Meanwhile, we are waiting for the launch of New Zealand's Complementary Health Database. The Green Party's budget bid to establish a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) searchable Internet database was accepted last year, and we are eagerly awaiting its launch. It will contain research information, including summaries of research reviews on the safety and efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine, and links to other reliable information sources.

The free, on-line database and website will be managed by the Ministry of Health, and we are told it will finally be up and running by the second half of this year.