News & Events
News
President’s Report 25/8/2003
In addition to many other changes this year, (many of which I will
discuss in a future report when a number of matters have been fully
concluded or resolved), I recently attended the Federation of Natural
Therapists’ (FNTT) General Meeting in Adelaide on Saturday the
23/8/2003 at 10.00a.m.
One of the main reasons for attending was to meet with the
representatives of the other member associations and introduce our
association to them. However, there were also other important
matters I wished to raise at this meeting on behalf of many of our
members. For example, it seems that many of the small independent
associations in Queensland have never heard of the Federation or its
benefits. Furthermore, with regards to another issue, we are
still trying to sort out people’s queries regarding Private Health Fund
Rebates.
These issues and others were dealt with by the Federation at the Meeting.
With regards to the matter of self-promotion and recognition of the Federation,
the Secretary and President of the Federation informed us that they do have
brochures available and that they also have a Web site (www.fntt.org.au)
which is very much still active. Re Private Health Fund Rebates, this
has always been a tricky issue traditionally, with many Private health funds
adopting different policies when it comes to Natural Therapies. David
Fitts, the Chairman of the general meeting, however, informed us that faced
with similar problems in the recent past, his organization has always referred
matters to the ACCC with good results. His recommendation was that
no alternative medicine practitioner is legally required to be a member
of any particular association and therefore should be admitted as a Health
Care Provider by Health Funds unless they can themselves prove that the
Practitioner is not of a good enough standard (ie. the onus is on the private
Health Fund to do so). In other words instead of endless debates with
a clerk, at whatever Health Fund you are applying to, it is better to talk
to the ACCC direct. If the ANACHA member is concerned about doing
this him or herself, the association is prepared to represent the member
and his/her complaint to the ACCC. Therefore, should there be any
more problems regarding this issue, please don’t hesitate to call
us if you need to. However, it may be necessary to get more information
on the history of the individual complaint before we can approach the ACCC
as a group.
Finally, I should also mention that at the Meeting, the President of
the Federation, Karen Martin, also presented ANACHA with a copy of the
recent Profile of Naturopathic and Western Herbal Medicine
Practitioners in Australia report. The first study of its kind
here in Australia, this is a ground breaking Report as it shows that
while Herbs may have slight side effects, blood tests confirm that
liver and kidney damage from taking herbs is basically
non-existent. This tends to prove that Doctors have little or no
basis for their much-publicised views. If members wish for
further information on this subject, also please let us know.
Basically, the General Meeting was a big success (despite the rain),
and I hope we can send other delegates to future meetings.
Andrew McPherson
President.
Events
Events
ACUPUNCTURE & TCM Workshop
Saturday 13th of August
Speakers:
Andrew McPherson - Pulse Diagnosis:
How to use the pulse to diagnose and treat patients. Facts and fallacies of
this ancient art explained.
Anne Grace - Chinese Foot Reflexology:
Find out the differences between Chinese and Western reflexology. How does
a TCM approach help improve the effect.
Venue: BCC Library, Corner Adelaide and George
Streets, City.
For bookings or futher details
Phone (07) 3391 4259 or
Eemail andrewmchperson@hotmail.com