Medicine: Acupuncture Crackdown

Though it was early in the morning when Mrs. Rhoda Katchen, of East Orange, N.J., arrived in New York City's Chinatown, she was not the first patient to join the queue outside the small herb shop at 11 Mott Street. Six others, one of whom had been there since 4:40 a.m., were already waiting for Dr. Huan Lam Ng, a China-trained acupuncturist. Soon 35 patients—none of them Chinese—were on line for treatment.

Dr. Ng's acupuncture practice, and others like it, were once confined almost exclusively to Chinatown residents. Since U.S. physicians brought back glowing reports of acupuncture's use in mainland China last summer, however, such practices have boomed. Now they may be ended entirely, at least in New York. Concerned over acupuncture's administration by unlicensed practitioners, the New York State Department of Education has already shut down a Manhattan clinic devoted to the ancient art. Last week, it ordered Dr. Ng and a dozen colleagues to close their consulting and treatment rooms.

An increasing number of Western physicians and researchers are becoming interested in acupuncture. But so little is known about why it works that many doctors are cautious about its indiscriminate use. The reason for the New York crackdown, however, was statutory rather than scientific. The state agency has ruled that acupuncture is the practice of medicine and may therefore be performed only by properly licensed physicians. Though Dr. Ng and many of his fellow needle wielders hold medical degrees from Chinese institutions, they are not authorized to practice in New York. Without fluency in English or, in some cases, recognized medical credentials, such men would have difficulty in passing state licensing examinations.

Acupuncture patients are understandably upset by the ruling. Mrs. Katchen says that she had spent $25,000 on orthodox treatment for a painful nerve condition without getting relief.

Olga Laaland, a native of Guadeloupe, credits Dr. Ng with relieving facial paralysis and enabling him to close his eyes properly for the first time in five years. A few, citing Dr. Ng's low fees ($10 a visit regardless of complaint or treatment), believe that organized medicine is behind the state action.

"None of this happened until people started leaving their regular doctors and seeking out acupuncturists," said one man Dr. Ng was treating for knee trouble.

The Chinese doctors, whose livelihood is threatened, are equally disturbed. A group led by Dr. James L.K. Gong, who combines acupuncture with the use of such exotic folk medications as dried sea horse and seal penis, met at a Chinese restaurant and agreed to ask the state to grant its members temporary licenses or to explore other ways of enabling them to continue to practice.