The latest bylaw draft from the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC) did not include prescribing, compounding, and dispensing of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbal formulae as restricted activities reserved for qualified TCM professionals. Together with the new CCHPBC regulation, the bylaw is slated to take effect in April 2026. If implemented, this change would deregulate Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine in BC, allowing unqualified individuals without professional TCM training to legally prescribe TCM herbal medicines to patients for medical interventions. Such serious deficiency in the provincial regulation not only would contravene the established legal and public safety standards but it also would potentially put every British Columbian in harms way.

When the herbs are compounded for TCM medical intervention, we rely on the qualified TCM professionals who are well-versed in the knowledge of TCM diagnosis and the use of TCM herbs based on TCM herbal medicine. To create a tailor-made TCM prescription for a patient, the qualified practitioner not only need to understand the disease progression and the individual herb's actions, but the practitioner also need to understand the interactions between compounded herbs, the appropriate dosages, the interactions with medications concurrently taken by patient, and the safety consumption of this compounded formulae. Hence, the qualified TCM professionals spent years of training at accredited education institutions and passed competency certifications to practice TCM herbal medicine safely, competent, and ethical. When the deregulation of TCM herbal medicine commence in April 2026, the safeguard that ensures every British Columbian who opt for TCM herbal medicine care for their health and wellbeing will no longer be there.    

The potential public safety risks and the compromised public interests when TCM herbal medicine is practiced by unqualified individual for medical intervention due to this deregulation includes: 

• Ineffective TCM herbal medicine treatment that either delay or prolong a patient's recovery
• Adverse reactions from headache, nausea, vomiting, stomachache, to potentially organ failures or death
• Restrictions on herb access and availability, severely limited the practice of TCM herbal medicine
• Erode public trust in TCM herbal medicine practice for medical intervention

Therefore, the deregulation of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine practice must be reconsidered. Please sign this petition to urge the British Columbia Ministry of Health and CCHPBC to reinstate the prescribing, compounding, and dispensing of TCM herbal formulae as restricted medical interventions ONLY for highly-trained and qualified TCM professionals. Together, we can make a difference.

*** 维护公众安全：呼吁卑诗省恢复中药处方监管 ***

卑诗省辅助医疗专业管理局（CCHPBC）近日发布的《辅助医疗法》相关修正案里，未将现行《中医法》中的中药处方仅限合格中医专业人员的条款纳入其中。该修正案及新的 CCHPBC监管条例计划于2026年4月生效。若付诸实施，将导致本省中药专业去监管化。 这一改变意味着，未经专业培训、未具备资质的人士将被允许为病人开具中药处方并实施治疗。这种在省级监管体系中的严重缺陷，不仅违反了既有的法律与公共安全标准，更可能使每一位卑诗省居民的健康处于潜在危险之中。

当中药方剂用于中医治疗时，患者依赖的正是那些具备专业知识与诊断能力的合格中医专业人员。一名合格的中医师在为患者定制处方时，必须深入掌握以下内容：各药材之间的配伍与相互作用, 适合患者个体状况的剂量与处方比例, 与患者同时服用的西药或其他药物的相互影响, 以及方剂的安全配制与服用方法。合格的中医药专业人员通常需在专业院校接受多年系统教育与临床培训，并通过专业能力考试及执业资格认证，才能确保其提供的中药治疗安全、有效、符合伦理规范。然而，一旦此项去监管化政策于2026年4月生效，原本用于保障卑诗省民众健康与用药安全的关键防线将不复存在。

去监管化后, 若允许无资格人士为患者开具或配制中药方剂带来的公众安全风险与影响:

• 治疗无效，延误或拖长患者康复过程；
• 不良反应，从头痛、恶心、呕吐、胃痛，甚至可能发展至器官衰竭或死亡；
• 中药材获取受限，严重阻碍中医药的正常与安全实践；
• 公众对中医药的信任下降，削弱其作为合法、有效医疗体系的公信力。

我们郑重呼吁，必须重新审视和撤回传统中医药处方去监管化的决定，以维护公众安全和专业标准。我们要求卑诗省卫生厅（BC Ministry of Health）及卑诗省辅助医疗专业管理局（CCHPBC）立即恢复中药处方、配方与调剂作为受监管的医疗行为，并仅限具备专业培训与资质的中医专业人员执行。唯有如此，我们才能守护公众健康，维护中医药的专业形象与标准，并确保卑诗省民众对中医药安全与疗效的信任。

✍️ 请签署此请愿书，共同支持这一重要诉求——因为，守护卑诗省民众的健康安全，必须永远是我们的首要责任。