"New patient survey on acupuncture safety"

Article published by the The Prince of Wales Foundation for Integrated Health, December 2004

'A new patient survey suggests that acupuncture is safe when carried out by a competent practitioner. 

The survey’s primary aim was to establish from patients whether they experienced any adverse effects that they attributed to their acupuncture treatment.  The secondary aim was to establish whether there were any adverse effects that arose from advice the practitioner gave about conventional treatments, or from delayed conventional diagnosis and treatment as a result of seeing an acupuncturist. 

The survey concluded, “ Patient reports of serious adverse events associated with acupuncture were rare.  Adverse events related to advice about medication and delayed treatments were also infrequent.  There was no evidence that patients seeking treatment outside the NHS were at greater risk…this prospective study provides strong evidence that acupuncture, when practised by regulated practitioners, is a safe intervention”.'

Hugh MacPherson, one of the researchers, commented, “This survey goes a long way to address the concerns of doctors that patients who receive acupuncture outside of the NHS are not safe and that seeing an acupuncturist can interfere with patients’ conventional treatment.”