FDA proposes that doctors learn about acupuncture for pain management

The US Food and Drug Administration released proposed changes (page 3, II Nonpharmacologic therapies) Wednesday to its blueprint on educating health care providers about treating pain. The guidelines now recommend that doctors get information about acupuncture and chiropractic care as therapies that might help patients avoid prescription opioids.

“[Health care providers] should be knowledgeable about the range of available therapies, when they may be helpful, and when they should be used as part of a multidisciplinary approach to pain management,” the agency wrote in the proposal.