Washington: sunrise review on colon hydrotherapists

The Washington State Department of Health has published a draft Colon Hydrotherapist Sunrise Review. The applicant was the International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy, which requested that colon hydrotherapists be recognized as a new profession and practitioners permitted to practice independently. The review says that no state licenses colon hydrotherapists, although Florida permits licensed massage therapists to obtain certification in colonic irrigation. Under current Washington law, colon hydrotherapy is within the scope of practice for naturopaths, physicians, and osteopathic physicians. The finding is that the public is already protected by current state laws and further, that to introduce regulation of  a single medical procedure would be inefficient and not cost-effective.