RCHM Overseas Members

Overseas Membership is for practitioners of Chinese Herbal Medicine who have no UK-based client base. It carries the same professional standing as Full UK Membership, including public listing, use of the MRCHM letters, and the full range of member benefits, support, and community access, at a reduced annual fee reflecting the RCHM's more limited regulatory role outside the UK. Practitioners with any UK-based clients are considered to practise in the UK and hold Full UK Membership instead, regardless of where they themselves are based.

Overseas Member

Overseas Membership is for practitioners who have no UK-based client base. Overseas Members receive the same entitlements as Full Practising Members, at a reduced fee, with a small number of differences reflecting the fact that the RCHM's governance and regulatory role is grounded in UK law.

Qualification

The distinguishing factor for this category is not where the practitioner lives, but where their clients are based.

  • A practitioner who has clients in the UK is considered to practise in the UK, and holds Full UK Membership, regardless of where the practitioner themselves is based. The RCHM requires assurance that such a member is insured to practise in the UK.

  • A practitioner with no UK-based clients is not in a position to be regulated by the RCHM for that part of their practice, and instead becomes an Overseas Member.

Fee

The annual membership fee is £101, compared with £405 for Full UK Membership.

Entitlements

Overseas Members have the same entitlements as Full Practising Members:

  • A listing on the RCHM's public directory

  • The right to use the letters MRCHM

  • Use of the RCHM and EHTPA Herbmark logos

  • Access to reduced-rate professional insurance through Balens, which can also cover acupuncture

  • Membership of the RCHM Practitioner Share Group and forum

  • For newly qualified members, access to the New Practitioners' Scheme (NPS), offering a mentor and reduced financial obligations for the first two years of practice. NPS status is not visible to the public, and members can opt out into standard membership at any time if they prefer

  • Access to the Approved Supplier Scheme

  • The RCHM Journal, twice yearly

  • Twice-yearly research summaries on safety issues relevant to Chinese herbal medicine

  • Access to the member-only safe practice video archive and free video library

  • Access to the member-only document archive, covering dispensary best practice, herbal medicines law, and restricted substances

  • Individual support on questions of safe practice, and support in the rare event of legal action

  • Access to the annual conference, member events at the Bristol Chinese Herb Garden, and other events throughout the year

  • Access to the RCHM's research community and annual research conference

  • Regular office newsletters

  • Connection to a global network of herbal medicine bodies and institutions

Requirements

Overseas Members are held to the same professional responsibilities as Full Practising Members:

  • Professional insurance, with a duty to notify the office within 28 days of any lapse, claim, or refusal of insurance, and to provide insurance documents to the RCHM on request. Overseas Members are requested to hold insurance appropriate to wherever they practise, though the RCHM does not regulate or verify overseas practice in the way it does for UK practice

  • Compliance with the RCHM Code of Ethics and Practice, the Dispensary Codes of Practice, and, where relevant, the Code of Practice for Acupuncture

  • Compliance with the RCHM's prohibition on the use of illegally traded animal or plant material in practice, in line with the RCHM's stance against the illegal trade in endangered species

  • A duty to notify the office within 28 days of any relevant convictions, including spent convictions, the outcome of civil or disciplinary proceedings relating to their practice, or voluntary surrender, suspension, or resignation of a practising licence

  • A duty to notify the office within 28 days of any health condition or disability affecting the member's ability to practise safely

  • Completion of CPD each year, either independently or through RCHM CPD, as set out in the CPD Brief (members' area), with the record provided to the office on request

  • Company membership (the RCHM has been a company limited by guarantee since April 2022), including liability of up to £1 towards the company's debts if it is wound up while a member, or within 12 months of leaving

What's different from Full UK Membership

  • The RCHM's governance documents and regulatory information are based on UK law and legislation, and may not directly apply to an Overseas member's practice

  • The RCHM is not in a position to process ethics complaints arising from a member's practice outside the UK, noted as a rare occurrence

  • The membership fee is lower, reflecting this reduced scope of UK regulatory involvement

Annual process

As with Full Practising Members, there is no annual form to complete. Each year, members are asked to review the Annual Membership Requirements and confirm they continue to meet them. Continued payment of membership is taken as confirmation of compliance, so members only need to contact the office if something has changed. The office carries out compliance checks on a proportion of members each year.