BRITISH MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE SOCIETY

What BRITISH MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE SOCIETY does

The British Medical Acupuncture Society (BMAS) is a UK-registered charity (charity number 1057942) founded in 1980 and headquartered in Northwich, with a London teaching clinic operated by Medical Director Dr Mike Cummings. BMAS trains, accredits, and supports regulated healthcare professionals (doctors, dentists, physiotherapists, nurses, midwives, osteopaths, chiropractors, podiatrists, and vets) in Western medical acupuncture, delivering the Foundation Course, Supplementary Days, Refresher Courses, and Diploma-level accreditation (Certificate of Medical Acupuncture, Diploma of Medical Acupuncture, with five-year reaccreditation). Members access a proprietary content library including the BMAS Points Resource (130 webpages, 108 videos), What's The Point video series (50 videos), and the BMAS Blog Webinars edited by the Medical Director.

The Society's commercial and intellectual assets include the peer-reviewed journal Acupuncture in Medicine (Impact Factor 2.6, listed in Index Medicus and Medline, published quarterly via SAGE Publications), annual Scientific Meetings, online courses (e.g., Chronic Pain & Inflammation), and the public-facing Find a Practitioner directory. Revenue is generated through tiered annual membership subscriptions (£30–£139), separate Academic Associates and Overseas tiers (£36 and £82), Corporate Affiliation fees (£125), What's The Point video subscriptions (£20/month), course fees, journal distribution, event registrations, reduced-rate insurance schemes, and donations/legacies with Gift Aid. The organisation holds joint policy statements with the British Acupuncture Council and the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists on NICE Guidelines NG193 (chronic pain) and NG226 (osteoarthritis), positioning BMAS as the multidisciplinary UK authority on medical acupuncture integrated into mainstream clinical practice.

Name

BRITISH MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE SOCIETY

Legal name

The British Medical Acupuncture Society

Website

https://medical-acupuncture.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The British Medical Acupuncture Society is a UK-registered charity that trains, accredits, and supports regulated healthcare professionals in Western medical acupuncture through courses, a peer-reviewed journal, and clinical accreditation programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Acupuncture Education and Training

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE) (EDAGANAJ)

Keywords

• Western medical acupuncture
• Acupuncture training courses
• Healthcare professional membership
• Medical acupuncture accreditation
• Acupuncture continuing education

Headquarters

HQ city

Northwich

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership fees from regulated healthcare professionals across multiple tiers (Member, Accredited, Overseas, Dental/Veterinary, Retired, Student). Core recurring revenue stream. Member subscription is £120/year, with reduced rates for retired/student (£30), overseas (£82), salary link (£72), and couples (£139 for two).
2. Training and Course Fees: Revenue from Foundation Courses, Supplementary Days, Refresher Courses, and online courses in Western medical acupuncture. Medical students receive heavily subsidized rates. The What's The Point video subscription is £20/month.
3. Academic Associates Subscription: Annual subscription at £36/year for acupuncture practitioners who are members of other national organisations or in full-time academic posts, providing access to specified BMAS resources.
4. Corporate Affiliation Fees: Corporate body membership retention fee of £125 per year, offering member rates at scientific meetings, journal access, and liaison activities between affiliated societies.
5. Journal Subscriptions: Online access to Acupuncture in Medicine journal published by SAGE, included with membership. Paper copies available through Sage Publications for additional revenue.
6. Scientific Meetings and Events: Revenue from annual Scientific Meetings (Spring & Autumn) with reduced registration fees for members. Includes CPD modules and webcasts.
7. Insurance Scheme: Reduced-rate insurance scheme offered to members as a benefit of membership.
8. Donations and Legacies: Charitable donations accepted via credit card (telephone) or cheque, with Gift Aid reclaim available for UK taxpayers. Legacy gifts and bequests accepted through wills.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The British Medical Acupuncture Society (BMAS) is a registered charity that delivers Western medical acupuncture training, accreditation, and ongoing professional development exclusively to regulated healthcare professionals. Its core offerings include the Foundation Course, Certificate and Diploma of Medical Acupuncture, Supplementary Days, Refresher Courses, and a peer-reviewed journal (Acupuncture in Medicine), supported by teaching clinics in London and Northwich.

Product overview

The British Medical Acupuncture Society operates a multi-tiered educational and credentialing structure for Western medical acupuncture training. The core offering consists of the Foundation Course leading to Certificate and Diploma accreditations, supplemented by ongoing professional development through Supplementary Days, Refresher Courses, and an online Chronic Pain & Inflammation course. Members receive access to proprietary educational resources including the BMAS Points Resource (130 webpages and 108 videos), What's The Point video series (50 videos), and BMAS Blog Webinars. The Society publishes the peer-reviewed journal Acupuncture in Medicine (Impact Factor 2.6) and runs teaching clinics in London and Northwich. Public-facing services include the Find a Practitioner directory. The Society is a registered charity promoting acupuncture within medicine for public benefit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BMAS Points Resource: Video demonstrations of examination and needling techniques presented with diagrams and explanatory notes
• What's The Point
• Acupuncture in Medicine
• The Sharp End
• The Point
• BMAS Blog

Products and services

• BMAS Foundation Course Entry-level training programme in Western medical acupuncture designed for regulated healthcare professionals, establishing the gold standard for medical acupuncture education since the 1980s. Course completion includes one year's BMAS membership.
• Certificate of Medical Acupuncture (CMA) Entry-level accreditation credential awarded to healthcare professionals who complete the Foundation Course; functions as a quality marker for practicing medical acupuncturists.
• Diploma of Medical Acupuncture Advanced accreditation credential requiring 30 hours of learning spread over five years following the Certificate of Medical Acupuncture, with mandatory reaccreditation cycles to maintain the diploma.
• Supplementary Days Stand-alone topical training days that supplement the Foundation Course curriculum and support continued professional development in specific acupuncture application areas.
• Refresher Course Stand-alone update course for existing BMAS members to refresh and maintain their Western medical acupuncture knowledge and needling skills.
• BMAS Scientific Meetings Twice-yearly scientific conferences (Spring and Autumn) featuring academic presentations, CPD modules, and webcasts, with reduced registration fees for BMAS members.
• London Teaching Clinic In-person subsidised teaching clinic in London, operated by Medical Director Dr Mike Cummings, providing patient treatment services and a setting where members can observe clinical practice and refine techniques.
• Northwich Training Centre & Teaching Clinic Training centre and teaching clinic co-located with BMAS headquarters in Northwich, providing educational facilities for hands-on acupuncture training and patient treatment services.
• Chronic Pain & Inflammation Online Course Stand-alone online educational course covering chronic pain and inflammation topics, available to BMAS members as a focused CPD offering.
• Find a Practitioner Directory Public-facing practitioner directory on the BMAS website that helps patients locate qualified BMAS-accredited medical acupuncturists; inclusion requires members to complete six hours of BMAS-recognised CPD each year.

Quantifiable outcome

• Acupuncture in Medicine has an Impact Factor of 2.6
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• British Acupuncture Council (BAcC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 November 2021BMAS issued a Statement of Intent jointly with BAcC and AACP in November 2021 following updates to NICE Guidelines (NG193). The organisations collaborate on policy positions regarding chronic pain and acupuncture practice standards in the UK. A joint statement on NICE Guideline NG226 for Osteoarthritis (October 2022) was also issued jointly.
• Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (AACP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 November 2021BMAS issues joint statements with AACP and BAcC on NICE Guidelines updates, including the Statement of Intent (November 2021) regarding NG193 on chronic pain, and the joint statement on NICE NG226 for Osteoarthritis (October 2022).
• Association of British Veterinary Acupuncturists (ABVA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMAS maintains a close working relationship with ABVA. UK-based veterinary surgeons are welcomed as BMAS members, and the organisations collaborate on acupuncture standards for veterinary practice.
• SAGE PublicationscoreTechnology or IntegrationSAGE Publications publishes the journal Acupuncture in Medicine on behalf of BMAS. SAGE handles online hosting (journals.sagepub.com), paper copy distribution, and indexing in Medline and Index Medicus.
• Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine (UCLH NHS Foundation Trust)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical Director Dr Mike Cummings serves as Honorary Clinical Specialist at this institution, supporting acupuncture services. Represents integration of BMAS-trained practitioners into NHS-integrated medicine settings.
• Professional Standards Authority (PSA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMAS membership is open to health professionals subject to voluntary regulation overseen by the PSA. This partnership enables broader professional membership beyond statutory regulation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• British Acupuncture Council (BAcC): The UK's largest professional acupuncture body. BMAS and BAcC co-issue joint statements on NICE Guidelines (NG193 chronic pain, NG226 osteoarthritis) and together they cover the UK acupuncture professional landscape, though BAcC membership is open to non-regulated practitioners while BMAS restricts to regulated clinicians.
• Association of British Veterinary Acupuncturists (ABVA): UK professional body for veterinary acupuncturists. ABVA has a documented close working relationship with BMAS and shares veterinary-surgeon members within the BMAS Dental/Veterinary tier.
• Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (AACP): UK professional association for chartered physiotherapists practising acupuncture. BMAS and AACP issue joint policy statements on NICE Guidelines and overlap heavily in the physiotherapist-acupuncture member segment.
• American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA): The US counterpart professional society for physician-acupuncturists. AAMA is the closest international analogue to BMAS in scope (medical acupuncture training, credentialing, and journal publication) and competes for cross-Atlantic thought leadership in Western medical acupuncture.

Broad incumbents

• International Council of Medical Acupuncture and Related Techniques (ICMART): Global umbrella body for medical acupuncture societies. ICMART operates one tier above BMAS and connects national medical acupuncture societies, providing international policy coordination that overlaps with BMAS's policy advocacy role.
• Royal Society of Medicine: One of the UK's major cross-specialty medical learned societies. While RSM is far broader in scope, it represents the kind of cross-disciplinary professional body BMAS operates within for continuing medical education and events for UK clinicians.
• Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists: UK specialty faculty setting standards in pain medicine. Relevant as both an adjacent training/credentialing body and a potential influencer of NICE chronic-pain pathways (NG193) on which BMAS's training demand depends.

Regional players

• Australian Medical Acupuncture College: The leading medical acupuncture training and credentialing body in Australia. Comparable in structure (physician-only membership, training courses, accreditation pathways) but serves the Australian market rather than competing with BMAS directly in the UK.
• Medical Acupuncture Society of Canada: Canadian physician-acupuncture society offering training and certification. Functionally analogous to BMAS in training and credentialing physicians, but geographically focused on Canada.

Emerging players

• Society for Integrative Oncology: International professional society advancing integrative oncology. Less directly comparable than the acupuncture-specific bodies, but operates at the intersection of complementary medicine and mainstream clinical practice that defines BMAS's positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/onbmas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/british-medical-acupuncture-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about BRITISH MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE SOCIETY