Medical Acupuncture Facts » Acupuncture

Medical Acupuncture Is Not Effective

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:34:06 +0000

A recent article in the Associated Press claimed that acupuncture is not effective.

They say acupuncture can not help patients with high blood pressure and insomnia.

That’s partially true! When acupuncture is performed by a medical doctor or chiropractor who is NOT licensed in acupuncture, you wont see the kind of results that you would get by going to a licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac.).

The reason is because they do not have the proper training.

Who do you think will be more effective at lowering your blood pressure or helping you sleep at night through acupuncture? A medical doctor or chiropractor with 220 hours of acupuncture training or a licensed acupuncturist with 3,000 hours of acupuncture training?

It’s a no brainer!

Medical doctors, chiropractors, and some other practitioners are saying they are trained in “Medical Acupuncture” which is a 220 hour course! In comparison, a Licensed acupuncturist has near 3,000 hours of training!

Acupuncture works for asthma, ADD, ADHD, GURDS, digestion, fatigue, smoking, hot flashes, most pain and more IF you go to a licensed acupuncturist and not your medical acupuncture doctor with a “certificate” on their wall.

Choose your acupuncturist wisely! Make sure they have at least 3,000 hours of training in an accredited acupuncture school.

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Medical Acupuncture Courses Are Not Producing Fully Trained Acupuncturists

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:22:41 +0000

Many states allow physicians, chiropractors, physician’s assistants, physical therapists and dentists to practice acupuncture with only 300 hours of training. This is a relic of 1974, when little was known about acupuncture practice and education.

The 300-hour course for MD’s was designed to give medical researchers the appropriate background necessary to develop and interpret studies on acupuncture. The Medical Acupuncture certification was NOT designed to meet the educational requirements and training necessary to treat patients.

Thirty years later, minimum entry-level standards of competence for acupuncture have evolved, producing fully-trained, effective acupuncturists. Why haven’t educational standards for physicians and dentists been updated to reflect current requirements? And why would anyone want to extend the same inadequate, outdated 300-hour requirement to other health professionals?

If someone, anyone, wishes to practice acupuncture or any other form of healthcare, they should be properly trained and prove their competency before treating the public. Acupuncturists could not hope to practice podiatry or chiropractic with 300 hours of training and no standards of competency. Why would the reverse be different? *5

*5 Acupuncture Society of New York, www.asny.org

Kath Bartlett, MS, LAc
Asheville Center for Chinese Medicine
70 Woodfin Place Suite West Wing Two
Asheville, North Carolina 28801 828.258.2777
kbartlett@AcupunctureAsheville.com
www.AcupunctureAsheville.com

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Paying for Medical Acupuncture and NOT for Real Acupuncture (Licensed Acupuncturists L.Ac.) is Unconstitutional!

admin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:51:11 +0000

It’s unconstitutional to pay the hobbyist MD’s and not licensed acupuncturists!

In NY, the state prescribes training and licenses acupuncturists; both real acupuncturists (L. Ac.) and hobbyist acupuncturists (Cert. Ac, means medical doctors). There is an equal protection issue under federal law.

The state may not lawfully pay allopathic doctors (MD’s) for acupuncture with ANY type of licensure or certification and then NOT pay Licensed Acupuncturists due to the state licensing acupuncturists.

Currently I’ve been in touch with the head counsel for NYS Workers Comp who was ambivalent about taking action even though we can do a simple “declaratory judgment” and have a judge rule the current policy unconstitutional. This would cause the state to have to pay workers comp treatment claims to acupuncturists under the same rules as MD’s. No-Fault will follow suit and most insurances are trickle-down from there. The Workers Comp Advocate though will soon take action on this with the governor.

Does Workers Comp pay well? Not a chance, but that’s another issue. This one is about opening the doors to those who steer patients to practitioners as well as opening the door to the rest of the insurance world whose acupuncture policies are incidentally set by medical doctors, many of whom don’t want to see acupuncture and TCM take a 30% share of primary health care away from them. By that I mean, dollars, their biggest concern.

Here is a short press release on the saga of NY Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield and their disruption of acupuncture coverage and clearly discriminatory reimbursement practices:
Read story here

As to National Board Certification (NCCAOM), I applaud them for not allowing MD’s to receive this designation and thereby not allowing them to satisfy that requirement which allows for the designation Licensed Acupuncturist.

Tom Chi

For more on Dr. Tom Chi (Doctor of Acupuncture, Rh. Isle., L. Ac. NYS) go to www.FixPainNow.com
There you can also find info on the amazing pain therapy he pioneered “Soft-Tissue-Reprocessing” also known as “SUPERTOUCH ™”. Soon posted there will be info on his upcoming series now in production called “The Pain Whisperer” as well as upcoming availability of the new Magnetized Acupuncture Needles for which he is worldwide patent-pending. Tom Chi has practiced acupuncture for 25+ years and done over 130,000 treatments. As with many acupuncturists virtually all of his patients illnesses are “cured” within a few short treatments and with the SUPERTOUCH ™ therapy even difficult and chronic pain patients receive immediate, tangible, lasting results as their injuries are reprocessed and reformed so that the injuries no longer exist and are therefore no longer predisposed to pain or reinjury as they are gone! You may contact Dr. Chi at: DrChi@FixPainNow.com

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Medical Acupuncture. What is it?

admin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:07:28 +0000

And what’s the difference between Medical Acupuncture
and Traditional or Chinese Acupuncture?

As more and more people are looking into receiving acupuncture for their health complaints, it has become that much more important to know what type of acupuncturists are in practice and what type of qualifications they have.

Acupuncture is a component of a complete medical system called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Acupuncture originated in China several thousand years ago.

ACUPUNCTURE TRAINING

Acupuncture is performed by licensed acupuncturists with a minimum of 3-4 years of study. This is a rigorous program of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine that includes intense study and an internship. Credentials can be seen after their name with an L.Ac.

Most often when you see the initials L.Ac., you can be confident that the acupuncturist had some serious training of at least a few years.

Medical Acupuncture is performed by a doctor (MD) or other licensed health care professional such as a chiropractor, dentist, and physical therapist.

Medical acupuncture was created for these health practitioners (MD, DC, etc.) without the lengthy study that licensed acupuncturists (L.Ac.) take. In fact, some of these courses only require 100 hours of acupuncture study!

Often, when you see the initials MD or DC or any initial without an L.Ac., more often than not, they have had much less acupuncture training.

In fact, it is in the nature of Medical Acupuncture to offer a less comprehensive course of acupuncture study to their trainees. Some states offer a minimum of ONLY 100 hours of acupuncture study while licensed acupuncturists (L.Ac.) have over 3,000 hours.

If you have received acupuncture by an MD, DC, or someone not fully trained like an L.Ac. and have not benefited from the treatment, you should consider going to a licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac.) to experience the full potential that acupuncture has to offer.

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