Table of Contents:

1. Report on WHO
2. AAAOM Specialty Boards Task Force
3. Integrator Blog News & Reports
4. Acupuncture at Sea
5. ABORM's Efforts to Provide Up-to-Date Info
6. Misha Cohen Speaks at AAAOM Conference
7. Asthma and TCM
8. OCOM is Smoke-Free
9. TCM and Vision
10. ACAOM Accredits Bastyr and OCOM
11. Announcements and Adverts

Greetings OM Members and Colleagues:

The upcoming 2007 Conference in Portland generates a sense of celebration for our upcoming 25th Anniversary, combined with cohesion and collaboration that only reunification can bring!

Early Bird Conference Registration: Early Bird registration is set to close Friday, August 31st, but in light of the Labor Day weekend before us, Early Bird Conference Registration is extended until Tuesday, September 4, 2007. If received beyond that date, regular conference rates will apply. (This excludes our student campaign, which extends the student Early Bird Rate of $75 through September 30.)

Early Bird Hilton Room Registration: The preferred conference rate of $151 per night is available through Monday, September 17. Our contracted rooms are 70% booked, so we recommend you don’t delay! You can register online at: www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/pdxphhh_aao/index.jhtml

Historical Picture Request: In preparing for our combined 25th Anniversary Celebration, we invite you to share with us any historical pictures you have in your files by emailing copies of your pictures to rchristensen@aaaomonline.org for inclusion in the tribute we’re planning. If you only have original pictures, you may mail them to my attention at: P. O. Box 162340, Sacramento, CA 95816; staff will scan the pictures and return your originals.

Qi-Unity Report: This issue of Qi-Unity Report delivers overviews from Expo speakers as well as a wealth of articles that directly influence AAAOM practitioner and member concerns. We are pleased to announce that staff, in concert with the Media and Publications Committee, is re-designing many of the features of Qi-Unity Report to enhance its use and value. You’ll see changes with our September issue! Please enjoy this issue as you explore and deepen your understanding of the resources available to you here.

Report on WHO
Since June, 2005, Jeannie Kang, AAAOM representative to WHO, has traveled world-wide to attend the WHO meetings for the International Classifications of Diseases. The August, 2007 meeting in Italy had a big task at hand:

“Before deciding whether or not OM could be included into ICD, WHO-PRO had to complete the International Standardization of Terminology. After years of modification, it is finally complete! With this enormous vehicle in hand, the decision was left to those attending countries to be part of the world wide health information system. This was very exciting to be a part of! It would be the first time in history that Oriental medicine will no longer be seen as a "non-scientific" approach to medicine-- the verbal generation-to- generation hand me down medicine...anecdotal medicine that each country uses in villages...the barefoot doctors as they were called.

Oriental medicine would find a new home shoulder-to-shoulder with Western medicine like neurology, internal medicine, pediatrics, etc. The ICD codes would reflect OM diagnosis, for example, Bi Syndrome with a code, that when used could represent world-wide the same to every practitioner of Oriental medicine and medical doctors alike. This is an awesome form of communication for Oriental medicine to achieve globalization of this long standing, effective medicine that we call our own.”

Read more about this process and what it means for OM. As Ms. Kang states, “It is a challenge, but one that must be met with courage, steadfastness, patience, and endurance, for the survival of this medicine into the 21 century.”

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/01.html

AAAOM Specialty Boards Task Force
AAAOM President Leslie McGee tells us that when AAAOM members discuss specialty boards, we often end up talking about different things. Just what does the term “specialty board” mean? AAAOM has recently determined that a Specialty Boards Task Force, including experts and interested parties, will be convened to create a forum on this topic, geared to our professional community. Read more about this and other issues that are so relevant today to our AAAOM members.

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/02.html

Integrator Blog News & Reports
As an on-going monthly feature, the Qi-Unity Report continues to feature articles of interest from the Integrator, edited by John Weeks. August picks concern a fight for licensed CAM representation at NIH NCCAM, a radical suggestion from the CDC head that health reform means creating “schools of health,” a forum on Sicko, and challenges of economic bias surrounding an icon of evidence-based medicine.

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/03.html

Acupuncture at Sea
OK, so you have your LAc, and you are ready to practice. Now what? Well, Angela Rosen, LAc, opted to work for four months on one of two cruise lines that hire acupuncturists to familiarize passengers to this medical practice and to treat those who want her services. Read part one of her blog about her experiences at sea, as she begins to practice acupuncture in this new (for her) setting.

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/04.html

ABORM's Efforts to Provide Up-to-Date Info
The American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) is dedicated to advancing knowledge of integrated fertility treatment methods, including acupuncture and herbal therapy. This article describes a July, 2007, study regarding the safety of alternative treatments for fertility, questioning its lack of comparable data, which may prevent women from seeking safe and effective acupuncture treatments. Find out more about ABORM’s efforts to provide the public with accurate and up-to-date information on integrated fertility treatments.

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/05.pdf (PDF)

Misha Cohen Speaks at AAAOM Conference
Dr. Misha Cohen, LAc, will be giving a presentation on Sunday morning at the upcoming AAAOM Conference in Portland. She will speak about evidence that medicinal Chinese herbs with anti-inflammatory and pain-alleviating properties may be utilized in the treatment of endometriosis and infertility. Read more here about this topic, and get ready for an in-depth discussion in Portland!

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/06.html

Asthma and TCM
We all know that asthma has increased dramatically among adults and children. Christopher Huson, LAc, asks us if both conventional medicine as well as traditional Chinese medicine to treat this condition can be used, given that there is similarity between the two systems’ diagnosis and treatment.

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/07.html

OCOM is Smoke-Free
Study in a completely tobacco-free environment! Oregon College of Oriental Medicine is Oregon’s first 100% tobacco-free campus. More information is available about this “first”!

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/08.pdf (PDF)

TCM and Vision
Can you read this? Some people have problems reading and seeing their world around them. Marc Grossman, OD, LAc, writes that vision problems are only increasing, and he states that many of these problems have been and can be treated successfully with acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Read what he has to say!

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/09.html

ACAOM Accredits Bastyr and OCOM
Two universities, Bastyr University and Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, announced recently that they have both been awarded accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for their doctoral programs. They are both to be commended! Check out the details of each program.

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/10.html

Announcements and Adverts

• Budapest Conference
• Mind/Body Training
• OCOM's Continuing Ed Program 2007 - 2008
• SAR Conference
• Tai Chi Fundamentals
• Under the Autumn Moon Festival

http://www.aaom.info/qiunity/07/08/11.html

In closing…

I feel the impact of Michael Moore’s film “Sicko” will increase public attention towards alternative approaches to health care. This will shine an ever stronger spotlight on our community and the ability of our profession to afford the public a discernable difference in care options. We look forward to exploring the vast future of our medicine as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary milestone in Portland. See you there!

As always, we welcome your feedback to improve and enhance this publication and its benefits to you as we continue to galvanize our common interest to rise and meet the marriage of challenges and opportunities that lie ahead!

Best Wishes,

Rebekah Christensen,
Executive Director