Rebuttal to US News and World Report

January 23, 2008

Dear Editor:

Thank you for your Jan 9 article on Alternative Care. Increasing numbers of Americans are improving their health and well-being through non-mainstream therapies such as Acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM), which has been used successfully for thousands of years in China and other Asian countries. Your statements about its effectiveness, however, are inaccurate. Many studies have shown acupuncture to be effective at rates higher than those who did not get acupuncture, and at rates higher than those who merely thought they were getting acupuncture (the placebo effect). Why else would the prestigious National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization endorse it, esteemed institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, Duke, and UCSF offer it, and increasing numbers of insurance companies reimburse for it? It may take a while for the research to catch up with the reality, but people in pain, people with debilitating diseases and conditions, and people who are not getting results with conventional medicine are not waiting. The fact is, receiving acupuncture from a fully trained, licensed professional acupuncturist may change your life.

Sincerely,

Martin Herbkersman, MTOM, Dipl.O.M.
President, American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine