July 2008
International News
Practice Management
Continuing Education and Events		 State Legislative Activities
AAAOM Activities
AAAOM Student Organization		 National AOM Issues
Links
Products, Services, and Member Savings

Table of Contents:

International News



State Legislative Activities


Sponsors of:

National AOM Issues



Practice Management


Sponsors of:

AAAOM Activities



Links


Sponsors of:

Continuing Education and Events



AAAOM Student Organization


Products, Services, and Member Savings

 

Greetings AOM Members and Colleagues:

Thanks to all of you who participated in the 2008 AAAOM International Conference and Expo in Chicago! We broke previous records for attendance, demonstrating once again that the AOM profession—even in this economy—continues to find its footing in the United States. The range of participating special guests, speakers, association representatives, practitioners, students and vendors speaks once again to the high quality and diversity found in the AOM profession. What a group!

Our best wishes go out to all of you, and we trust that you found the gathering to be a meaningful exchange, for your own career and for the other reasons you came to Chicago. As you know we do our best to meet your expectations. Please do take a moment to let us know how we are doing, as improving on AAAOM events is a duty we take seriously.

This month we have the pleasure to announce the new participants in the AAAOM Board and committee chairs, together with the new names and faces joining the AAAOM-SO leadership. Bill Reddy instructs young practitioners on how to build a healthy practice, and AAAOM president-elect Deborah Lincoln and Lynn Eder present a survey to assess the dynamics informing how AOM students transition into their professional careers. Abbye Silverstein checks in from Colorado on an exciting new Discovery program that features her work treating addiction, and Michael Max sends us a report from the contemporary landscape in China. As usual, there’s something for everyone in the Qi-Unity Report!

Look to the Qi-Unity Report for information on the issues that affect your life and practice in AOM.

The AAAOM is interested in your feedback. We invite you to use our General Feedback page to let us know your opinions and insights.

International News

Max Report from China

By Michael Max, LAc

Everywhere in Beijing are the lingering images of the 2008 summer Olympiad: the five “fu-hua,” the golden circled “2008 Beijing,” sky-high apartment rents, menu prices that would have been unimaginable a few years ago, a new ring road of subways along with a much needed north-south line. The laid-back Houhai area, which once was home to quiet cafes, has transformed into a neon lit bar district, and the crumbled truly old districts have been re-built into a Disneysque version of their former selves. Missing too are the wide-eyed stares, as the sight of a foreigner has become not so foreign.

Beijing’s snarl of traffic, regulated by the laws of mass and momentum, has not changed a bit. It requires a particularly keen and diffuse sense of peripheral vision combined with a visceral sense of the surrounding swirl of motion. It would be folly to follow the signals of green and red in China; it is only the peristaltic surges of movement and pressure that can be trusted when navigating the intersections and roadways here. Like finding the right acupuncture point, a certain opening in traffic will tip the flow in favor of the pedestrian; master that kind of “gongfu” and your ability to understand the movements of qi will increase by sevenfold.

The new train stations that service the ever-increasing number of high-speed trains are structures from a science-fiction spaceport story. These new high-speed trains, some of which reach speeds of 330 kph, are not imports; they are Chinese technology. The Middle Kingdom offers not just the traditional fare of old culture and medicine or cheap labor producing shoddy product; they have learned a few lessons from the Western and Japanese powers that have used China as a base for cheap manufacturing. Now they don’t just produce; they design as well. The two foreigners I happened to be sitting across from on the fast-train to Nanjing are here with a team of Chinese and Germans working on green, environmentally sustainable communities of 250,000 to one million. Green development, of both economy and infrastructure, it is this kind of thinking and progress that will give China an expertise and exportable technology that could quickly leapfrog the development models we use in the States.

For a long time we have prided ourselves on how we generate the new ideas, and the world then manufactures them into products. We are rapidly looking at the turning of a tide. It is not a one-sided turning, it never is; even as I look toward some work in the publishing industry in here in the Middle Kingdom, I realize that in the West we have now have books that are more than worthy of translation into Chinese.

Links to International AOM Articles

Swiss-Vietnamese professor founded and supports acupuncture clinic in Vietnam:
english.vietnamnet.vn

China is now the fattest country in the world, second only to the United States. One out of five Chinese children over the age of 7 is overweight, and nearly 10 percent are obese. A Chinese hospital that treats overweight children has a rather straightforward, but perhaps not politically incorrect name -- the Fat Reduction Hospital. Here kids are treated with calorie restriction, exercise and acupuncture.
allday.msnbc.msn.com

A 10-YEAR-OLD boy from a poor family in Sichuan Province finally received an operation to treat his congenital heart disease, thanks to a Shanghai hospital that used acupuncture anesthesia to reduce side effects and cut medical costs in half.

The boy, Wang Wenbin, was the youngest patient in China ever to undergo the needle-based procedure, under which doctors are able to cut the dosage of traditional anesthetic drugs by one-fifth to one-third and allow the patient to breathe by himself instead of using a respirator, the hospital said yesterday.
www.shanghaidaily.com

An acupuncturist in the Swedish city of Sundsvall will have to pay a fine for illegally treating a young child, a court ruled. Prosecution in the medical case had asked that the unidentified acupuncturist be fined for offering her medical services to a 1-month-old child who was suffering from colic, The Local said Friday.
www.upi.com

Dr Steven Minger, director of the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory at King's College London, is leading a two-year project to establish links between UK and Chinese scientists to study the possible beneficial effects of TCMs. The project, on behalf of the British Government, aims to feed into the development of new drugs.

"You look at TCM and it is booming in China. People really believe in it, and I have to say I have begun to believe in it," he told Times Higher Education. "What I want to do is demystify it. I want to get it down to - if possible - what is it in this that really does something? What is it in here that, if you have got a bad cough and you (feel like you) are dying, makes your chest quit hurting?"
www.timeshighereducation.co.uk

China's Shenzhou-7 astronauts took traditional Chinese herbal medicine in their spaceflight to treat space motion sickness, a doctor with the astronauts training center said.
news.xinhuanet.com
www.canada.com

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) yesterday launched a new program in the field of acupuncture in collaboration with the Institute of Acupuncture & Natural Medicines (IANM), New Delhi. This is the first time that a medical program will be offered online with contact sessions for practical training.
www.indiaedunews.net

Shiatsu, developed in the early 20th century by a Japanese practitioner, Tamai Tempaku, incorporated the newer Western medical knowledge of anatomy and physiology into several older meth¬ods of treatment. Originally he called it "Shiatsu Ryoho", or "finger pressure way of healing", then "Shiatsu Ho", "finger pressure method". Now known simply as "Shiatsu", it was officially recognized as a therapy by the Japanese Government in 1964, so distinguishing it from the older form of traditional massage, Anma. Shiatsu therapists diagnose and treat according to the principles of Oriental medicine.
sacredliving.wordpress.com

Chinese herbal medicine, protected Chinese people through ages before the introduction of Western medicines to China.

A seventy-year-old man who holds to the traditional ways has come up with his own creations promoting Chinese medicine - he's turned herbal iconic images into cartoon toys.
news.alibaba.com

While Hangzhou's biggest tourist attraction is the scenic West Lake, the capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China has much more to offer than just picture-postcard views. The city was, after all, once the capital of China in the 12th and 13th centuries. And it played important roles in the development of iconic Chinese things such as tea, silk and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
travel.asiaone.com

State Legislative Activities

Oregon Acupuncture Associations Unify

September 16, 2008, Portland, Oregon

Taking a page from the successful unification of the national organizations, the two associations representing acupuncturists in Oregon- the Oregon Acupuncture Association (OAA) and the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Society of Oregon (AOMSO)- met on September 14, 2008, and finalized their unification. Members of both associations worked together for months to prepare new bylaws and establish goals for the new organization. The new name is the Oregon Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (OAAOM).

The Oregon Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine will combine the strengths and vision of both organizations and will effectively represent the interests of practitioners of Oriental medicine in the state of Oregon, and at the national level. Members have elected an interim Board of Directors to serve until their Annual Meeting in the spring of 2009.

Oregon Licensed Acupuncturists or all other individuals who wish to obtain more information, or would like to join the Oregon Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine should contact the organization by e-mail at: info@oaaom.com

Oregon Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
PO Box 14615 – Portland – OR - 97213-0615
www.oaaom.com


National AOM Issues

To: AAAOM First Year Practitioners

From: Deborah Lincoln RN, MSN, RAc, NCCAOM, AAAOM President
Assisted by: Lynn Eder, AAAOM Staff Editorial Coordinator

Subject: Survey: Transitioning From Student to Practitioner

As the newly elected president of the AAAOM, I feel it is important to understand the pulse of the profession from diverse perspectives. Not only can we learn from each other, but in sharing we foster a historical understanding of our profession that allows us to refer back in the future and draw upon our success as well as our challenges. Equally, as we build knowledge and awareness, this provides the insight needed for AAAOM to develop tools and focused support in the context of expressed, present needs.

As a newly licensed practitioner, you are now facing not only the challenges posed by our current economy, but the start-up of your professional career and/or private practice. AAAOM would like to know how you transitioned from your student status to become an AOM practitioner. We are interested in finding what people, processes, or tools helped you initiate your practice, whether as a sole proprietor, as an employee in a private practice, a hospital setting or public health clinic, or perhaps by some other unique form of service you would like to share.

We will collect the replies and publish the results of this survey in the Qi-Unity Report. Your name will be withheld from the collaborative document generated, unless you specifically request your contact information be provided such that the door to ongoing discussion is opened. Additionally you will be given the option not to have your responses shared with your colleagues.

Please visit this online form to express your interests.

Integrator Blog News & Reports

Integration, by nature, asks us to open our peripheral visions. We are served to look at the whole of the field. We need to develop new fascia, new connectivity. Opportunities crop up in new places. The Integrator Blog News and Reports is meant to provide you with information, insights and tools to enhance integrated care in the environment you serve.

- John Weeks, publisher-editor

White House Commission Chair James Gordon, MD on Federal Policy in Integrative Practice: Looking Back - Looking Forward

[Written for Integrative Practitioner Online] This Presidential election season medical reform is in the air. I decided to interview James Gordon, MD, who chaired the most concerted look at the potential for a federal government role in fostering integrative care in the United States. The report of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy was published 6 years ago. I asked Gordon to recall his hopes for those recommendations, then to enumerate where the Commission's work has had value and where it has come up short. Gordon, author of Manifesto for a New Medicine (and more recently Unstuck), grades the outcomes of the Commission's work - both the government response and that of the integrative practice community. Do we need to have a national Office of some kind, to more fully move this agenda?
More ...

NCCAM Research Spending 2005-2007 by Modality: What are the Big 3? Any Surprises?

Integrator reader and sometimes commentarist Taylor Walsh recently asked staff at the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine for data on the specific amounts of grant awards for specific modalities in fiscal years 2005-2007. Walsh, the founder and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Life Pages, shared the data with the Integrator. Here are his findings. What do you suppose are the top 3 modalities? What is the percentage of NCCAM's $362-million for those three years which were spent on the top three? How does this meet your sense of priorities?
More ...

AHA-Health Forum 2008 Report: 37% of Hospitals Have Some Complementary and Alternative Medicine

37% of hospitals offered some form of complementary and alternative medicine in 2007, up from 26% in 2005. This is the marquis finding from the recently published Summary of Results of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Survey of Hospitals from the American Hospital Association/Health Forum. However, a low response rate raises initial questions about whether the trend line is positive. In addition, inclusion of many key modalities in hospitals that offer CAM is actually down. Here are data and analysis from this always useful pulse on the uptake of non-conventional therapies into US hospitals. Credit AHA/Health Forum and Sita Ananth, MHA, the lead author. Is CAM inclusion in hospital care actually trending upward?
More ...

Allina Honors Integrative Medicine Visionary: U.S.'s Top Hospital Program Becomes the Penny George Institute for Health & Healing

Penny George, one of a handful of individuals who has had the most significant influence on the development of integrative medicine in the United States, was honored recently by Allina Health System. Allina announced that it will change the name of its leading edge, inpatient-outpatient integrative center to the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing. The September 26, 2008 Allina release only suggests the many strategic roles George has played in advancing this movement in US and global health care. George's story begins with a personal experience of breast cancer. Her vision led to the formation of an influential academic consortium, development of a collaborative of philanthropists, sponsorship of an IOM summit, lift-off for a key international research conference, enhancement of multidisciplinary initiatives and, on the ground in the Allina system, 8000 outpatient and 14,500 inpatient integrative care visits a year.
More ...

Employers & Integrative Medicine: An Interview with Stages of Change/Readiness for Change Expert James Prochaska, PhD

The pioneering work of James Prochaska, PhD in "stages of change" and "readiness for change" is known to many in the integrative practice community. Changing behaviors is the heart of the best of integrative care. Employers are drawn to Prochaska's work because moving an employee toward change can eventually be monetized. Is this a place for an employer-integrative practice link? I think so. Prochaska will be a featured presenter and workshop leader at the October 15-17, 2008 conference of the Institute for Health and Productivity Management (IHPM), an Integrator sponsor. I look forward to the opportunity to introduce him to Richard Nahin, PhD, MD, senior adviser and acting director of extramural research for NIH NCCAM who will be a keynoter at the meeting. This interview explores Prochaska's work, potential clinical applications in complementary, alternative and integrative medicine research and practice, and the way the reductive research paradigm has hindered application of beneficial change strategies.
More ...

Integrative Medicine and Integrated Healthcare Round-up: October 1-15, 2008

MGMA says some MDs turning to alternative medicine, supplement sales, for business reasons ... Naturopathic specialty board established to promote aesthetic medicine ... American Acupuncture Council promotes programs to get acupuncturists and chiropractors to explore anti-aging medicine ... NCCAM names NIH veteran Jack Killen, MD as Deputy Director ... Institute of Medicine announces agenda for its February 2009 National Summit on Integrative Medicine, not yet much sign of "integration" ... New American Hospital Association report finds 37% of hospitals offering some CAM, a 40% increase in the percent since 2005 ... Yale-Griffin integrative medicine center in new facility ... Donna Karan's Urban Zen initiative brands "new category of integrative practitioner" ... Thumbs up for natural childbirth in Milbank study, and article by obstetrician Bethany Hays, MD ... USA Today features Pentagon's exploration of alternatives ... Plus, Annie Appleseed, patient-centered integrative cancer conference and Integrative medicine Alliance practitioner-centered weekend ... Three of Calabrese's mentees earn NIH awards ...
More ...

Integrative Medicine and Integrated Healthcare Round-up: September 1-15, 2008

CCAOM backs move in the acupuncture profession toward "First Professional Doctorate" ... IAYT reports data on the emerging Yoga therapy field ... ND students set quality standards for nutraceutical partners ... Hopkins opens integrative clinic with GI focus ... Hawaii Consortium for Integrative Healthcare begins monthly television program ... New ACOEM guidelines for chronic pain elevate role of acupuncture, yoga ... Employer group IHPM begins worksite metabolic health initiative ... American Specialty Health receives awards ... Standard Process' president Charlie DuBois joins board of chiropractic research group ... Council for Responsible Nutrition selects naturopathic physician Douglas MacKay, ND as vice president for regulatory and scientific affairs ... Changes at the top for American Association for Health Freedom ... Primary care needs to be aggravated by disappearing interest among med school grads, plus
More ...

Integrative Medicine and Integrated Health Care Round-up: September 16-30, 2008

New 18-practitioner integrative clinic and robust growth at Samaritan Health Services ... Inner Harmony celebrates 10th year and moves to new space at Scranton's Mercy Hospital ... HRSA in $310,000 grant to Palmer College of Chiropractic and Jefferson's integrative medicine program for multidisciplinary practice-based CAM-IM research network ... National College of Natural Medicine expands ... AHEC grant funds scholarship for fellowship at Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine to help serve underserved ... Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, a research-education-integration leader for AOM marks 25th year ... Board of NADA, the acu-detox group, affirms value of 5-point protocol for stress, pain management, not just detox ... Report on national massage therapy clinical practice guidelines funded and developed through Massage Therapy Foundation ... American Chiropractic Association announces policy-related action of its House of Delegates ... Signature Supplements gets high tech business development loan from state of Maryland ... Update on Minnesota-based Collaboration Health Care group started by form American Chiropractic Network team, plus
More ...

Resources

Integrator Archive by Subject for January-June 2007
More ...

Integrator Archive by Subject for 2006: All Hot-linked
More ...

Practice Management

Improving Your Practice Through Referrals

By Bill Reddy, BS, LAc

No, I am not going to tell you that “almost 100% of my practice is through referrals…”—that’s not where I’m going with this. Not too long ago I started asking my patients for business cards of their MDs, PTs, LMTs, etc. especially if they had good experiences with that practitioner. I put these cards in a “referral notebook.” Although I haven’t met these individuals personally, when a patient of mine asks if I know a good physical therapist, I pull out my trusty notebook and select one based on proximity of their home or work.

So now you’re asking, “How can referring my patients to other practitioners improve my practice?” Here’s the beauty of a win-win situation: Your patient goes to your suggested PT and is happy with their service. Meanwhile, since the patient is under your care, the PT gets positive feedback from the patient about their condition along with noticing an improvement in range of motion and effusion. Next thing you know, the PT is sending patients to you who complain of the same condition of your original patient.

Another approach is to take the card from your patient and write a nice note (containing your business card) to the practitioner saying something like, “Mrs. Smith thinks VERY highly of you, told me she is under your care, and I’m pleased to be part of the team managing her _________. It’s natural to be skeptical about acupuncture’s effects on _________, so enclosed are a few randomized clinical trials performed with acupuncture on _________ reporting an average response rate of 88% with no adverse effects!” You’d be surprised what a note card can do in a world cluttered with impersonal email.

A week later you can take the opportunity to call and see if the physician/PT has any questions you can answer pertaining to acupuncture, or they may be willing to have you come in during lunch to give a half hour presentation on Oriental medicine to them and other interested colleagues. The more patients you refer out, the more they notice your name on the intake form under “referral source” and hear positive things from the referred patient. Even though they’ve never met you, your reputation is expanding.

Soon you’ll get a new patient in the door and recognize the name of the practitioner who referred them to you from one of the business cards in your referral notebook. Tell the patient that you’ve heard great things about their doctor and will keep him/her in the loop with their progress. ADDITIONALLY, be sure to send the physician/PT a note of thanks for referring the patient, and soon you’ll see more and more flowing in. From a patient’s standpoint, they’re pleased to see that you have connections in the medical community, and that you are not afraid to work closely with others in an integrative approach to their health and well-being.

Also, don’t forget about local tai qi and yoga studios. When you send them new students who are working through stress or tight muscles, you may very well be the only acupuncturist the instructor knows. You’d be surprised at the number of times a yoga teacher is asked if he or she can recommend a good acupuncturist in the area. When my patients ask me what would be best for them, yoga or tai qi, my answer (with a broad smile) is “Yes!”

We can’t be an expert in all areas, but developing professional relationships with other healthcare professionals helps them earn your trust and vice-versa.

Wishing you a prosperous practice in not so prosperous times.

Bill Reddy, Vice President, AAAOM

Update on Larimer County Community Corrections Acu-detox Program

By Abbye Silverstein, Dipl.Ac, L.Ac

After one year of treating 85 Intensive Residential Treatment (IRT) clients with the NADA protocol, the Larimer County Community Corrections (LCCC) aka “the halfway house” compiled their results of this pilot program. The final results were: 78% positively completed the program and maintained sobriety upon termination of “the halfway house.” Based upon these results, the IRT program was tripled. In September, the IRT program added ten more beds for male clients and in November, twelve female clients will begin the first Northern Colorado Female IRT program that includes group and individual counseling, acupuncture and Qi Gong. There are a total of 32 clients receiving treatment for a six-week residential recovery program run under the jurisdiction of the Colorado State Department of Corrections.

As the acupuncturist administering this program, I treat the clients in their group rooms. There will be 3 groups receiving treatment in the evenings, four days per week for a six week period.

Last week, I received a call from Tower Productions Company who is producing a 3- part series on addiction in the U.S. for the Discovery Channel. The assistant found articles on the internet about my work with LCCC and contacted me to be part of a segment on cocaine recovery and acupuncture. Since the majority of my LCCC clients are methamphetamine addicts I was unsure if I had the right population for the show. That evening I asked my 2 groups if anyone was recovering from cocaine and four men said yes. Three of the four men consented to be interviewed for the segment. I will be interviewed about the program and give a demonstration with those who consented. The Director of LCCC has consented to have the segment filmed on the premises. The Tower Productions producer is excited about our program and my work with the clients. We are tentatively scheduled to film beginning this November and the show will air next year. So, look for AOM to get some air-time on the Discovery Channel!

This program at the LCCC was published in the Coloradoan newspaper in December 2007. In March 2008, I began a NADA de-stress program for the Aspen Club. The Aspen Club serves Larimer County citizens over 50, and is run by the Poudre Valley Hospital. The hospital does not offer acupuncture, but NADA is offered as stress relief for the over 50 population through the Aspen Club. This initiative has been well received and the director of the program and I are hoping to increase the acupuncture services to this community.

One door opens after another; it is a slow process to educate the public on the merits of acupuncture as a public health benefit. At the same time, practitioners of acupuncture and those who receive it know just how beneficial this medicine can be.


AAAOM Activities

08-09 Board Announcements

2008 AAAOM Executive Committee

Deborah Lincoln, RN, MSN, DiplAc, NCCAOMPresident
William Reddy, BS, MS, LAcVice President
Travis Buckmaster, LAc, PCTreasurer
Scott Cormier, LAc, DiplOMSecretary
Martin Herbkersman, MTOM, DiplOM, DAc, FABORMPresident Emeritus
Rebekah ChristensenExecutive Director
Michael Taromina, EsqLegal Counsel

Directors-at-Large:

Corinne Axelrod, MPH, LAc, DiplAc
Shane Burras, LAc, DNBAO
Mark Evans, LAc
Jolene Habeck, BS (Student Member)
Phranque Wright, DAOM, LAc, DiplAc
Jeannie Kang, DNBAO, DNBIM (Korean Advisory Council)
Christine Chang, DAOM, DiplOM (Chinese Advisory Council)

Alternate Directors:

William Morris, PhD (c), DAOM, LAc
Lloyd Wright, DNBAO, LAc

Public Members:

Michael McGuffinPublic Member
Michael Taromina, Esq (Alternate)

2008 AAAOM Committee Chairs

Bylaws Chair:Corinne Axelrod
Chinese Advisory Council Chair:Ann Y. Wang
Chinese Advisory Council Vice-Chair:Christine Chang
Conference Committee Co-Chairs:Deborah Lincoln
Christine Chang
Education/Credentialing Committee:Will Morris
Elections Chair:Claudette Baker
Ethics Chair:Scott Cormier
Finance Chair:Travis Buckmaster
Fundraising Chair:Jeannie Kang
Herbal Medicine:Claudette Baker
Herbal Safety Database Co-Chair:Claudette Baker
Michael Taromina
Insurance Chair:Mark Evans
International Affairs Co-Chairs:
& Co-Vice Presidents:		Jeannie Kang
Eric Brand
Korean Advisory Council Chair:Jeannie Kang
Media Affairs/Publications Co-Chairs:Bill Reddy
Janet Borges
Membership Chair:Shane Burras
National Government Affairs Chair:Lloyd Wright
Policy and Procedures Chair:Jolene Habeck
Student Organization Liaison:Jolene Habeck
Suppliers Chair:Christine Chang

Preview of the Herbal Safety Database

By Michael Taromina, Esq. with contribution from Bill Bookout

As advance notice, the AAAOM is publishing an article in the December issue of Acupuncture Today on the AOM profession’s development of an Herbal Safety Database. Authored by Michael Taromina, Esq. (AAAOM Board Legal Counsel), with contributions from Bill Bookout, President, of the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC), the article details the AAAOM’s formulation of a legislative and fundraising strategy to protect herbal practice by credentialed practitioners, both federally and on the state level.

Over years of escalating threats involving our profession’s access to herbs, it has become clear to AAAOM Board of Directors, the Herbal Medicine Committee and the National Government Affairs Committee that the most feasible approach to this goal utilizes the proven NASC model. The NASC effort was conceived and championed by Mr. Bookout in response to intensifying FDA opposition to the pet supplement industry. NASC realized that only through their development of an Adverse Events Reporting database (AER) system would the industry be able to acquire evidence-based safety data necessary to secure regulatory protection of pet supplements. Today, the AER database allows both the animal supplement industry and its regulators to monitor access and risk.

Given AOM similarities to the self-regulatory needs of the pet supplement industry, Mr. Bookout discusses the benefits and advantages to adopting the NASC strategic approach for Chinese herbs. He addresses how the establishment of their early warning adverse effect database has protected their products on the market which practitioners, companies and consumers depend upon. He also shares his firsthand insight into the role of the FDA within the supplement industry, and much more.

Read further details on the Herbal Safety Database and the AAAOM role in its realization in the forthcoming Acupuncture Today.

The AAAOM Political Action Fund

The Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Political Action Fund (AOMPAF) storefront is a place where you can make a difference in how AOM interests get heard. AAAOM developed the AOMPAF to create an auxiliary source of funding for a range of activities that support continued herbal access and to confront the various scope-of-practice issues that impact our profession. This storefront allows you to make a one-time contribution or monthly contributions as low as $10 per month.

“A TIME TO BUILD UP: One of the issues that has become clear to me in my year as president of the AAAOM is that we must raise the financial resources to fund our political work. I have had conversations with those who believe grass roots efforts will see our agenda through to fruition. This simply will not get the job done as we move forward and mature as a profession in the U.S. In the past, grass roots efforts have indeed worked, as we were often the underdog who needed to get the word out about our amazing medicine. However, as we “grow up” we lose the goodwill that is afforded to newcomers on the political scene. We must stand up and fund ourselves in the political arena because no one else but ourselves should or will do this. The power of your contribution – large or small – is an investment you can’t afford NOT to make. Thank you sincerely for taking this important step.” - Martin Herbkersman MTOM, DiplOM, DAc, President, AAAOM

Join Martin and sign up for your $10 per month commitment to the future of the AOM profession.

Links

Here are some links of interest from the national scene.

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles in complementary and alternative healthcare interventions, with a specific emphasis on those that elucidate biological mechanisms of action.
www.biomedcentral.com

More than 80 million adults in the United States are estimated to use some form of alternative medicine, from herbs and megavitamins to yoga and acupuncture. But while sweeping claims are made for these treatments, the scientific evidence for them often lags far behind: studies and clinical trials, when they exist at all, can be shoddy in design and too small to yield reliable insights. Now the federal government is working hard to raise the standards of evidence, seeking to distinguish between what is effective, useless and harmful or even dangerous. “The research has been making steady progress,” said Dr. Josephine P. Briggs, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health.
www.nytimes.com

A new medical study, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, finds that acupuncture, an ancient form of healing that has been around for thousands of years, is as good as, or better than modern medicine in helping ease the side effects of breast cancer treatment. (The video is worth viewing.)
abcnews.go.com
abclocal.go.com
cbs3.com

In a study involving 26 patients with clinically-diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease (AD), acupuncture treatment was found to stimulate areas of the brain associated with cognitive function which are known to be impaired in patients with AD.
discoverandrecover.wordpress.com

Positive findings published on emergent technology for treating chronic pain by combining 5,000-year-old art of acupuncture techniques with modern technology applied to anatomical and neurophysiological science.
www.marketwatch.com

Studies have shown that there is an increase in the number of children that have been diagnosed with autism. Until now, doctors have not yet found a cure to this illness which is why some parents want to experiment with alternative forms of treatment, and one example is acupuncture.
www.pillfreevitamins.com

Qigong therapy, a form of traditional Chinese medical practice, appears to be a potential complementary treatment for osteoarthritis dependent upon the capability of the healer, according to a study conducted at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey by Kevin Chen, PhD, MPH, and Dr. Adam Perlman, MPH, FACP.
www.google-sina.com
www.thaindian.com

Acupuncture is touted for low cost care. A possible solution to high health-care costs might be coming from an unlikely source -- an alternative form of treatment that's been around for centuries.
marketplace.publicradio.org

Findings from a study on the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for PTSD among military personnel may be reported later this year, according to research officials.
www.healingcombattrauma.com

Acupuncture as a career choice:
www.best-health-report.com

This from the Washington Post: Local hospitals are increasingly offering complementary and alternative treatment options to patients. Here are highlights:
www.washingtonpost.com

The New York Times discusses the condition of referred pain and acupuncture:
www.nytimes.com

Patients rest outside a medical clinic in a park-like setting. There is no air conditioning in the rooms, just open windows to keep the air circulating. Doctors visit a patient sitting in the lotus position while, down the hall, someone is being "cupped."

This is a common sight if you live in China, but not quite so common if you are Pierce College (Woodland Hills, CA) nursing professors Dr. Melva Giles and Lucinda Bramlett.
media.www.therounduponline.net

These research studies support how acupuncture relieves hot flashes and other side effects caused by breast cancer treatment.
www.allheadlinenews.com
www.turnto23.com
www.kutv.com

Senator Obama's support for preventative medical care is another little noted but important key point of difference with Senator McCain. Under Obama it is far more likely that insurance plans will cover alternative medicine, including acupuncture, therapy, and government approved herbs and vitamins. This category alone could more than double the current spending by pharmaceutical companies, and would give a boost to local market media as Alternative Care centers compete with traditional medicine. Again, a McCain presidency is likely to bring this windfall to a screeching halt.
www.huffingtonpost.com



Continuing Education and Events

AOMA Occupational Acupuncture

The Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin (AOMA), Whole Foods Market, and Fred Lerner, DC are cooperating to create a network of qualified acupuncture practitioners in the field of occupational medicine. Whole Foods Market Team Members through their Occupational Injury Provider (Third Party Administrator) will be able to gain access to a full complement of services as they recover from their workplace injuries. AOMA Occupational Acupuncture Practitioner Group (AOAPG) members may qualify to participate in the acupuncture occupational medicine network for Whole Foods Market's workforce. Qualification standards for providers in the network are in development and will include satisfactory completion of the AOMA Occupational Acupuncture (AOA) three-module series, current licensure in good standing, evidence of professional practice insurance, and reference letters. The series involves three modules and a final examination, designed and taught through Lerner Education.
24 CAE hours per weekend; 72 CAE hours total.

November 14-16, 2008
Part 1: Introduction & Principles.
Practice management, special diagnostic tests, case management and documentation.

January 16-18, 2009
Part 2: Neck & Upper Extremity.
Neck and arm problems, including neurological and orthopedic causes and testing.

February 20-22, 2009
Part 3: Trunk & Pelvis.
Back and pelvis, including disc injuries, arthritic disorders, neurological problems and case management.

Friday 2 pm - 9 pm (dinner 5 pm - 6 pm)
Saturday 9 am - 7 pm (lunch 1 pm - 2 pm)
Sunday 9 am - 4 pm (lunch 12 pm - 1 pm)

Register by October 31 and save $25

Registration fees per weekend:
Professional: $300 ($275 if registered by Oct. 31)
AOMA Alumni: $225 ($200 if registered by Oct. 31)
Students (must be in 2nd year or higher): $125 ($100 by Oct. 31)

Online registration now available (please select PART 1, 2 and/or 3 and AOMA alumni, professional or student category). If you have questions, please contact 512-492-3034 or .

Sarah Sires Bentley
Director of Community Relations
Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin
2700 W. Anderson Ln. #204
Austin, TX 78757
512-492-3034
512-454-7001 fax
www.aoma.edu
Transforming lives and communities through graduate education in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

Department of Defense Awards Grant to The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

The Washington, DC based Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) announced today that it has been awarded a $411,000, two-year grant from the newly formed Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to study the effectiveness of the CMBM’s comprehensive, drug-free approach to treating posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression with troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families. This study, whose principal investigator is the CMBM founder and director, James S. Gordon, MD, will be performed at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System, and is entitled “A Randomized Controlled Study of Mind-Body Skills Groups for Treatment of War-Zone Stress in Military and Veteran Populations.”

The study will test the effectiveness of CMBM’s model, which includes mind-body approaches (meditation, guided imagery, biofeedback, and yoga) and self-expression in words, drawings, and movement, in supportive, educational small groups. The groups will be led by Virginia clinicians who have been trained by Dr. Gordon and his CMBM faculty and will be offered to veterans and their families on weekends over the course of three months.

Dr. Gordon’s model is widely used with people suffering from depression and anxiety and those with chronic illness in the US, and has already been incorporated as a stress reduction program for students in a dozen US medical schools. Dr. Gordon describes his groundbreaking approach in detail in his new book, Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven Stage Journey Out of Depression (published by The Penguin Press; June 2008). “This model is educational, non-stigmatizing, and powerfully effective. It can be easily taught and can be used by people of all ages on their own,” Dr. Gordon explains. “Veterans and their families will have the opportunity to share their experiences and challenges in a supportive group and learn techniques which have proved swiftly effective in reducing symptoms of stress and improving mood. They will, often quickly, experience a sense of control and calm and feelings of hope that many of them felt they may never again have.”

The study made possible by the Department of Defense’s grant will further demonstrate that the Center’s model can be used to produce significant and lasting changes in levels of anxiety, agitation, anger, in flashbacks and nightmares, and in symptoms of withdrawal and numbing in highly traumatized soldiers and their families.

This model, which Dr. Gordon presents in a step-by-step self-help format in Unstuck, is currently being used by CMBM with war traumatized populations in Kosovo, Israel and Gaza as well as in post-Katrina southern Louisiana. In August 2008, CMBM published a landmark study on the use of its model to treat posttraumatic stress disorder in war-traumatized children in Kosovo. The study, which was published online in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, is the first RCT ever of any intervention with war-traumatized children, and is also the first RCT of a successful, comprehensive mind-body approach with any traumatized population.

From October 25 - 29, 2008, Dr. Gordon and his CMBM colleagues will begin training more than 100 active duty and VA clinicians from across the country in the CMBM model. These men and women will then be able to incorporate the CMBM approach in their work with US Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

For media interviews with Dr. Gordon, please contact Dan Sterenchuk (202) 683-8926 or at centeradmin@cmbm.org.

Whole foods AOMA

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I am writing you about employment for acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) providers.

There is a revolution developing in corporate healthcare and Whole Foods Markets (WFM) is at the forefront. With spiraling medical costs, WFM sees the acupuncture and Oriental medicine community as a solution for cost containment. This is a fantastic point in the development of AOM in America and we can be a part of it.

This initiative has an impact not only for the provider who chooses to be qualified to serve in the network. The data that WFM will generate from this project has great potential to demonstrate lowered cost of care using AOM.. Corporations are being crushed beneath the rising costs of healthcare, and they are considering AOM as a solution. This is a tipping point, and a tremendous opportunity to change the landscape of healthcare in America.

To prepare AOMA providers, AOMA and Fred Lerner, DC will cooperate to create a network of qualified acupuncture practitioners in the field of occupational medicine. I have known Fred since 1988. He has educated acupuncturists to serve in the worker's compensation system of California since that time, and in my opinion is the most qualified person to educate practitioners in occupational medicine.

The first opportunity to participate in the AOMA Occupational Acupuncture series will be this November 14-16, 2008. At this inaugural series, Margot Roth, the Director of Global Risk Management for Whole Foods Market will launch the program by presenting WFM's vision of changing the landscape of healthcare. The series involves three different modules and a final examination, designed and taught through Lerner Education at AOMA. AOMA will be offering the AOMA Occupational Acupuncture three-module series on extended weekends beginning Friday afternoons and ending Sundays. For more information, including registration, go here:
www.aoma.edu/continuing-education/seminars/

Join us at the tipping point!

William R. Morris, PhD (C), DAOM, LAc

AAAOM Student Organization

ICE- 'In Case of Emergency'

What follows is a suggestion from paramedics. Adoption of this simple protocol could ease their important work, decrease suffering and save lives. Let’s all add our emergency contact information into our cell-phones and consider it a small gesture for ourselves, our families and the public good.

We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.

If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored, but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence the 'ICE' (In Case of Emergency) campaign.

The concept of 'ICE' is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. Since cell (mobile) phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during an emergency under the name 'ICE' ( In Case Of Emergency).

The concept was developed by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there were a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, emergency service personnel and hospital staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as 'ICE.'

For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3, etc.

A great idea that will make a difference!

Let's forward the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our mobile phones today!

Newly Elected AAAOM-SOC for the 2008-2010 Term!

The 3rd Annual AAAOM-SO Student Caucus at the AAAOM Conference on October 18, 2008 brought a lot of exciting energy to the student organization committee, including a dozen newly elected representatives from schools across the country and a new board structure designed to streamline processes.

At our first SOC meeting during the conference, I heard a lot of great comments, from what is a remarkably diverse group of students with extensive professional backgrounds, about healthcare, communications and martial arts, law, small-business management, and public service. Everyone around the table expressed the desire to serve the AOM field by serving fellow students. While we have some collective ideas about how best to do this—including academic scholarships and professional development opportunities—our goal is to continue to develop the value of your membership. Please see the complete list of new student representatives below and let us know your thoughts on what would best serve you as a student and transitioning professional.

Finally we would like to issue forth a special thank you to our outgoing co-presidents Amanda Troelsen and Patty Fullin, who have done such a remarkable job this past year. On behalf of the new SOC, I would also like to express gratitude to all the outgoing officers: Melissa Monroe, Jackie O’Meara, Niall Sheehan, Nancy Robertson, Hilary Patzer, Margo Schaeffer, and Daljit Sachdev. Together they developed the student committee structure and operating processes, and brought student membership to its peak. Thank you for all your many efforts and contributions. You have given our new organization a strong foundation.

Sincerely,

Jolene L. Habeck, BS
AAAOM-SO National President
Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

The New Student Organization Council:

Jolene L. Habeck, President
MCAOM
jhabeck@nwhealth.edu

Jim Pastore, Vice President
Tai Sophia Institute
pastore@ix.netcom.com

Marlene Baczek, Secretary
Midwest College, Racine
marlene@lafandluv.com

Earnest Mounce, Treasurer
National University of Health Sciences
earniemo@gmail.com

Amanda Troelsen, President Emeritus
MCAOM Alum
atroelsen@comcast.net

Patty Fullin, President Emeritus
Midwest College, Racine
pfullin@aol.com

Austin Homrighaus, Vice President of Membership
Tai Sophia Institute
beaneedle@gmail.com

Elisa Behnk, Vice President of Communications
Tai Sophia Institute
behnk@mac.com

Kimberly Benjamin, Vice President of Events
Five Branches Alum
soundacupuncture@gmail.com

Nosh Marzbani, Southwest Regional Director
Samura
serenehealer@gmail.com

Irwin Tjiong, Northwest Regional Director
ACTCM
hitjiong@gmail.com

Ryan Secor, Central Regional Director
National University of Health Sciences
jetleg26@hotmail.com

Anna Suter, Mountain Regional Director
ITEA
goatsngarlic@hotmail.com

Cathlene Scoblionko, Southeast Regional Director
Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine
cscoblionko82@gmail.com

Candice Holt, Northeast Regional Director
Tai Sophia
candiceholt73@yahoo.com

AAAOM-SOC WELCOMES NEWEST LOCAL CHAPTERS!

by Melissa Monroe, 2007-08 AAAOM-SOC Pacific SW Regional Director and Media Publications Committee Co-Chair

The AAAOM-SOC (Student Organization Council) is proud to announce the formation of 10 new AAAOM-SOCCs (Student Organization College Chapter--aka local chapters), bringing the total number of local chapters to 18 in just a year-and-a-half!

SOCCs serve as the foundation of our national Student Organization and provide ways for students to get involved on a local scale before deciding to commit on a larger scale nationally. Local chapters can elect their own officers, host fund-raising events to support their chapter, and bridge local ideas and concerns to the national level via the AAAOM-SOC.

The SOC would love to see a local chapter at every single college of AOM. If you are interested in getting a AAAOM local chapter started at your school, Jolene Habeck, AAAOM-SO President, can direct you to the SOC board member who can best help you get started. Please contact Jolene at .

WELCOME AND CONGRATULATIONS ON BEHALF OF THE AAAOM-SOC!

Products, Services, and Member Savings

Dear Prospective Advertiser:

Investing your advertising dollars in The American Acupuncturist and the Qi-Unity Report makes good sense for so many reasons:

Join our current advertisers to infuse growth into the field your products and services benefit. The reunified organizational force behind the AAAOM means more power toward serving the growth of alternative medicine.

With so much to gain, what better time is there to advertise in The American Acupuncturist and the Qi-Unity Report? Please contact me to learn more at (866) 455-7999.

Yours in Health,

Douglas Newton
Manager, Program Development and Business Services, AAAOM
866-455-7999
916-443-4766 (fax)
info@aaaomonline.org

ENCLS: AA/QUR Ad Card (PDF); Adv. Contract (PDF)

In closing,

As always, your feedback serves as a useful lens through which we may look at how well we are serving our members. Please take a moment to express your thoughts to us.

General Feedback

In Health,


Rebekah Christensen,
Executive Director
Douglas Newton,
Managing Editor