You've decided to pursue a career in acupuncture and Oriental medicine. You've graduated from school and are now a licensed practitioner. So, what's your next step? Where can you go to find information on the latest products, continuing education programs, and other goods and services that will help your practice grow?
"What Are My Choices?" is here to answer all of those questions - and more. What Are My Choices? is an occasional column that gives you the information you need straight from the experts: the companies themselves. This issue's column focuses on software and computer supplies - items that are vital to having a successful acupuncture and Oriental medicine practice.
Acupuncturewebsites.com: Grow your acupuncture practice with complete web site packages designed specifically for acupuncturists. Web site design, web hosting and email services, visitor statistics, search engine optimization and powerful practice building tips. We teach our clients how to use their web sites to reach new patients and achieve high levels of patient retention. Have an effective Internet presence with ease. AcupunctureWebsites.com is owned and operated by licensed practicing acupuncturists. Tel: 888-242-4383; Web: www.acupuncturewebsites.com.
Ginkgo Software: Dedicated to advancing the practice of acupuncture by simplifying the administrative tasks associated with running a thriving practice. We want to free you up to do what you do best, provide care. We also work with numerous acupuncturists across the country who provide invaluable feedback and direction for our software development. Tel: 877-727-6174; Web: www.ginkgosoftware.com.
ICS Software, Ltd.: Producer of the industry's leading mobile practice management software system, PocketSammy, is pleased to announce the eagerly-anticipated introduction of TouchTone Sam into the market. Possessing intelligence unparalleled by any preceding system of its kind, TouchTone Sam is an advanced, HIPPA-compliant appointment reminder system that has been characterized by initial users in podiatry offices across the country as easy to operate, painless to install and a true right-arm in patient scheduling. Tel: 212-949-6160; Web: www.icssoftware.net.
Island Software Company: The premier developer of today's leading alternative therapy software. Software is easy to install and utilize. Massage Office Professional 1.0, more advanced than Massage Office 2.2 but still easy-to-use, boasts a new client area, indexing, insurance information storage, onscreen scheduler, new S.O.A.P. notes with anatomical library, new HCFA features, CPT4 and ICD9 codes, more marketing templates, improved word processor, inventory tracking, and customized report generator. Tel: 877-384-0295; Web: www.islandsoftwareco.com.
Jung Tao: A nonprofit educational institution offering a graduate level Diploma of Acupuncture program, intern clinic with low cost health care for the public, postgraduate seminars, taijiquan classes, educational materials, and public education courses. The teachings at Jung Tao are firmly rooted in the classic Chinese medical texts of ancient China. Tel: 828-297-4181; Web: www.jungtao.com.
Lhasa OMS: Since 1980, Lhasa OMS has been providing the highest quality acupuncture supplies at the lowest possible prices. We carry several popular brands of acupuncture software, including AcuBase Pro, Q-Puncture II, AcuPartner and EMI. Visit our new and improved website where online ordering is available 24 hours a day. Order your supplies from the comfort of your own home. Call or e-mail us for our brand-new 2005 catalog. Tel: 800-722-8775; e-mail: customerservice@lhasaoms.com; Web: www.lhasaoms.com.
Primal Pictures: A unique dynamic resource that is so much more than an image bank or anatomy atlas. We can provide you with visual resources you need for all health care education, your own reference, patient education, your students or your presentations to colleagues. Tel: +44 (0) 207 307 6485 ; e-mail: support@primalpictures.com; Web: www.primalpictures.com.
Q-Puncture: A leading developer and supplier of high quality educational software for acupuncture and oriental medicine. We develop educational software not only to teach acupuncture, but also to emphasize and increase the understanding of oriental medicine by the western culture. Tel: 800-650-8222; Web: www.qpuncture.com.
Trigram Software: The maker of AcuBase Pro, the best-selling Chinese medicine practice management system in the U.S. A HIPAA-compliant practice management tool and reference library, AcuBase tracks patients (including HCFAs, superbills, notes, and codes), scheduling, and inventory. AcuBase also comes with a modifiable reference library full of herbs, formulas, points, and drug-herb interaction information. Our software works on Macintosh and Windows-based PCs and retails for $295. Tel: 888-4Acubase: e-mail: info@trigram.com; Web: www.trigram.com.
Vision Works Media Service: With over 20 years of professional and marketing experience behind us, we are dedicated to educating the public about the benefits of Chinese Medicine and Holistic Health, and in providing affordable marketing outreach for the Oriental Medicine community. Tel: 888-735-8475; Web: www.acu-websites.com.
If your company offers products or services to the acupuncture/Oriental medicine profession and you would like to be listed in "What Are My Choices?," contact the marketing department via e-mail at marketing@mpamedia.com.
Chronic pain afflicts over 20% of the adult population. Sadly, most MDs have essentially no education in treating pain, beyond offering a few toxic medications. Then they tend to steer people with pain away from those health practitioners who are trained. This puts the acupuncture community on the front lines for addressing this epidemic.
When the body is going through a stressful event, the sympathetic system is activated. This activation will help the body with a life-threatening situation. If this state is activated for prolonged periods of time, it starts to consume energy. These traumatic events that generate stressors in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) will eventually become internalized.
| Digital Exclusive
One of the things that makes acupuncture so difficult to measure is that the medicine actually does contain some esoteric aspects. There have been numerous studies that demonstrate the neurochemical reasoning behind why acupuncture points stimulate the autonomic nervous system to enact change However, not all the benefits of TCM can easily be measured by randomized, controlled trials. But does that make them fundamentally and definitively untrue?
| Digital Exclusive