The Acupuncture Poll's question for November 2005 was:
Do you support the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2005?
Results:
These results are based upon 423 responses. As this is a voluntary, non-scientific survey, caution should be used in generalizing the results. Listed below are a sampling of responses to the poll, along with how those respondents voted. Some responses have been edited for brevity or clarity.
Yes: The introduction of coverage within the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan, and even more importantly, Medicare, will open the door to what I feel is what will finally entrench acupuncture into the mainstream of modern medicine: the ability to work as paid staff members of hospitals throughout the country. Coming from a state that currently doesn't have third-party benefits, this would also open that elusive (though sometimes double-sided) door.
Yes: The need for diversification of options for new and current practitioners is vital to our continued existence. This bill will force all states to recognize us from an insurance standpoint, something that will be very costly to tackle on a state-by-state basis.
To vote in the current Acupuncture Poll, or to review comments and responses to previous poll questions, visit www.acupuncturetoday.com/acupuncturepoll.
Structured water (H3O2) can be considered a fourth state of water between liquid and solid. It has the hexagonal structure of ice; however, missing a critical bond, it behaves more like a gel than a solid, but retains some of its crystalline structure.
In the past five years of my clinical practice, I have seen an astonishing upsurge in the chronic use of proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) medications for the gastrointestinal issue diagnosed by allopathic medicine as GERD. It is not uncommon to encounter patients taking these prescriptions for five-plus years.
Working with chronically ill patients entails acknowledging the reality that not all patients will survive their diagnosis. Chinese medicine and acupuncture play a crucial role in palliative and end-of-life care, addressing medication and disease side effects, alleviating pain associated with death, reducing anxiety and stress, and helping patients find peace during the dying process.
