October 1, 2017 will mark a significant day in history for the acupuncture profession, as this will be the first day Ohio Medicaid recipients will have access to covered acupuncture benefits - the first state in the Midwest to do so. While only two conditions are currently included (back pain and migraines) there is hope to increase this number in the future.
A thank you to the Ohio Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (OAAOM), the driving force behind this inclusion, is to be noted. Coverage of acupuncture will be available with or without electronic stimulations, and treatments will require a referral of a conventional practitioner who is also a Medicaid practitioner.
Other than licensed acupuncturists, the other practitioners include medical physicians, chiropractors and other "recognized acupuncture providers" who have specialty training in acupuncture, including medical doctor, chiropractors and nurses.
For more information please visit the Ohio Department of Medicaid at http://medicaid.ohio.gov/RESOURCES/LegalandContracts/Rules.aspx.
Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) affects more than 15% of the U.S. population but evades most practitioners’ radar. Just five years ago, it wasn’t even on my radar, despite already having 20 years of experience as a clinician at that time. The more I dug (similar to leaky gut and post-COVID syndrome), the more I found my patients were suffering from this disorder.
Research supports the effectiveness of selecting the distal acupuncture points for the treatment of microtrauma and for relieving pain, particularly in cases of chronic shoulder pain. But to make the treatment results long-lasting, clinical experience and research suggest that instead of treating the most painful structure first, we identify the inhibited driver, restore reliable recruitment, confirm it with immediate re-testing, and only then address the painful area as a branch of a deeper pattern.
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The motivation behind our practice of medicine is important, impacting not just our experience but also the experiences of those we treat. It is perhaps for this reason that the aspiration to help not just some, but all beings heal, has historically been an important part of the medical tradition. To explain this, we need to consider how medicine is interwoven with other social domains.