I just received an email concerning the ICD-TM11 codes. The World Health Organization (WHO) will be presenting the new ICD-11 codes to World Health Assembly very soon. This is very good news for the ICD-TM11 codes. The slide presentation made it clear that the traditional medicine codes will be integrated into the ICD-11, the next set of health codes to be released.
You may remember that the U.S. was asked to contribute $300,000 towards the creation of the code set for traditional medicine. The profession, including state associations, various herbal companies, several schools and the American Acupuncture Council (AAC) all contrib-uted to the completion of this project.
The code set is ready for release—a great big thank you to everyone who contributed and made it possible for the U.S. to participate.
There are still many steps to complete before the codes are implemented and put to use. But all in all traditional medicine has made it into the world health codes, a huge feat. Tradi-tional medicine is now on its way to becoming part of the health care systems of the world.
Another milestone, November 15, 2018 has been designated as World Acupuncture Day by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. This special day will be celebrated in Paris, in conjunction with the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrieconvention, November 16-18, 2018. It would be nice if there could be a delegation from the U.S. to attend these festivities.
Consequences for HIPAA violations can often be quite harsh. If someone has breached the HIPAA privacy regulations – even without any malicious intent, civil penalties are applicable: $100 per violation for unawareness, a minimum of $1,000 for reasonable cause, a minimum of $10,000 if willful neglect is present and then rectified, and finally, a minimum of $50,000 for individuals who act with willful neglect and ignore the issue.
The luo vessels are important in the treatment of mental health issues. They are conduits of “ying qi”: blood and fluids. We believe that the shen is “housed” in the heart and circulated through the blood, making a channel system that “conducts” ying qi ideal for treatment of the mind and emotions.
As our health care ecosystem continues to evolve, I’ve found an increased emphasis being placed on an integrative approach to patient care. As an acupuncturist, you are an essential part of this collaborative system and health care team, cooperating with a range of other professionals including medical doctors, chiropractors, massage therapists, and others.
