Editor's Note: The following is a brief excerpt from David Bibbey's feature article in the upcoming April issue.
In recent months, acupuncturists have reported a surge in lawsuits filed against their practices for failing to comply with a provision of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); specifically Title III and its requirements for accessibly to public websites now determined to be "places of public accommodation."
By the end of January 2021, more than 100 acupuncturists in California alone had been named in lawsuits alleging ADA violations for unequal access to health care services because their public websites did not include or support accessibility programming and software for users with a disability.
The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places open to the general public.
When enacted, the ADA law granted accessibility by requiring businesses and government agencies to eliminate physical barriers to entering and accessing indoor spaces. As businesses and agencies evolved to include virtual spaces, compliance with the ADA has kept pace with the law's intent, which grants all persons equal access to commerce and experiences whether in-person or online.
In recent years, courts have decided "websites constitute a service of public accommodation," meaning access requires technical programming that provides equal access, use and experience for people with a disability.
These lawsuits are more common now that ADA non-compliant businesses are easily identified using a web-search. Your health care practice does not have to be personally visited to establish an ADA violation, making potential ADA violators easy and cheap to find.
Acupuncture can be highly effective in cases of nasal congestion so common in allergy presentations; so much so that I often treat such issues using acupuncture protocols alone. In cases of seasonal allergies with highly predictable causes such as obvious elevations of environmental allergens, I use a skeleton acupuncture prescription that can easily be fleshed out to target potential underlying patterns and effectively customized to the patient.
Low-level laser therapy is having a moment in acupuncture circles for good reason. With a growing body of research supporting its role in reducing inflammation, enhancing circulation and stimulating mitochondrial activity, more practitioners are exploring its application in fertility care. But in the nearly 20 years I’ve used laser therapy in clinical practice, I’ve seen a wide range of outcomes. It’s not because laser therapy doesn’t work. It’s because many of us don’t realize how much the details matter.
“Integrating Traditional East Asian Medicine Dietary and Herbal Therapies for Supporting Cancer Treatment and Survivorship in the West,”published in Perspectives on Integrative Medicine (2025), provides a detailed exploration of how traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM) can support cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. This article summarizes findings from the two case reports included in the study.
