A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.
Beth Rosenthal, PhD, MBA, MPH
Dr. Beth Rosenthal holds MBA and PhD degrees from the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, and a master's degree in public health from the University of California, Berkeley. As Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health (ACIH) director at the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM), she coordinates efforts of educators in the integrative health and medicine fields to advance team-based integrative care. She is also the author of Replenish: A Life Enhancing Activity Book and It's That Easy: The High Vibe Guide to Attracting What You Really Want.