Dr. Dustin Vaughan is a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, NCCAOM board-certified diplomate of Oriental medicine, and licensed acupuncture physician. He is also a licensed paramedic with experience in emergency departments, level 1 trauma centers, and as a first responder with the fire service. After 15+ years practicing emergency medicine, he retired from the fire service to pursue a dream of blending his experience in Western medicine with Eastern medicine to provide an integrative, holistic approach to health and wellness. Dr. Vaughan owns an integrative sports-medicine practice in Clermont, Fla. where he enjoys working with athletes to help them achieve their goals, maintain wellness, prevent injury, and recover from injury and trauma to perform at their best. However, his practice is not exclusive to athletes because injuries and the need for mobility are not exclusive to athletes. His kinesiology background and certifications emphasize movement and mobility, which can be a concern for anyone at any age.
Governor Gavin Newsom has retracted the proposed budget cuts to the Medi-Cal acupuncture program for low-income Californians for the 2024-2025 budget year. This decision marks a significant victory for health care providers and advocates who have long championed acupuncture as a vital component of comprehensive medical care.
There’s no doubt that many of your patients visit your practice because they are in pain. And there’s certainly no doubt that curcumin from turmeric (Curcuma longa) can be incredibly effective in stopping that pain, whether due to chronic conditions like arthritis or acute pain from intensive workouts. But your patients may also benefit from curcumin for other reasons.
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Fair and appropriate wages in health care are typically based on economic evaluations. A simple literature review illuminates that acupuncture is missing economic evaluations; which implies you are either underpaid or overpaid. The complexity of services provided by most American acupuncturists, which they are trained and certified to provide, must be reimbursed fairly.
