Whether you accept it, avoid it or live somewhere in between, insurance coverage has become a defining issue for our profession. Patients increasingly expect to use their benefits, practitioners want to be compensated fairly for their time and expertise, and the system itself remains – at best – fragmented. The encouraging news is that coverage has expanded in meaningful ways. The challenging news is that reimbursement, across the board, remains inadequate.
Joseph Audette, MD, MA
Dr. Joseph Audette is chief of pain management at Atrius Health in Boston and the current president of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA). He is a graduate of and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. His research on acupuncture for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome has been sponsored by the NIH and was mentioned as a seminal study by The New York Times. He is an internationally recognized investigator in acupuncture, winning the ICMART Science Award (The International Council of Medical Acupuncture and Related Techniques) for the most influential study on acupuncture in 2017. While completing his residency at Columbia University, he attended the Tristate Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine in New York. Dr. Audette is a recognized authority in dry needling techniques for the treatment of pain and point verification methods of acupuncture, and he has been teaching the Kiiko style of acupuncture for over 20 years.