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.
Peter Hanfileti
Peter Hanfileti, MD, and Lisa Hanfileti, LAc, are acupuncture practitioners and principals of a holistic health clinic in Vancouver, Washington. Peter is a pediatrician who received his medical degree from the State University of New York-Buffalo Medical School and his medical acupuncture instruction from the UCLA acupuncture program for physicians. Lisa, a licensed acupuncturist, received her training in traditional Chinese medicine from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. She is certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA).
The Hanfiletis share a clinical practice and enjoy the daily benefits of drawing on each other's unique expertise to benefit their patients and to further their own knowledge of Eastern medicine. They have been married for 11 years. In the following article, written in question and answer format, the Hanfiletis share their views on operating a multidisciplinary practice and how their philosophies and methods of care work together to provide what is best for their patients.