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Leon I.

Attention all California licensed acupuncturists: This is the final opportunity for practitioners who hold an active, free and clear California acupuncture license to apply for NCCAOM certification in OM. All candidates with open CA Route application as of Sept. 30, 2021, will have time until Dec. 31, 2021, to complete…

Because acupuncturists are not Medicare providers, they cannot bill for covered Medicare services and can only provide acupuncture services to Medicare beneficiaries under the supervision of a Medicare-recognized practitioner. This requirement significantly disrupts the acupuncture service-delivery model, as most acupuncturists are independent providers.

This patient presented with classic dysautonomia symptoms. A female, married with two young children, she was diagnosed in March 2020, not hospitalized, got through the acute viral phase, and then jumped back into life. A week later, she couldn’t get out of bed for a month.

I found this in my file of “things I wish someone had told me when I started out as an acupuncturist.” At some point in your career as a health care professional, you’ll inevitably come across a patient, who, on their third or fourth visit in your office, starts complaining…

A recent survey confirmed 88 percent of people trust online reviews as much as they trust a personal recommendation. That’s a powerful statistic – especially for acupuncturists who want to gain a deeper understanding of patient behavior. Because understanding why patients read reviews, how they read them, and where they…

In 2018, while presenting at a medical conference, I met a team of doctors whose passion and advocacy for patient care would go on to change the nature of my work significantly. Until this meeting, I thought the problem with integrating acupuncture in mainstream medical care was lack of education.…

Self-care practices are essential for the well-being of health care providers. Healers are tasked with maintaining balance within their own bodies as well as for their patients. As acupuncturists, our primary goal is to optimize qi flow during acupuncture treatments, creating harmony within the body, mind and spirit. This is…

Practicing acupuncture during the pandemic has presented many challenges. Many clinicians were unable to see patients in person for several months. We had to get creative and inventive. The gift of a crisis is the innovation that can come from it.

Now is the time for collaboration. Now is the time for building unity. Now is the time for coming together. Now is the time for a collection of strength as one. And perhaps most importantly, now is the time to look beyond the walls of your practice at the big…

This month, let’s discuss an acupuncture point combination I use extensively in the clinic for patients suffering from gastrointestinal challenges. Often referred to as the “digestive diamond,” this effective combination consists of the following: ST 25 (bilaterally) + Ren 9 + Ren 6.

There is a Japanese saying that the “face is a mirror of the heart”: we believe our face is a reflection of our heart and spirit. This case report is about a male patient whose chief complaint was his stress and frustration from the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work in…

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a remarkably common functional gastrointestinal disorder, creating significant stress and discomfort for a startlingly large percentage of the population. It affects 10-22 percent of the general population, with worrisome symptoms including pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, disruptive patterns of defecation, and general intestinal unease.

In recent years, participation in acupuncture social media groups online has steadily been growing. Being able to access the “hive mind,” or ask questions of the acupuncture community on many topics, has been a boon for all – but especially for practitioners who might otherwise feel isolated in solo practice,…

Depression is associated with cardiovascular disease via both lifestyle and physiological mechanisms. Depression makes one more likely to eat poorly, stop exercising, suffer sleep irregularities, etc.; and has been shown to elevate heart rate and blood pressure, reduce blood flow to the heart, and increase cortisol production.

Legislation that would recognize acupuncturists as health care providers within Medicare, “[amending] title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for acupuncturist services under the Medicare program,” is finally a reality. H.R. 4803, the Acupuncture for Our Seniors Act of 2021, was introduced into the U.S. House of…

Lasers have evolved over time to include many more options such as specialized handpieces, power levels (peak and average) and wavelengths. Visible colors like red, green, violet and blue are utilized, along with near-infrared wavelengths.