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Members of our profession have been talking for a long time about being recognized as doctors of Oriental medicine and acupuncture. Chiropractors, naturopaths, even physical therapists, have the “Doctor” title, and our medical practices are at least at their level. Many health care professions, from nursing to audiology, have achieved…

You never know how sex is going to infiltrate your office, but you have to be ready for it nonetheless. Your response can eliminate potential lawsuits from patients who blame you for their actions or embarrassment. Or you can become the practitioner who rectifies a lifelong problem no one else…

The most successful practitioners I know are the ones who have ongoing referral relationships with several other health professionals. While many practice-management seminars teach you all about getting referrals from patients (and that’s a good thing), you will do even better setting up referral relationships with doctors. The following are…

This article is a follow-up to my last article in the May issue about systemic microcurrent and light techniques for treatment of neuromuscular degenerative diseases. The method detailed in this article has been used to support and heal patients presenting with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), fibromyalgia and…

I am sure many of you have heard the common saying, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” This saying is applicable to many aspects of your life in which there are others around you, and together you all are working together for a common goal.

Evidence-based medicine or best practices are phrases used regularly within the acupuncture and Oriental medicine profession. Some might even say they are the Holy Grail for AOM and other alternative medicines to gain legitimacy. However, it can be time-consuming to sort through all the data and compare treatments for efficacy,…

With the growing concern over a possible link between childhood vaccinations and autism, any good news for practitioners and parents regarding this mysterious disorder certainly is welcome. A group of Egyptian researchers published findings in the March 2008 issue of The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine that suggest the…

In mid-May, the Ohio state senate passed S.B.245, allowing the state medical board to issue certificates to practice acupuncture rather than the previously accepted certificates of registration. This change in the language now permits an acupuncturist holding the board’s certificate to use the title “Licensed Acupuncturist.”

Massage therapy and naturopathic medicine are among the alternative health care services available to certain low-income or other disadvantaged residents of British Columbia. As of April 1, 2008, they can add acupuncture to that menu of covered services. Residents will now qualify for 10 acupuncture visits per year at a…

I suggest using nei wei qi as the term for the immune system in traditional Chinese medicine. Nei wei qi is a part of the body’s zheng qi . It comes from yuan qi and is nourished by acquired nutrition. It belongs to qi and yin . It is located…

Ovulatory Phase The primary treatment plan during this phase is to help the eggs mature and promote ovulation. Kidney yang tonic herbs have the effect to enhance the surge of luteinizing hormone, which then stimulates ovulation. Herbs should be taken three days before and three days after ovulation.

In a sense, I started working in the recovery field in May 1970 in Olongapo City, the Philippine Islands. Three jeeps filled with shore patrol, the military police and the Philippine constabulary surrounded the jitney my friends and I had hired to take us to a secluded area to get…

I Am a Doctor Dear Editor: Regarding Marilyn Allen’s May editorial regarding why acupuncturists aren’t generally for doctoral programs: Let my response try to resonate something in your general body of knowledge to give you a little more understanding.

My thesis is that specialty boards are anathema to the body and spirit of Chinese medical practice. They will destroy Chinese medicine’s relevance to the health care system now and in the future, as well as that aspect that enhances our being: its inherent unifying harmony. Chinese medicine has made…

The epidemic rise in obesity in America is foreshadowing a rising death rate from heart attacks and strokes. Epidemiologists recently pointed out that the new generation of Americans being born this year are expected to have a lower life expectancy than their parents, reversing the upward trend in longevity that…

At my graduation, Alex Tiberi, one of my teachers and the vice president of the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, said, “You can take acupuncture anywhere and make it.” I was so excited and fired up about OM that I believed him. Two months later, I found…

NCCAOM Appoints New Officers to Board of Commissioners The NCCAOM Board of Commissioners has appointed its 2008 Board Officers and members of the Executive Committee. All of the new members were appointed at the board’s February meeting in Jacksonville, Fla. Each member will serve a one-year term that will conclude…

Taking patient histories is an art. We ask questions. Their personalities respond, and we must sort through their moods and projections to form clear pictures of both current manifestations and the sequence of developments leading to them. Memory is subject to revision as the individual’s personality rationalizes their experience. Even…

Q : I have experienced a recent rash of missed appointments and I am hoping there is a code to bill for these missed appointments.

When I was a child, surgery was a big deal, but eminently less stressful than it is today. Now, major surgery often means enduring a set of disjointed, expensive and often dehumanizing events. In the modern world, Chinese medicine offers a low-tech, high-benefit complement to high-tech Western medicine; alleviating patient…