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Q: I am having trouble understanding how often I can bill for a re-examination. I do understand that I cannot bill an examination or E&M service on each visit, but are there rules for when it is appropriate? I have heard everything from once a week to four weeks, and…

“Why not go out on a limb? That’s where all the fruit is.” - Will Rogers I am writing this piece because I believe leadership is not only a key to becoming an effective teacher and practitioner; it also is a key to success in the field of acupuncture and…

Acupuncture stimulates the embodied spirit to change life process ( qi ). Manipulating needles conducts movement to unblock vital flow or attract it to emptiness. Acupuncture focuses movement and responsiveness to enhance the potency of specific vital functions. This art stimulates the emergence of healing as a natural expression of…

On Sept. 11, 2003, actor John Ritter died of an aortic dissection at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif. There is now a very large malpractice lawsuit against the hospital, the two medical doctors who evaluated him and various other personnel, brought forth by the Ritter family. How large…

There is an old expression that the season of spring comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Now, I have heard this said many times through the years, just as you probably have. Even when I was an elementary school teacher early on in my career,…

For many years, it has been standard procedure to treat addicts within the criminal justice system as just that - criminals. Now, an innovative treatment program in one county in central Maryland is offering addicts not only a chance for recovery, but also an alternative to going through the arduous…

Following the appointment of six new members to the National Advisory Council of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) wasted no time in expressing its concerns to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Michael…

In a case that touches not only upon the skills it takes to be an acupuncturist, but also upon the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners ruled on Feb. 1, 2008 that a blind acupuncturist who has passed her national exams cannot be licensed without…

Perhaps one of the best ways to spread the good word about acupuncture is via mass media. When television viewers saw Oprah Winfrey get an acupuncture treatment last year, it reinforced in their minds not only the efficacy, but also the safety of acupuncture as an alternative treatment - “If…

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the slow deterioration of the cells in the macula, a tiny yellowish area near the center of the retina. The macula gives us clear central vision and fine detailed images. The deterioration of the macula affects an individual’s central vision - the ability to read,…

Chemotherapy and radiation are standard treatments for cancer in Western medicine. However, they are very toxic and affect numerous parts of the body. Many herbal formulas have been used with great success to alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

American Academy of Medical Acupuncture Hosts Annual Symposium The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA) will be holding its 20 th annual symposium on April 10-13, 2008 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. The conference is geared toward both the acupuncturist and the physician (MDs and DOs)…

Specialties: A Not-So-Quiet Storm I read with great interest and mounting passion Will Morris’ article on specialization and the proximal ad by the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) in the November 2007 issue of Acupuncture Today .

Acupuncture and CranioSacral Therapy (CST) are two wonderfully effective modalities of healing that utilize the body’s wisdom to heal itself. Both of them use cycles of energy flow rhythms.

Candidiasis deserves recognition as it may already have perpetuated into epidemic proportions. Candidiasis is an infection of the Candida within the mucus membrane, which usually occurs in the skin, respiratory tract, genital region, gastrointestinal tract, mouth or bloodstream. Some physicians only suspect Candidiasis in severely immunocompromised patients. This, coupled with…

In a recent interview for an article that appeared in the December 2007 “Style” section of the New York Times , the reporter repeatedly asked me when facial acupuncture had “come of age.” When did I, one of the pioneers in this field, notice a change in the level of…

John Weeks has been involved as an organizer/writer in the emerging fields of complementary and integrative medicine since 1983, when he spent 10 years as a management team member at Bastyr University and then as executive director of the national naturopathic professional association. He has since consulted, organized and presented…

There is great power in simplicity. It is said that the most masterful acupuncturists can effectively treat patients using only a few needles. The purpose of this article is to detail a simple, but remarkably powerful, microcurrent pain-control method I call the auricular micro-macro technique. This simple technique can provide…

This year, the U.S. can take pride in an accomplishment. Hundreds of years after importing Africans, enslaving them, freeing them and then slowly giving them rights, an African American is a viable candidate for the presidency. The point is that sometimes, integration can take longer than it should. I find…

One of the core concepts of TCM is yin and yang . The beauty of the yin and yang philosophy is that one can use these basic concepts to explain or elucidate all sorts of aspects of our health, lives and the universe in general. Today, we will apply yin…