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I recently had the privilege to be on the presenting faculty of the annual conference for integrative medicine for health care organizations. The theme was “Toward Creating Optimal Healing Environments.” This presented a unique opportunity to interface with other medical providers from all other medical professions, as well as the…

The latest incarnation of the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act (H.R.1479) is in the process of wending its way through the House of Representatives, after having been introduced to the current congressional session on March 12, 2007. The bill, known as the Hinchey Bill for its sponsor, Maurice Hinchey (D-NY-22), would…

I am an acupuncture patient. For more than two years, I have found relief from a chronic medical condition through an acupuncturist’s skillful placement of needles. I also am an archivist. I manage a 3,500-linear-foot collection of historic manuscripts and institutional records at a public university in Wisconsin. One would…

The Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MCAOM) at Northwestern Health Sciences University, in collaboration with the Woodwinds Health Campus, is offering a one-year postgraduate, paid fellowship opportunity. Launched in November 2006, the fellowship provides a licensed acupuncturist with postgraduate experience in a hospital setting.

The comment period for a set of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) draft guidelines to regulate complementary and alternative medicines will come to an end on May 29, 2007. The final version is intended to serve as a guideline for whether CAM products are subject to regulation under the…

As of February 1, the unification of the AAOM and AOM Alliance became official. And with Dr. Will Morris leaving his position as AAOM president and becoming the recent president emeritus, I officially left my positions as president and director of the AAOM. The newer organization, the AAAOM, now begins…

Early last year, I visited Shanghai and contacted my old friend Zhou Luwei, professor of physics at Fudan University. I knew him when he was chairman of the physics department, but he recently was promoted to the vice president in charge of all research activities at the university. I was…

Qigong practice is on the rise here in the U.S. and has the potential to soon be as popular as yoga. Qigong literally means “energy practice.” The theory behind qigong is that the imbalance of mind, body and spirit is behind all physical and emotional disease. The practice of medical…

In my previous two columns, I explored ways to potentially integrate Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of respiratory issues. I would like to finish our discussion on respiratory issues by introducing treatment methods from the Indian medical system, including ayurveda and its sister science, yoga. Both of these…

There is a rapidly growing trend among American acupuncturists of offering various forms of facial rejuvenation as a service in their practices. This is in response to a massive demand for anti-aging, rejuvenation services from the baby boomer generation, which spends billions of dollars each year (and growing) in pursuit…

In my last column, I questioned how far Oriental medicine can go to create a more harmonious and healthy world. For this column, I wanted to examine what some other professionals on the cutting edge of thought had to say on the subject. It wasn’t hard deciding with whom to…

Several of our past columns have provided start-up information for creating a position in a hospital or health care setting. We’ve discussed identifying circles of connections, considering your options, negotiating your fees and developing your strategy. Once complete, you have paved your inroads to a new position as a staff…

In my clinical practice, I treat someone with a cough every day. And in the winter, it might be 40 percent of the cases I see. In the absence of good herbal treatment, sudden-onset cough, once entrenched, can linger for weeks before resolving completely. TCM offers one of the best…

I remember a particular night in 1985. It was about 8:30 p.m. After a long day with patients, I leaned back at my desk, feet up, head against the back of the chair, eyes closed, and then, I felt something. It was a sorrowful feeling, one that wafted past me…

The thought and title for this article came courtesy of Charlie Xiu, of RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Xiu, a practitioner of Oriental medicine, relocated from Canton, China, to head the department of Oriental medicine and conduct research at RMIT Australia. He serves as a delegate to the informal…

The following interview is the first in a series on fertility - causes and cures. Dr. Raymond Chang is the primary force behind the trend toward integrating acupuncture to enhance fertility in contemporary medical practice. He is the author of What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Getting Pregnant…

There currently is much debate within the medical field about the proper naming of medical practices that have their roots in China. It has gone to such extremes that the California legislators officially changed the word Oriental to Asian . However, in an effort to be politically correct, they may…

After recently graduating from an American acupuncture and Oriental medicine school in New York, I came to China for postgraduate study at the Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Hunan is a very green province in the central part of southern China - “the heartland,” as they say. Hunan doctors,…

As the public increasingly turns to herbal and nutritional supplements as alternative or adjunct treatments to conventional Western medicine, it’s important that all health care providers give patients an accurate picture of the efficacy and safety of those supplements. While clinical/experiential evidence might lead you to utilize a particular herb…

It is incumbent upon the current generation of practitioners to guard the essence of our practice, as so many thousands have done before us. Our arts have survived catastrophic events, dynastic conflict and, most notably, the test of time. They have not survived on good luck alone, however. It has…