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AAMA Newsletter
evolving to e-mail
Register now for exciting changes
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AAMA's 17th Annual Symposium will be held with southern hospitality of Atlanta, GA in April 2005. Check out the city's Convention & Visitors Bureau website at www.atlanta.net for all the exciting activities offered.
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With this being the last issue in print format, the AAMA Newsletter will offer some exciting technological advances to Academy members. These changes will mean members will receive the newsletter more frequently and in a modern format available via e-mail and on the Internet.
Beginning in January 2005, the Academy will launch the AAMA e-Newsletter which will be available to members via e-mail and online at www.medicalacupuncture.org. The new e-Newsletter will mean that we can communicate with Academy members faster and with greater frequency as developments and news are available. The e-Newsletter will permit a more complete listing of all educational programs available that are relevant to members and will permit us to link members to more complete and thorough resources and information offered not only from the Academy, but from a variety of other sources, as well.
As mentioned, this is the last AAMA Newsletter in print format. So electronically challenged members, or those who would simply prefer a print version, can download and print the e-Newsletter directly from the Academy website.
REGISTER E-MAIL ADDRESS
Members should make sure that the Academy has your current, correct e-mail address so that you do not miss out on the AAMA e-Newsletter. Check the e-mail address we have for you by going to the online Membership Directory available in the Member Only section of the Academy website. Or, if you prefer, simply send an e-mail to Membership Coordinator Natalie Ortiz (nortiz9@pacbell.net, 323/937-5514, x20) requesting that she update your e-mail address.
AAMA is excited about this innovative change. We believe it will materially increase the value of this communication tool for all members.
AAMA WANTS YOUR NEWS
Also, the Academy wants to hear from members with news related to medical acupuncture for the AAMA Newsletter. If you've lectured at a meeting, led a workshop, presented at a conference, had an article published, etc., please send the details to Editor Barton Ortberg at bdortberg@aol.com.
Incidentally, past issues of the AAMA Newsletter are posted at www.medicalacupuncture.org/aama_marf/newsletter/newslist.html.
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Medical acupuncture
growing in popularity
By Nader E. Soliman, MD, FAAMA
PRESIDENT, AAMA
In the last few months, many major newspapers and magazines wrote extensively about acupuncture and its continuous spread as a modality of treatment among our population. Acupuncture, indeed, has become a household word. These articles point out the fact that physicians are no longer belittling acupuncture and are increasingly referring their patients for acupuncture treatment. Not long ago, physicians regarded acupuncture as unscientific and as a mere placebo effect.
The transformation is flatly amazing, before the 1970s... acupuncture was only known in the narrow streets of Chinatowns across the nation. However, because of the courage of a few physicians who pioneered integrating acupuncture and traditional medical approaches to improve the overall outcome of the treatment, acupuncture is now widely accepted and practiced.
Today, the number of those dedicated physicians has greatly increased. Because of their dedication and professionalism, our colleagues have now accepted medical acupuncture as an effective tool of treatment, and their confidence has reached an all-time high. Thanks to the multitude of research and medical scientific studies, the medical community no longer considers medical acupuncture to be quackery.
They have also succeeded in gaining the valuable confidence of our patients. Our patients are delighted to see medical acupuncture being provided by physicians whose judgment and capabilities they trust.
How did we get to this point? It's focus, innovation and passion.
Focus allowed us to concentrate on those few important things that can make a difference.
Innovation was essential to our success because it really is the only source of sustainable, competitive advantage. Also, innovation helped challenge the old way and constantly inspired us to seek a better way. It gave us the benefit of our unique capabilities and skills.
Finally, passion summoned our feelings and emotions, which are the spark that brings the other two alive.
As I congratulate all of you for an outstanding job, I come right out and say it—it's a privilege to belong to such a distinguished group of physicians.
OUTSTANDING EDUCATIONAL EVENT
AAMA's 17th Annual Symposium will be held in Atlanta, Georgia April 1-3, 2005, and as usual, a Pre-Symposium day will precede the event. The Symposium has become an annual celebration for our profession. It's an opportunity to meet with a distinguished and unique group of dedicated physicians, as well as to be a tool to enjoy some of the most fulfilling needs for continuing medical education in the art of medical acupuncture.
Faculty members of the 2005 Symposium include many well-known speakers, such as Drs. François Beyen, Jim Oschman, PhD, James Gordon, Patrick Mok, Nader Soliman, Ted Kaptchuk, Roberto Jodorkovsky, Brenda Gouliani, Kimber Rotchford, Roberto Jodorvosky, Alston Lundgren, Linda Rapson and Ji-Sheng Han, professor and director of Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Topics to be presented will vary from traditional Chinese medicine to French energetics, from the treatment of fibromyalgia and pain to the treatment of addiction, from treatment of insomnia to the treatment of psychological disorders and from the treatment of neurological disorders to the treatment of cancer.
The 17th Annual Symposium will be held in Atlanta, GA, April 1-3, 2005 (with a Review Course March 29-30 and Pre-Symposium workshops on March 31, 2005) at Hilton Atlanta. As the upcoming Symposium is expected to have record attendance, I urge all of you to mark your calendar and make early arrangements to be part of this historical meeting. The hotel phone number, room rate and cut-off date can be found in the calendar on the last page of this newsletter.
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Medical Acupuncture
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Hiroshi Nakazawa, MD, FAAMA (center) and students in Japan
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seminar held in Japan
Academy Secretary Hiroshi Nakazawa, MD, FAAMA, chair of the American Board of Medical Acupuncture, conducted the fifth annual Medical Acupuncture seminar for Japanese physicians at the Mamiya Clinic in Hamamatsu, Japan in October.
This is the first time the program was designed for the intermediate course for Japanese physicians studying American medical acupuncture. Twenty-four members who completed the Beginners course in the past four years all gathered to learn how to approach clinical diagnosis and management in a impromtu fashion for about 30 patients.
This was also used to promote interest among Japanese physicians to become International Members of AAMA, as all of them are interested in further study of the Academy's style of acupuncture. In 2005, Dr. Nakazawa plans to run the seminar twice, if the situation allows.
Dr. Nakazawa was also invited to the Annual Symposium of Japanese Oriental Medical Association in Kyoto, where he delivered the speech, Current Medical Acupuncture Practice by Physicians in the USA. He demonstrated Dr. Joseph Helms' Energetics and the Craig-Taylor PENS technique in a workshop to the audience.
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Members earn DABMA certification
The following AAMA members recently met the stringent requirements of the American Board of Medical Acupuncture (ABMA) and have achieved Board Certification in medical acupuncture. They have earned the designation DABMA (Diplomate, American Board of Medical Acupuncture):
Michelle Cervin, DO, of South Bend, IN; Scott C. Richards, MD, of Ogden, Utah, and Kaggal V. Umakantha, MD, of Mountain Home, TN.
The Academy has now posted a list of members who are Board Certified online at www.medicalacupuncture.org/cme/cme/board_certified.html. There is also a link to this web page on the left-hand menu bar of the home page (click on Board Certified Physicians). Diplomates (DABMA) are listed alphabetically by last name, along with their location, and dates of certification and expiration.
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Member works on bill
to protect physician rights
Last spring, after Alison Lee, MD, FAAMA, participated in the Health Care Policy Committee Workgroup for HB 5205 — a bill for licensure of nonphysician acupuncturists, it was not felt that the bill merited going before the Health Policy Committee. Some last-minute circumstances, however, led to the bill being approved for hearing.
Dr. Lee worked closely with the Health Policy Committee Workgroup on preparation of the bill for hearing. The bill is now worded so that physicians are excempt from all jurisdiction under the bill and are not affected by it in any way. Regardless of what happens with the bill, under its current terms, physicians will be able to continue practicing as they have, and to promote themselves using the title "acupuncturist."
Because Michigan government is hostile toward licensure, NCCA-certified nonphysician acupuncturists introducing the bill changed the bill from one of licensure to the more limited registration. As the hearing date drew close, there was heated discussion among the different groups of nonphysician acupuncture practitioners in the state, on the specifications of the credentialing process they will need to undergo, but a consensus was met. The bill mandates the formation of an acupuncture board, which will refine the details of credentialing. This board is set up to include three physicians.
Dr. Lee attended the Health Policy Committee Hearing. Members heard almost 20 bills, including HB 5205, and passed all of them, to go on to the House of Representatives for its final session before the year ends.
"I want to express my appreciation to Academy Executive Administrator Jim Dowden for helping me to understand and speak 'Legislativese,'" Dr. Lee said.
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Medical mission clinics
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Bryan L. Frank, MD, FAAMA, provides medical acupuncture in the village of Dacchi in Nepal
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offer treatment in Nepal
Bryan L. Frank, MD, FAAMA, returned from his 11th mission to Nepal in October. He and a team of eight people served in medical camps in Katmandu, nearby village Dacchi and at the Leprosy Mission in Anandaban.
The clinics offered great hope and care to the three communities through medical and optometric care to many, including 565 total patient visits, with 327 medical consultations (63 pediatric and 264 adult), 15 procedures, 39 acupuncture treatments, 327 health educations sessions and 238 optometric consultations with 137 eyeglasses distributed. Total medications dispensed included 407 prescriptions, valued at about $50,000. Many patients had seen Dr. Frank for acupuncture before and were eager for follow-up treatments.
The team delivered urgently needed supplies to the Leprosy Mission Hospital in Anandaban, south of Katmandu, and assisted in several surgeries and anesthesia regional block teaching. To date, Dr. Frank and his teams have taken more than 43 people to serve the Nepali villages, seen 4,000-plus patients, delivered nearly $400,000 in medicines and supplies, provided health education to all patients and to hundreds of school children, and given hundreds of acupuncture treatments.
Global Mission Partners' upcoming missions include Ecuador (June 4-18, 2005), Nepal (spring and fall 2005), and future outreach to Kenya, Russia and more. Any interested persons should contact Dr. Frank at 405/623-7667, bfrankmd@aol.com or at www.GlobalMission.us. Physicians, dentists, translators and non-medical general helpers are needed and encouraged to apply.
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Member News
Members interested in being considered for nomination to the Board of Directors are encouraged to submit a letter indicating their interest, along with a resume, by Feb. 1, 2005. Full members and Fellows are eligible to serve on the Board, which is responsible for developing AAMA policies and overseeing operations. Address your letter to Chairman of the Nominations Committee, c/o AAMA, 4929 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 428, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Also, AAMA is looking for volunteers for committees, which are listed online at www.medicalacupuncture.org/aama_marf/aama.html (click on Academy Committees). For more information on responsibilities and joining, contact AAMA Executive Administator Jim Dowden (cjdowden@pacbell.net, 323/937-5514) or a member of the committee that interests you.
Members participating in AAMA's referral program will be happy to hear that 350 calls came into national headquarters (and 4,082 website hits to the referral page) in September from patients seeking medical acupuncturists in their area. The toll-free number that patients are calling is 800/521-2262.
Practice members (associate, full and Fellows) who are not participating in the patient referral program but would like to, need to notify AAMA by mail (4929 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 428, Los Angeles, CA 90010) or by e-mail (spc6@pacbell.net). To see if you're signed up for this program, check the referral search (Find an Acupuncturist) at: www.medicalacupuncture.org/findadoc/index.html.
Tony V. Lu, MD, FAAMA, is organizing a two-week Cultural Emersion and Study Trip, Traditional Mongolian Medicine, with Kamba Lama Dr. Natsagdorj. Participants will be exposed to Mongolian history, culture and Buddhism, study Buddha's meditation, chanting and healing, Mongolian healing oils, astrological reading, herbal medicine, tongue and pulse diagnoses, healing stones and minerals, acupuncture, moxibustion and more. The party will leave on June 30, 2005 for Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and study traditional medicine, as well as enjoy social activities, through July 15. Itinerary is posted on AAMA's website (www.medicalacupuncture.org/events/mongolia05.html). Members interested in more information can contact Dr. Lu (708/485-1061, tlu1@lumc.edu).
AAMA's 17th Annual Symposium will be April 1-3, 2005 at Hilton Atlanta in Georgia. A Review Course will be taught March 29-30, 2005, followed by Pre-Symposium workshops on March 31. The Board Certification Exam will be given to qualified candidates on April 3, 2005. Rooms are being offered at $159 night (single/double) through Feb. 25, 2005 (or until the block sells out). Call 404/659-2000, and be sure to mention AAMA to get the discounted rate.
The Academy has syllabus available for 2003 and 2004 Symposia, as well as tapes for 2000-2004 Symposia. For price and ordering information, visit www.medicalacupuncture.org/store/index.html or call AAMA (323/937-5514) for an order form.
Beginning in January 2005, the Academy will launch the AAMA e-Newsletter, which will be available to members via e-mail and online at www.medicalacupuncture.org (click on AAMA Newsletter). The new e-newsletter will mean that the Academy can communicate with members faster and with greater frequency as developments and news are available. This issue is the last print format of the newsletter. Members should make sure that the Academy has their current, correct e-mail address so that they do not miss out on future editions of the AAMA e-Newsletter. Check the e-mail address that AAMA has for you by going to the online Membership Directory available in the Member Only section of the Academy website. Or if you prefer, send an e-mail to Membership Coordinator Natalie Ortiz (nortiz9@pacbell.net, 323/937-5514, x20) requesting that she update your e-mail address.
With the International Council of Medical Acupuncture and Related Techniques (ICMART) just barely over in Australia in October, ICMART XII World Medical Acupuncture Congress is already being planned for May 20-22, 2005 at Hotel Diplomat in Prague, Czech Republic. Sponsored by Czech Medical Acupuncture Society of the Czech Medical Association in cooperation with ICMART and the Society of Acupuncture of the Slovak Medical Society, the Symposium is being organized by Guarant International. The preliminary agenda, social program, abstract information, registration, accommodations and more have just been posted online at www.icmart2005.cz. Additional details are available at www.medicalacupuncture.org/events/icmart_2005.html or via e-mail to icmart2005@guarant.cz
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The Academy recently added, Biomedical Acupuncture for Pain Management — An Integrative Approach, by Yun-Tao Ma, PhD, Mila Ma, LicAc and Zang Hee Cho, PhD, to its list of books offered at a discount to members in the Book Store. With 174 illustrations, the 266-page book is published by Elsevier, Churchill Livingstone (2005). Its purpose is to facilitate the integration of acupuncture into mainstream medicine as a complementary modality in the field of pain management. For price and ordering details, visit www.medicalacupuncture.org/store/index.html and click on "Check out our comprehensive selection" in the Books section or call AAMA (323/937-5514).
If you've read any good books on acupuncture or related products recently, please send that information to AAMA headquarters to be shared with the membership. You can also post a review of the publications in the Academy's online bookstore. Go to: www.medicalacupuncture.org, click on AAMA Store and then on Check Out Our Comprehensive Selection. Next click on the book cover (or More Info) and then on Post a Review.
Structural Acupuncture for Physicians is offered now through June 12, 2005 by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Anesthesia, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehab, at Harvard Medical School in Boston, which will grant up to 300 Category I CME hours for this course. Guest speakers, clinical instruction and home study are involved with the course, which also can be viewed via the Internet. Instructors are Joseph F. Audette, MA, MD; Kiiko Matsumoto, LAc and David Euler, LAc. For more information, visit http://cme.med.harvard.edu (and search by dates or topic), e-mail joseph_audette@hms.harvard.edu or call (617) 384-8600.
Members are reminded that there are a variety of meetings, workshops and conferences listed in the calendar of events on the last page of this newsletter, as well as posted online at www.medicalacupuncture.org/events/eventscalendar.html. More details on each event can be obtained by visiting the website listed or contacting the sponsoring organization.
Beginning in January 2005, Acubriefs Newsletter will be published four times a year. Lists of recent citations will be published monthly so members can see additions to the Acubriefs Database. Currently, 201 new citations have been posted at www.acubriefs.com/citations/09.04.citations.htm. The Best of Both Worlds Foundation has established a nonprofit charitable foundation to promote acupuncture research. To see how you can support or benefit from the foundation, visit www.acubriefs.com/bbw or e-mail bbw@acubriefs.com.
Fifth UNC Integrative Medicine Conference: Improving Outcomes Through Integrative Practice, will be held March 18-19, 2005 in Chapel Hill, NC, presented by the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Experts in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) research and clinical practice will offer updates, overviews, and interactive workshops in environmental medicine, energy medicine, massage, nutrition and herbs. This program will benefit physicians practicing medical acupuncture, as well as professionals in general medicine, family practice, pediatrics, osteopathy, chiropractic, mental health, nursing, preventive medicine, public health, health promotion, nutrition, dentistry, pharmacy, botanical and herbal medicine, biofeedback, energy medicine, naturopathy, creative therapies, massage and craniosacral therapies, holistic and eco-environmental medicines. CEUs will be available. For more information, contact the Program on Integrative Medicine (919/966-8586, sysiegel@med.unc.edu, http://pim.med.unc.edu) or the Office of Continuing Medical Education (919/962-2118, www.med.unc.edu/cme).
If you have acupuncture privileges at a hospital and have not notified AAMA, fax your name, hospital, city and state to 323/937-0959 to be added to our list. You can see if you're already listed at: www.medicalacupuncture.org/acu_info/hospriv.html. If you need a hospital privileges credentialing package, call 323/937-5514 (or download it from our website). On the AAMA website home page, click on Hospital Privileges Guide. You will see a Guide for Physicians, Criteria for Privileges, List of Members with Privileges and Links of Interest.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has been redesignated as a Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization through 2007. NCCAM will promote research and research training, expand communications and information exchange, and engage in international collaborative efforts with WHO centers. The National Institutes of Health NCCAM (www.nccam.nih.gov) is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices such as medical acupuncture in the context of rigorous science, training complementary and alternative medicine researchers and disseminating authoritative information to professionals and the public.
Please send news items and photos to bdortberg@aol.com.
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Chapter News
Georgia
President Anna C. Kelly, MD, announced that the Georgia Association of Medical Acupuncturists is planning a seminar for Feb. 26-27, 2005. Jeffrey Yuen, LAc, will speak on, Oriental Medicine and Women's Health: The Treatment of Infertility and Menopause, at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia, 4355 Ashford Dunwoody, in Atlanta, GA.
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Chapter was fortunate to have Dr. Rajam Li for an educational event on Bi syndrome in the Philadelphia area. In fact, the lecture was so detailed, that the Chapter was forced to continue the last part (including the recommended points) to be given at their next meeting. Dr Li will also present a short lecture, Round the Body, at the Dec. 8 Chapter meeting.
Dr. Li, professor of TCM for foreign students at Xiamen University, has been teaching an intensive course on TCM and gave Chapter members lectures on treatments for patients for the changing season. A practicing Daoist, Dr. Li also lectured on Lao Ze and Daoism. In addition, he taught Tai Qi.
Currently, the Chapter is planning interesting programs for spring 2005.
Anyone living near Philadelphia is welcome to join this Chapter and participate. Contact President Mitchell Krause, DO, at mbarry77@world-vue.com for more details.
Chapter representatives, please send your updates for the AAMA Newsletter via e-mail to bdortberg@aol.com.
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Deadline for two
competitions is Feb. 1
The call for entries has gone out for two medical acupuncture competitions — both due by Feb. 1, 2005 and both to be awarded at AAMA's 17th Annual Symposium in Atlanta, GA in April 2005:
- The first is for research projects or case reports to be presented as Posters at AAMA's Symposium. Abstracts should be a 200-250 word description of the research project and findings or be a summary of the case, treatment approach and outcomes. Poster presenters will get 50% off their Symposium early-bird registration fee. Contact Executive Administrator Jim Dowden (cjdowden@pacbell.net) for details.
- The second call for entries is for the annual Acupuncture Research Award. Entries must be clinical research or basic biochemical or physiological research pertaining to acupuncture. First-, second- and third-place awards will be presented. Six copies of the paper should be sent to: Research Award Contest, c/o Todd C. Royal, 12930 Ventura Blvd., #923, Studio City, CA, 91604. For more information, contact Todd C. Royal (818/906-3173, toddroyal@yahoo.com).
Complete details on both competitions are posted online at www.medicalacupuncture.org/aama_marf/newsletter/newsarchive/october_2004.html (or click on October newsletter at AAMA site).
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