AAMA Newsletter
Serving the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
May 2000

     At the recent AAMA Symposium in Orlando, Drs. Robert Leigh Kale and Mitchell Prywes were thanked for their service as they left the Board. New directors sworn in were Drs. John F.K. Flanagan and Nader Soliman. For a complete list of the Board, see the AAMA page.

Merchandise (shirts, pens, caps, mugs, pins, etc.) bearing AAMA's logo were sold by Academy staff at the recent Symposium. For a catalog of items, call AAMA (323/937-5514 or email AAMA.

     In May, AAMA President Bryan Frank, MD, and President-elect Marshall Sager, DO, attended the International Congress of Medical Acupuncture and Related Therapies (ICMART) in Vienna. Dr. Frank presented a talk on the “Legislative Status of Medical Acupuncture in the US” and a workshop on “An American Approach to Common Clinical Cases: Neuroanatomy Meets Classic Energetic Physiology.” ICMART is a consortium of numerous physician-only medical acupuncture societies in Europe, Japan and Brazil.

     The deadline has been extended to June 19 for members interested in applying for a new research position being created at NIH. The NCCAM is looking for a clinical director, intramural research program. This person will oversee a multifacted intramural clinical research program addressing the safety, efficacy and mechanisms underlying diverse complementary and alternative medicine modalities. Send your CV and four references to Scientific Director Peter Lipsky, MD, NCCAM, NIH, Bldg. 31, Rm. 5B37, 31 Center Drive, MSC 2182, Bethesda, MD 20892-2182. For more information, call HR manager Shirley Villone (301/435-5657).

     Richard Kroening, MD, PhD, has been given the 1999 Janet Travell, MD, Pain Management Award, bestowed annually by the American Academy of Pain Management to an individual who has contributed to the advancement of pain management. An author and lecturer, Dr. Kroening has been involved with clinical care and supervision of medical students training in pain management.

     Editor Richard Niemtzow, MD, seeks articles for Medical Acupuncture. Send them to AAMA, 4929 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 428, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Submission guidelines can be found in past issues of the journal or online.

     Marie Steinmetz, MD, recently convinced a major insurance carrier to pay for a patient’s acupuncture treatments for coverage of thyrotoxicosis. For a copy of her letter, fax your request to editor Barton Ortberg (323/937-0959).

     In March, Alison Lee, MD, spoke to physicians, nurses and administrators at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, MI on the role of acupuncture in medical care. The lecture was part of a training program in preparation for the opening of an alternative medicine clinic for women’s health. Dr. Lee also talked about the multidimensional applications of acupuncture in fibromyalgia for the website HealingMD.com. That interview will be produced with audio this summer.

     Joseph Helms, MD, announces that the next UCLA/HMI Medical Acupuncture for Physicians course is June 1-4 in Santa Monica. Clinical units are Oct. 13-22 in Atlanta, Nov. 3-12 in Santa Monica, Dec. 1-10 in Tempe, AZ and Jan. 5-14, 2001 in Alexandria, VA. Call 510/649-8488 for more information. Also, visit HMI’s new website: HMIeducation.com.

     If you are a practice member of AAMA not currently participating in the referral program but you would like to start, contact Stephen Chan at the Academy offices (323/937-5514, spc6@pacbell.net).

     Auricular medicine practitioners interested in learning the Vascular Autonomic Signal are being offered an opportunity to meet with an advanced instructor at no charge. On the East Coast, Nader Soliman, MD, will teach VAS Saturdays, Sept. 23, Oct. 14 and Nov. 18 in Rockville, MD. On the West Coast, John Ackerman, MD, will teach VAS Saturdays, June 17, Oct. 7 and Nov. 11 in Ocean Park, CA. Limited to 16, enrollment must take place at least one week prior to class (with a $200 cancellation fee for last-minute nonemergencies). To become proficient with taking the VAS radial artery pulse of Nogier, contact Electrotherapy Association (918/663-0297, electro@electrotherapy.com.

     Neil Kirschen, MD, is writing the credentials in acupuncture for his hospital. He is section chief of pain management, Department of Anesthesiology at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, NY and hospital Pain Management Task Force chair.

     MARF Secretary Russell Erickson, MD, was invited to speak at the ninth annual International Conference on Chinese Medicine in San Francisco in May. On behalf of MARF’s research mission, he gave a talk on research in acupuncture, using his prior studies as examples and speaking on the pros and cons of different approaches to research in the healthcare art. Dr. Erickson plans to reorganize his talk into a paper for the Medical Acupuncture journal and the AAMA/MARF website.

     In February, Kaiser Permanente in northern California added AAMA to its approved list of societies. The hospital will now pay a portion of a Kaiser physician’s dues each year.

     Dr. Erickson recently sent $500 worth of educational materials and supplies left over from his practice days on behalf of MARF to the new free clinic, Acupuncture Society of J & K, Pantha, Chowk, Srinagar, India. The clinic requested assistance after reading his reviews in Medical Acupuncture.

     MARF announces three additional resources for members this year: A database of acupuncture-related references (with commentary and abstracts available via the Internet); a pamphlet to help those interested in conducting medical acupuncture research, and an advisory board of experts in specialty areas. The article, “What Have AAMA Members Received for Their $25 Yearly Donation to MARF” is posted on AAMA/MARF’s website at: http://www.medicalacupuncture.org/aama_marf/what_is_marf.html.

     Still getting questions about the log in process, Academy website editor Richard Friedericks wants to remind members to use their five-digit membership number for the User Name and their last name (capitalized first letter only) for the Password.

    Dr. Frank announces that there have been some communcations with incorrect contact information listed for the International Association for Auricular Medicine (IAAM), a democratic forum for all health professionals licensed in their country who provide a health-related service to people and/or animals. The group’s mission is to facilitate education and research in traditional Western medicine and energy medicine through conferences and coherence. For a membership application, send an e-mail to: iaam@iveg.nl, call 31 104470030 or write IAAM President A.F. van Gelder, MD, Kralingseweg 306, 3066RB Rotterdam, Holland.

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By James Rotchford, MD
MARF President

     Medical Acupuncture Research Foundation (MARF) was founded in 1988 as a charitable, non-profit organization, which serves as the research arm of AAMA (the national professional society of physicians in North America incorporating acupuncture).

     MARF is wholly funded through donations and contributions from those interested in furthering research and examination of medical acupuncture. The work is carried out by dedicated volunteers, striving to advance the scientific knowledge of acupuncture. MARF encourages and supports research in the principles and practice of acupuncture by:

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REGIONAL CHAPTER LIAISON Sub-Committee
By Bill Rutenburg, MD, Chair
     Traveling home from the Symposium in Orlando, I could not help but reflect on the spirit and commitment that I sensed in the attendees. Add to this, the excellent educational programs, the exciting news from the Academy on Board certification, our empowerment to grant CME credits, and I knew my “CORE” goals (Cooperation, Organization, Recognition and Education) for the Regional Chapter Liaison Subcommittee were reaffirmed.
     At lunch Friday, Chapter presidents discussed merits of Board certification in medical acupuncture and how it is necessary to help establish ourselves as the gold standard for acupuncture in this country. AAMA’s slide presentation was favorably reviewed, and it was suggested that additional slides aimed at the general public be added to the collection. As the bell rang, subjects of clinical research and development of practice parameters were broached.
     Most gratifying was the response from members interested in forming new chapters. I had 15 requests from physicians in California, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin for information on how to begin forming a chapter. Florida, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia are actively working on forming chapters.
     If you want to contact members in your area who are interested in forming an AAMA regional chapter, contact me via e-mail (WDRutenber@aol.com), phone (847/634-4728) or fax (847/634-2283).

TARGET OUTREACH Sub-Committee
By Marshall H. Sager, DO, MAAC Chair
1. Hawaii—We have received some information indicating quasi-support for physician-acupuncture practice from the National Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Alliance, a segment of the non-physician-acupuncturists. More details will be published soon.
2. Federal House Bill 1890—No activity. Relevant pending legislation is posted on AAMA’s website.