From the Chair of the American Society of Acupuncturists
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Dear Colleagues and Supporters,
Thank you to all of you who attended and helped make the inaugural ASA conference a resounding success! We received extensive, positive feedback, and were delighted to celebrate this event with over 300 participants. We thank all those of you who attended, our phenomenal speakers, our fantastic vendor supporters, and the American Alliance for Professional Acupuncture Safety (AAPAS) for bringing 30 attendees to the meeting. Many thanks as well to the leadership of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA), the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM), and the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR) for joining us. We were honored to have congressional representation from Congressperson Judy Chu's Office address us (D-CA). We look forward to doing this again next year, and planning is underway. Please keep your eyes open for specific dates, but we will again be in Washington, D.C., and will look to do another lobby day and health fair on Capitol Hill.
This is a complex time for the field of acupuncture. Sanctions and tariffs on goods from China are affecting the herbal medicine industry, we are not yet included in Medicare, and there is increasing use of acupuncture with short-course training (as short as a weekend) that is coupled with misinformation campaigns intended to appropriate acupuncture under other names and bypass practice laws. All of this comes amidst increasing acceptance of acupuncture in hospitals and by the public, incorporation of acupuncture into clinical guidelines such as those by the prestigious American College of Physicians, and the increasingly recognized benefits of acupuncture as one of the top modalities for non-pharmacologic options for pain control, making acupuncture an excellent tool to help decrease our country’s opioid dependence. The Veterans Administration is leading the way to a more holistic vision of care, and acupuncture is central to that plan. Multiple states are offering acupuncture under Medicaid services for at least a handful of conditions. We face challenges, and we see progress.
Amidst great tumult there is great risk and great opportunity. To optimize outcomes, organization, strategy, and perseverance are the greatest tools. We believe this organization, the American Society of Acupuncturists, represents the greatest chance for all Americans to have access to the tremendous richness of acupuncture, and all of the tools arising out of Chinese medicine. Thank you again for being a supporter, and we will continue to strive to make this organization exceed expectations, so that all in our country can have access to care that is safe, effective, and holistic. We hope you will join us next year in Washington, D.C. as we move the conversation forward even more!
Sincerely,
David W. Miller, MD, LAc
Chair, American Society of Acupuncturists
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Welcome to the ASA Job Openings Board!
We encourage all submissions which promote gainful employment in our profession. Please do not hesitate to submit job postings, office space rentals or if you know someone who wants to sell their practice, we would be more than happy to add them as well. Please submit to
Christine@asacu.org
so your submissions can be added to the board.
The ASA does reserve the right to edit one’s posting for tact, tenor, and tone, if it may be perceived as potentially inappropriate by others.
Thank you for all you do for our profession.
Respectfully,
Christine Cronin
Board Member at Large
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Come check out the official Journal of the American Society of Acupuncturists
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NIH Request for Information (RFI): Important Considerations for Potential Creation of an Open-Access Repository or Database for Physiological and Anatomical Ontology of Acupoints
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health Chair, Helene Langevin has created a survey asking for our feedback.
Topics include how this type of database may impact different research communities, including our own. What information should be included when using acupuncture points in a research study and how important is it that it is standardized across studies? How many acupuncture points should be studied at one time? What tools should we use to determine impact as well as what modalities should we study? Who should be determining impact - users, data contributors, research community?
You do not need to answer every question. Answer what is important to you! Survey closes August 4th. For the survey,
click here
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Monthly Legislative Report
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Our legislative focus this month: Follow Up
Below is the email describing how best to follow up with your legislators from Kallie Guimond:
Thank you for your participation in the recent ASA DC Fly-In on June 3! It was a smashing success on all fronts and a hallmark event for Licensed Acupuncturists in terms of advocating for the profession.
ADVOCACY DOES NOT END WITH A FLY-IN. Now the REAL work begins. Over the next month, you will be getting instructions for what you can do personally and how these efforts can also involve your state members, fellow students, colleagues and patients for the most effective coordinated grassroots effort.
Remember: this is not just to promote Acupuncture. We need a specific, consistent UNIFIED message each year in order to move the needle (no pun intended.) ; ) Stick with the Asks: Co-sponsorship of HR 1182 and HR 1959 and joining the Integrative Health & Wellness Caucus (HOUSE) and for the Senate: Companion bills for HR 1182 and HR 1959.
The FIRST thing all of you need to do is to send in the surveys included in your app FOR EACH MEETING. I am looking for your observations. Tell me everything you can about that meeting. Treat this as if you were dealing with a patient...everything is important. Acupuncturists are some of the most keen observers I have ever known, so I expect the details to be quite informative. It does matter if you were a team leader or if you spoke. If you were there, please fill out a report for EVERY MEETING you attended. Also, if you were confirmed for drop-off, please take the time to fill out who you dropped the information off with. These reports are imperative in creating a targeted list of legislators interested in our causes.
NEXT: Within these surveys is the opportunity to email the office for follow-up. If you were asked any questions or for more information, this is your opportunity to directly follow-up. If not using this app, please follow-up on your own. The easiest follow-up question is to ask if they co-sponsored the bills or joined the Caucus or if they need more information.
We will target a district strategy as well based on the above information. Sometime next week, I will provide you with district contacts and ask that you follow up there and encourage your patients and state association members to do so as well. I always tell people to call...that is the most effective measure, but will also provide you with scripts and form letters to use as well. Please always be yourself and make it personal.
Again, I could not be prouder of the effort on Capitol Hill this week. You should also be proud of yourselves. You did AMAZING work and it did not go unnoticed by Congressional staff!!
If you have any questions, text me. I'll be following up quite a bit. Can't wait to do it again next year!! CONGRATULATIONS ASA!!!
In Health,
Kallie Guimond
ASA DC Fly-In Coordinator
For more information, contact Kallie Guimond, Director of Government Affairs, Integrative Health Policy Consortium and American Society of Acupuncturists Conference Chair kguimond@ihpc.org
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ASA Members: State Associations in Action
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Kampo Clinical Training in San Diego – Starts in June!
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8 Module Kampo Training in San Diego with Nigel Dawes 2019 - 2020
24 Continuing Education Credits per module (192 total for the series) pending with NCCAOM, TX, CA, FL
This clinical training is designed as a post-graduate internship in the theory and practice of Kampo medicine, the system of traditional Herbal Medicine practiced in Japan. This system offers practitioners familiar with the basics of TCM and other East-Asian theoretical models the opportunity to learn a direct, hands-on, clinical approach to the practice of herbal prescribing, including fukushin (abdominal diagnosis).
The Kampo Internship (K.I.) is composed of two integral components – the classroom and the clinic experience. Each is given equal weight throughout the training, which is offered in eight, three day modules over a 2-year period.
Learn more
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The Acupuncture Society of MA has four bills waiting for hearings in the Massachusetts legislature. Two relate to insurance coverage for acupuncture by all plans in the Commonwealth and two relate to standards for dry needling. The ASM prepared a document for the Division of Insurance that provides evidence based research and cost analysis.
Click here for Division of Insurance document
The Acupuncture Society of Massachusetts has sought a regulatory response to this document sent to the Board of Allied Health . This Is the response we sent asking for a seat at the table as stakeholders. We received no response to our document so we are seeking a legislative remedy to the issue of standards for didactic education, supervised clinical hours and third party national, psychometric examination.
Click here for Board of Allied Health document
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Acupuncture Society NY invites You to a Summer Picnic in Central Park
The Summer Picnic by ASNY will take place on July 21st and is created as a local social event for acupuncturists to compare notes on family and business. The invitation goes to your doctor friends and colleagues interested in learning more about acupuncture and eastern herbal medicine as it is a perfect informal environment to educate them. Students are encouraged to network with current LAc's in the tristate area for tips on how to run their future practice.
The Acupuncture Society of New York supports New York State licensed acupuncturists and higher reimbursements. The Advocacy Committee is investigating what can be done to try to assure higher reimbursement and to notify Blue Cross Blue Shield of the negative impact this may have on patient care and in-network provider stability. The Advocacy Committee is also working with the Worker's Compensation Board to get the details of licensed acupuncturists in the worker's compensation system in 2020 and will provide an update prior to January 2020.
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ASNY’s Vice President - Michel Solounias and the Vice Chair of PR
Committee - Mona Yuan were happy to congratulate Dr. Yemeng Chen - the President of New York College of TCM on their facility expansion and establishment of their Alumni Association. We wish them continued success and thank them for all their support of ASNY advocacy and membership efforts.
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Acupuncture Society of NY would like to officially express our gratitude to The Pacific College of Oriental Medicine tri-campus network for raising awareness on acupuncture politics. The largest group of acupuncture advocates attending the ASA Symposium 2019 in Washington DC were alumni of PCOM. Thank you!
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Acupuncture Society of NY, in cooperation with the
American Society of Acupuncturists
, invited other non-member acupuncturists licensed in the State of NY and created an advocacy event in Washington DC.
We visited 200 policy makers in total. It was the largest acupuncture lobby effort in the USA to date.
The delegation from NY State was successfully lead by ASNY President Viktor Krystufek and the Executive Chief Secretary Michelle Wright. The lobbying target was the support of the national Acupuncture for Veterans bill HR 1182 and the Natural Substances Compounding bill HR 1959.
Many thanks to those that volunteered their time and energy for this event to happen. It was a great success and we picked up a significant number of political sponsors for these bills.
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The acupuncture delegation from the State of NY visiting Senator Charles E. Schumer’s office at Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
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The acupuncture delegation from the State of NY visiting Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand’s office on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
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NCSAAM has some CEU/PDA events coming up,
When: 13 Sep 2019
Location: Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center, 1192 US
Hwy 64, West Business, Pittsboro, NC 27312
PDA/CEU: 8 NCCAOM PDAs, 8 CAB ("Provider Number 1115,
Auriculotherapy Seminars, 240-413-4211
California CEUs
pending
- Learn the History of Acupuncture and Auriculotherapy in the USA
- Identify the 5 BFA points and their locations
- Understand the functions of each BFA point
- Become familiar ASP ear needles
- Use silicone ear models to ASP needle insertion techniques
- Determine if BFA is an appropriate treatment for the patient
- Identify each patient’s pathology by inspection of the ear
- Choosing the correct ASP metal for each patient
- Determine the dominate ear to improve treatment outcomes
- Establish clinical cutoffs for each patient treated with BFA
- Identifying treatment side effects
- Learn to incorporate BFA and auriculotherapy successful into your clinic
Cancellation Policy for NCSAAM Events:
One month prior to seminar date: Full refund minus $25 cancellation fee.
One month to one week prior: 60% of tuition will be refunded.
Less than one week prior or nonattendance: No refunds.
Healing Community Trauma:
How to Do Acupuncture in the Field for Traumatic Events
Start: 14 Sep 2019 at 8:00 AM
End: 15 Sep 2019 at 5:30 PM
Location: Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center, 1192 US Hwy 64 West Business, Pittsboro, NC 27312
PDA/CEU: 15 PDA/CEUs (including 2 CEUs/PDAs of ethics and 2.5 CEUs/PDAs of safety NCCAOM, CA, TX)
Healing Community Trauma is an immersive two-day training that strengthens the clinical, organizing and leadership skills needed to establish disaster relief efforts and community service clinics for people affected by trauma. Participants will learn how to establish mobile clinics onsite after disasters and ongoing community service clinics for veterans, immigrants, first-responders and other local populations that may suffer from trauma. It also prepares participants to develop and work in international community service clinics that are part of World Healing Exchange trips and other AWB-affiliated international programs.
Curriculum includes:
- How to set up a mobile acupuncture clinic for trauma recovery in your community
- Review of the NADA protocol for disaster response efforts creating effective teams for trauma relief work in the field
- Working with communities & individuals after severe trauma
- Recognizing and managing acute and secondary traumatic stress
- The neurobiology of trauma and why acupuncture can reduce post-traumatic stress
- Using the HeartMath system for trauma reduction in the field or in a clinic setting
- How to set up a Community Service Clinic to treat veterans, military personnel, refugees, domestic and sexual violence survivors, and other groups affected by trauma
- A practicum to give you the experience of participating in a community-style acupuncture field clinic —as a practitioner or a patient
OR
Start: 13 Sep 2019 at 8:00 AM
End: 15 Sep 2019 at 5:30 PM
Location: Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center, 1192 US Hwy 64
West Business, Pittsboro, NC 27312
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Top 8 Things
Acupuncture Treats
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How to Get Involved with ASA
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State Association Membership:
There are many avenues to being involved with the American Society of Acupuncturists. To enjoy the full benefits of membership, we encourage Licensed Acupuncturists to join their state association that is a member of ASA. You are considered a member of the ASA at no additional charge. State Associations that are currently members of ASA can be found
here
. State associations who are interested in membership with ASA may contact our Board Secretary LiMing Tseng at
Secretary@asacu.org
.
Other Ways to Be Involved:
Licensed Practitioners and Acupuncture Students who are unaffiliated with state associations may receive information about the state and federal regulatory and legislative environments, along with newsworthy announcements about the acupuncture industry by becoming an Associate of the ASA. Options for sitting on the Council, serving on Committees, or voting are not included in this option. For more information, please contact ASA Board Member Dr. Christine Cronin, DAOM, L.Ac at
Newsletter@asacu.org
. You may also sign up to receive information directly at www.asacu.org.
To Sign Up for Membership & Support Online, Visit Our Website:
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American Society of Acupuncturists | 619-847-9613 | Newsletter@asacu.org | www.ASAcu.org
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