AAMA Newsletter
Serving the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
December 2000

Plans underway for AAMA Symposium

Chairman Nader Soliman, MD, announces that AAMA’s 13th annual Symposium in New Orleans in March 2001 is being planned to meet demands of Academy members as expressed in their recent evaluation and in surveys during the last two years.

The Symposium, set for March 23-25, 2001 at Hilton New Orleans Riverside, will present a number of outstanding speakers and practical topics. These will help practitioners to reinforce their knowledge to meet everyday challenges in the practice of medical acupuncture, treating some of the elusive and difficult medical problems.

Popular Pre-Symposium workshops will return on Thursday March 22, 2001—dealing with the following topics: Introduction to Medical Acupuncture by Joseph Helms, MD. Dr. Chan Gunn will present a full day lecturing about the three phases of pain and the treatment of muscular as well as neuropathic pain. He will also address the treatment of lower back pain. Dr. Raphael Nogier of France, son of famed Dr. Paul Nogier, will present a full day explaining the theory and practical application of vascular autonomic signal (VAS). Mike Arnold, MD, will address the use of TCM and herbal medicine in medical acupuncture.

Symposium topics will explore treating many common problems that include: chronic and acute myofacsial pain and whiplash injury; RSD and neuropathic pain; CFS and fibromyalgia syndrome; headaches and migraines; tennitus and vertigo; pediatric problems; depression, anger, anxiety and sleep disorder; infertility, menstrual problems and fibroids; degenerative and rheumatoid arthritis; treatment of ADHD, allergy and nicotine addiction; and obstacles to diagnosis and healing

An experienced panel will discuss using different approaches and disciplines of acupuncture—including French energetic acupuncture, five elements acupuncture, auricular therapy, auricular medicine, hand acupuncture, neuro-anatomical and TCM—to combat these difficult medical problems.

In addition to visiting presenters, national speakers include John Reed, MD; Brian Bouch, MD, presenting French energetic acupuncture; Glenn Rothfeld, MD, presenting five elements acupuncture; and Roberto Jodorkovsky, MD, presenting topics about treating children with hand acupuncture.

In addition, Alejandro Elorriaga Claraco, MD, of Canada will present topics about treating acute and chronic pain problems through neuro-anatomical approaches; Drs. Mike Arnold and John Adams will address using TCM in daily practice; and AAMA President Bryan Frank, MD, will contribute topics about treating common ailments using auricular therapy and auricular medicine.

Acupuncture Review Course will be offered as usual for two days prior to the Pre-Symposium, and the Board Certification Exam will be held on Monday following the Symposium (see calendar on page 2.)

Please make arrangements now to attend this interesting seminar, and remember to register ASAP to take advantage of early registration fees.

Members will receive information on Symposium registration in the mail.

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Board members sought

Academy 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.

Full members are eligible to serve on the Board of Directors, which is responsible for developing Academy policies and overseeing Academy operations. Address your letter to the Chairman of the Nominations Committee, c/o AAMA, 4929 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 428, Los Angeles, CA 90010.

For more information on the position, contact any member of the Board of Directors or President Bryan Frank, MD.

AAMA offices have moved

AAMA offices have moved—and effective immediately, our new location (and mailing address) is: 4929 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 428, Los Angeles, CA 90010 (same phone and fax).

Please make this change in your database to ensure we receive your communications (such as dues statements and payments, registrations and checks for conferences, Acupuncture Review Courses, Board Certification Exams, etc.).

We look forward to serving you even better in our new, larger facilities.

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Members urged to write Commission

Formed by President Clinton earlier this year, The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy has been studying issues such as who should have access to what therapies, by which providers and for what indications.

A growing number of Americans are using complementary and alternative approaches to health promotion, and medical treatment. People are looking to their healthcare providers to treat the whole person—not just the illness. Because of this interest, the President established this Commission on March 7, 2000.

The Commission has been charged with addressing: research on CAM practices and products; delivery and public access to CAM services; dissemination of reliable information on CAM to healthcare providers and the general public; and appropriate licensing, education, and training of CAM healthcare practitioners.

This group has been conducting a series of meetings to review these issues. The most recent of these was held Dec. 4-5, 2000 on Guidance for, Access to, Delivery of and Reimbursement for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices and Interventions. AAMA President-Elect Marshall H. Sager, DO, addressed the Commission with an introduction on medical acupuncture and the Academy (growing rapidly in the last five years to almost 2,000 physicians), a definition of medical acupuncture and physician rights, acupuncture qualifications for physicians, CAM access, and delivery and reimbursement.

Dr. Sager said medical acupuncturists’ private practice rights are threatened by restructuring of healthcare delivery and reimbursement—and AAMA seeks protection of these rights. He said medical acupuncturists constantly weigh “scarce reimbursement” against out-of-pocket burdens for themselves and their patients.

His conclusion is that medical acupuncture creates a win-win situation: speedy recovery for patients, surgeons benefit because patients heal faster, hospitals gain from shorter patient stays, and the public benefits from reduced healthcare costs.

The Commission's recommendations on policy and legislation are due to the President through the Secretary of Health and Human Services in March 2002. AAMA members are urged by Joseph Helms, MD, to send an e-mail that reinforces the primacy of physicians in this arena to the Commission: WHCCAMP@od.nih.gov (mail to WHCCAMP, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Ste. 1010, MS-7707, Betheseda, MD 20817-7707 or fax 301/480-1691).

Dr. Helms said, “Clearly, we want to stress to the Commission the importance of well-trained physicians in the CAM arena because they offer a balanced approach of conventional medicine and an integration of the time-tested CAM discipline of medical acupuncture. Physicians trained in acupuncture are best suited to serve in triage and provider functions in CAM delivery. Patients should have reimbursed access to physicians for CAM because physicians know both worlds better than nonphysicians.”

Dr. Helms is concerned that CAM-trained physicians be recognized as being pivotal in the development and integration of CAM practices into responsible modern medical practices that are safe for the patients. He noted that the public wants their physicians to deliver—or at least approve of—their CAM modalities.

“To accomplish this, physicians need to have a prominent position in CAM supervision, access, delivery—and especially need to be reimbursed on a scale appropriate for the full professional responsibility they bring to the patient,” Dr. Helms said. “The Commission needs to hear this over and over, and know that AAMA practice members represent a resource of well-trained doctors who know acupuncture and its realistic integration in medicine.”

For more details on this White House Commission, visit its website: www.whccamp.hhs.gov.

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