AAMA Newsletter
Serving the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
May 2000

Allen McDaniels, MD (left) presents CME certification to AAMA President Bryan Frank, MD at Symposium

     After years of planning and preparation, AAMA was accredited as a CME sponsor by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), effective March 31, 2000. The Academy can now sponsor CME activities, such as the annual Symposium, rather than depending on cosponsorship from outside institutions.

     AAMA is grateful for past cosponsorships by Jefferson Medical College, Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Maryland, University of Arizona and Maricopa Medical Center. Its development as a center for CME in medical acupuncture has depended on past cosponsorship.

     The ACCME accreditation means the Academy has reached a new level in its evolution as an educational institution and is a big step toward the mainstream of American medicine. It’s the latest in a series of milestones since 1996 leading to accreditation. At that Symposium in San Francisco, the Board of Directors charged the Continuing Education Committee, chaired by Allen McDaniels, MD, with the responsibility of exploring the possibility of CME sponsorship. Later in 1996, Dr. McDaniels attended a workshop on the accreditation process in New Orleans. Significant change seemed to be in the air symbolically when a cargo ship crashed into the hotel where the workshop was held. The NIH Consensus Conference in Acupuncture in 1997 added enough evidence and prestige for the Academy to approach AMA for certification of medical acupuncture as worthy of Category I CME. The AMA came forth with a positive opinion letter in early 1998, referring to the NIH Consensus Statement as a useful guideline. In August 1999, AAMA completed an extensive preapplication–application process, with a site visit late in the year at Washington, DC. ACCME procedure dictated a five-month wait, as the application proceeded through committees until the final favorable disposition in March 2000. With accreditation and CME sponsorship, provisional status for two years means more responsibility and accountability. The Academy’s CME program will be carefully scrutinized.

     “Now the real work begins,” Dr. McDaniels said. “The CME Committee needs time to put in place the procedures for processing activity applications for CME. By summer, this should be effected, so hold off any applications until then.”

     Several members volunteered their services for this project: Drs. James K. Rotchford, Bradley Lawrence, Glenn Rothfeld and Allen McDaniels of the CME Committee. A successful site visit depended on the Review Course teaching team of Drs. Mitchell Elkiss, John Reed, Bradley Lawrence and Allen McDaniels. ACCME surveyors (inspectors) praised the teaching for both method and content. Dr. McDaniels concluded that AAMA Executive Administrator James Dowden and his staff deserve praise for assembling 100-page application (2 inches thick) and keeping the files in good order.

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By Bryan L. Frank
AAMA PRESIDENT

     I am pleased to report that the 12th Annual Symposium in Orlando was a tremendous success in many ways. Event Chair Narda Robinson, DO, DVM, and her committee organized a diverse group of speakers and topics. Attendance was the largest yet, at approximately 425 physicians. (See related article on page 2.) Attendees in plenary sessions and workshops stayed way past “closing time” each day as international and national experts shared their knowledge and experiences. Evaluations, as well as recent membership surveys, have given next year’s Symposium committee great insight on the needs and desires of the AAMA membership for New Orleans.

DIGESTING THE INFORMATION Participants at AAMA's Symposium in Orlando discuss workshop presentations over lunch at the Hyatt Regency.

     Event Vice Chair Nader Soliman, MD, organized the largest Pre-Symposium to date, with varied topics and hands-on teaching. He also coordinated the Poster Presentations, with 17 excellent demonstrations. Poster Abstracts will be published in the next issue of AAMA’s journal, Medical Acupuncture. Presenters also received 50% discounts on their Symposium registration fee. Farshad M. Ahadian, MD, received $300 for his first-place Poster, “Auriculotherapy for Management of Abdominal Pain in a Gravid Patient.” Medical Acupuncture editor Richard C. Niemtzow, MD, received $150 for his second-place poster, “Acupuncture Treatment for Pilocarpine-Resistant Xerostomia Following Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Malignancies.”

     The AAMA Board announced the formation of the American Board of Medical Acupuncture for Board Certification in medical acupuncture. Trustees are addressing final details, and information and applications are expected to be available by July 1. To recognize distinguished professional development of members, AAMA physicians approved the creation of a Fellowship class of membership based on Board Certification, years of practice, higher levels of continuing education, and medical acupuncture publishing or teaching. At the Annual Membership Meeting, CME Task Force Chair Allen McDaniels, MD, received a standing ovation when he presented a Certificate of CME Granting Authority from the Accreditation Council for CME to Academy President Bryan Frank. (See article above.) This considerable accomplishment is the result of efforts by Dr. McDaniels and his committee, and Executive Administrator James Dowden during the last four years.

     I look forward to seeing you throughout the year at various educational events across the country. Please join us in volunteering on committees to move medical acupuncture further into the mainstream of medicine. Your participation is both welcome and necessary. Finally, join me for the 13th Annual Symposium March 22-25, 2001 in New Orleans .

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     At the Symposium in Orlando, MARF President James K. Rotchford, MD, MPH, presented the MARF-Seirin Research Contest awards, thanks to Seirin’s $15,000 competition sponsorship.

     MARF-Seirin Research Contest presented authors with Symposium registration, travel and accommodations for selected papers. First prize of $3,000 went to Wen-Ching Liu, MD, for “Functional MRI of Human Brain Response to Acupuncture Applied to Hoku Point: A Preliminary Study.” Second prize of $2,000 went to Abraham Kuruvilla, MD, for “Acupuncture in the Management of Back Pain and Acute Back Pain.” The paper of Yuan Chi Lin, MD, “Electroacupuncture Effects on Cutaneous Quantitative Sensory Testing,” won third prize of $1,000. Special Awards of $500 went to Charles Shang, MD, for “Unified Theory of Acupuncture, Meridian Systems, Chakra Systems and Modern Biomedical Systems,” and to Drs. Miles Belgrade and Yaron River for “Neurologic Basis of Acupuncture Analgesia.”

     In his MARF president’s report, Dr. Rotchford reviewed accomplishments and current goals and objectives. The major objective for the next year is to have a comprehensive and up-to-date database of acupuncture references for members. Staff hopes to have the database available via the Internet by the end of the year. Meanwhile, if a member wants a thorough list of references on a particular subject, contact Dr. Rotchford (kimber@olympus.net).

     Members can help assure the completeness of the database by mailing references on acupuncture-related subjects (preferably in a digitalized format for a PC computer) to Dr. Rotchford, 1334 Lawrence St., Port Townsend, WA 98368 (or via e-mail: kimber@olympus.net). Dr. Rotchford also announced that applications for MARF Board membership are sought. Contact Executive Administrator James Dowden at AAMA headquarters (jdowden@prodigy.net).

     Lastly, the Board president encouraged all members to continue to be generous with their $25 contributions to MARF: “Please let MARF know if it can help be a conduit for other charitable giving.” For more details on what you get for your MARF donation, visit: http://www.medicalacupuncture.org/protect/what_is_marf.html.

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