AAMA Newsletter
Serving the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
May 2000

     The new millennium has seen a flurry of media activity surrounding Academy members. AAMA’s PR firm, Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., plans to continuing raising public awareness about medical acupuncture by featuring as many members as possible in newspaper and magazine articles, on radio, TV and the Internet.
     The practice of Mitchell Prywes, MD, was featured as the lead article in the March issue of Complementary Medicine for Physicians, a medical newsletter published by WB Saunders. “Pain Management—Integrating Complementary Therapies Maximizes Long-Term Success” is based on an interview with Prywes, medical director of The Center for Pain Rehabilitation in Danbury, CT. The article sites AAMA, its website and the UCLA program. Dr. Prywes is founder and chair of the Medical Acupuncture Special Interest Group of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
     MARF Director David Diehl, MD, will be hosting a web chat at drKoop.com this summer. Fleishman-Hillard will send e-mail announcements. “Is Alternative Medicine Right for You?” is the teaser getting impulse-buy readers to snatch up the June issue of Woman’s Day at checkstands across the country. On page 54, they find, “I Tried Alternative Medicine—Acupuncture: An Ancient Cure for Back Pain,” a testimony by health journalist Marlene Cimons and her 90-year-old mother. The feature outlines how acupuncture is being performed by physicians and how the writer’s $85 treatments were covered by her insurance company. AAMA’s address, website and 800/521-2262 referral number were listed. In January, there were 2,236 calls to the referral line; in February, 1,137 calls, and in March, 975 calls.
     Susan G. Kaplan, MD, offered her thoughts on acupuncture stimulating endorphins in a blurb in the March Glamour magazine entitled, “Could Acupuncture Prick up your Sex Drive?” “Teddy Bears used as a Form of Therapy” in Tri-Valley Herald profiled Dr. Mira Kaplan’s book, The Teddy Bear Guide to Self-Healing. Visit: DrMira.com on the Internet for more details.
     Sheila George, MD, is quoted in an article in the May 2000 Consumer Reports magazine. The feature is entitled, “The Mainstreaming of Alternative Medicine.”
     Drs. Robert Schulman and Marshall Sager were interviewed for a piece on “Alternative Medicine—What Really Works” in the April issue of Reader’s Digest, to discuss treating headaches with acupuncture. Dr. Schulman also talks about acupuncture and the UCLA course in “A Hands-on Approach to Musculoskeletal Medicine” in the April issue of Alternative & Complementary Therapies.
     Bryan Frank, MD, hosted the Academy’s premier web chat on March 1, 2000, at HealthAtoZ.com, a site dedicated to providing families and individuals with personalized, interactive information on health and medical issues ranging from preventing birth defects to weight training techniques since 1995. For one hour, he answered questions on medical acupuncture (like what “medical” acupuncture is, how it works, does it hurt and what kinds of conditions it can treat) in the “Ask the Experts” chat room. Dr. Frank also hosted a national radio tour in April to bring awareness to the public about acupuncture as an alternative treatment to allergies.
     Dr. Sager hosted the second web chat in April at HealthAtoZ.com on treating allergies with medical acupuncture. Participants were again interested in techniques and uses of medical acupuncture. In another Internet opportunity, Dr. Sager was quoted in a Healthshop.com story on treating infertility with medical acupuncture. Finally, Dr. Sager will also be hosting a month-long message board on iVillage.com’s health site, allHealth.com, this summer. Be on the lookout for Dr. Sager and information on AAMA on this popular women’s website.
     AAMA’s website (medicalacupuncture.org) saw 30,012 visits in April (up from 25,767 in February and 27,898 in January). The website was visited by 101 members (down from 141 in February and 140 in January) who viewed these top 10 pages:
General Info (2,459),
What’s This Acupuncture About? (2,357),
Referral (2,198),
online journal (920),
Dr. Helms’ article (953),
FAQ(806),
CME(761),
Research Index (730),
Privileges (703) and News (693).
     Margaret Mullins, MD, was lauded in her hometown paper, The Capital, in Annapolis, MD, for coauthoring a chapter on acupuncture published in the recently released book, Clinician’s Complete Reference to Complementary & Alternative Medicine.
     Drs. Reid Kavief and Alison Lee were mentioned in Crain's Detroit Business. The article, which unfortunately contained some factual errors, was about the preferential development by practitioners of alternative medicine unassociated with hospitals.
     Other newsmakers: Drs. Edward Garbacz and Truett Bridges were interviewed for an article in Atlanta Journal Constitution on treating allergies. Nader Soliman, MD, was interviewed for a piece on treating osteoarthritis in Washington Post’s Health section. Geoffrey Gustavsen, MD, appeared on KTVK-TV 3 in Phoenix to discuss allergies. Noel Nowicki, MD, was interviewed for a story on allergies in New Jersey Star Ledger.
     To be profiled in the media (or if you already have been), call Lisa Duszak at Fleishman-Hillard (202/828-8830 or duszakl@fleishman.com).

Arizona
     Robert S. Mindell, MD, who has been secretary-treasurer since Chapter inception, has resigned and closed his medical practice. He’s taking a financial advisor position with Smith-Barney. The Chapter is currently reviewing the effectiveness of its Yellow Pages ad and its distribution of 400 brochures at a recent Health Expo. Legislation, CME, office medical records and referral sources are other topics being tackled. A one-hour session of Tai Chi is now being offered before meetings (similar to the Symposium). Congratulations to Chapter member Abraham Kuruvilla, MD, who won second place in the MARF-Seirin Research Contest for his data from 86 consecutive patients treated for back pain at Arizona Center for Health and Medicine. Four Chapter members attended AAMA’s recent Symposium.

Colorado
     In March, the Rocky Mountain Chapter elected officers for the coming year: President Alice Brunecky, MD, Secretary Craig Anderson, MD and Treasurer Karen E. Steinberg, MD. President-elect is pending and could be decided at the next meeting June 15. Case presentations and journal club were suggested to educate and stimulate interest in Chapter meetings. Dr. Brunecky mailed the recently established Chapter newsletter to members. The most important issue proposed is an idea to organize a one- or two-day fall CME seminar in Colorado. The president will be recruiting speakers.

Maryland
     The Maryland Chapter will offer “Five Elements Acupuncture: Diagnosis and Treatment” by Glenn S. Rothfeld, MD, Nov. 11-12, 2000 at the BWI Holiday Inn next to Baltimore Washington International Airport in Baltimore. To register, call Nader Soliman, MD (301/251-2335).
     The Chapter’s next educational meeting will be June 20, 2000, “The Use of Microcurrent Electrical Stimulation in Acupuncture.” Membership is open to all interested physicians. For information, call Chapter President Dr. Soliman (301/251-2335).

New Jersey
     Despite a severe snowstorm, many physicians attended the Jan. 20 Chapter meeting. Forty-five had RSVP’d, which represents a nine-fold increase in interest over previous years. Almost 50% of the 127 New Jersey doctors who practice acupuncture would have attended except for the blizzard.
     Election results: President Robert Dennis, MD, Vice President Maria Choy-Kwong, MD, Secretary Noel Nowicki, MD and Treasurer Allison Averill, MD. The May 11 meeting was “Acupuncture Reimbursement and Compliance.” The Chapter of 25 members recently published its third newsletter and is building a website.
     NJ, Maryland and Pennsylvania Chapters are cosponsoring, “Seminar in TCM: Longevity and Medical Qigong,” with Anita Cignolini, MD, 9:30 am to 5 pm June 3 in Brynmawr, PA ($175 for members, $200 for nonmembers). For information on Dr. Cignolini’s courses, contact Sharon Kadel (503/378-1561, kadell57@open.org). The Chapter’s mission is FEAT: To provide a Forum, to Educate the public and physicians, to provide Advice and to Treat patients with the best of both worlds.

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     A clinical intensive weekend on Korean Hand Acupuncture with Roberto Jodorkovsky, MD, has been scheduled for June 24-25, 2000 at BWI Airport Marriott in Baltimore, MD, sponsored by Maricopa Integrated Health System and AAMA.
     The first day will be devoted to the first level of treatment, Correspondence Therapy, learning the body-hand, body relationships, meridians, key points and therapeutic tools. The second day will focus on learning the constitutional diagnosis, using pulse and abdominal diagnosis to balance internal organs. The Five Elements pattern will be used.
     Designed for physicians with 200 or more hours of formal training in medical acupuncture, this course offers 15 hours of category 1 CME. Lectures will join clinical demonstrations and hands-on teaching. Don’t delay in registering, as attendance is limited to 30 participants. Registration cost increases after June 2. Complete information, including a registration form, was mailed to all members. If you need another copy faxed to you, call AAMA (323/937-5514).
     Information on hotel reservations (which need to be made by June 2 to get the Academy rate) is listed in the Events/CME Database.

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