Monthly Archives: January 2013

Coming Soon….

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Each post idea I have reminds me of at least two or three related subjects that also deserve exploration.  Here is a taste of things to come —

  • Scope – does it mean what we think it means?
  • If there is a shortage of practitioners why is it so hard to have a successful business?
  • Where are the experts? (Not the experts in the medicine, we’ve got some great ones.  I mean the experts that help us understand the policy issues.)
  • What’s up with our national organizations?
  • Education — not enough or too much?
  • Being part of the system — pros and cons.
  • Regulation/Legislation/Policy — What’s the difference?
  • Sharing — a good thing or the sign of a “sucker”?
  • Unintended consequences — if only we could see them coming.
  • Why can’t we all just get along?
  • The economics of energy medicine, or, what about assistants?

That’s a start, anyway.  A few of those will take multiple posts.  Let me know if there’s anything you’re especially interested in reading about.

The Biggest Problem

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facing the profession today is….  I’m sure we could (and will in the next few months) come up with quite a list to choose from.  I bet if you asked a random sampling of acupuncturists today, a significant percentage would say it is that most insurance and medicare doesn’t cover acupuncture.  Certainly a lot of energy has been spent trying to change that, last week’s petition drive only one example.

If I had a magic wand and magically made acupuncture part of the medicare system and required that all insurance companies covered it, would it serve our profession?  I’m not so sure, and there are lots of reasons why.

One consideration is that a significant percentage of people in the U.S. do not live or work a reasonable distance from an acupuncturist.  If a program were put in place tomorrow that paid for acupuncture treatment, no questions asked, for every citizen, many, many folks would still go without.  We still have six states without licensure.  In most states with licensure there are large areas with no practitioners, and even in areas with acupuncturists there may not be enough to handle a large influx of new patients.  (This is why it made sense for the ACA to default to existing large plans in a state — the system had already begun to address delivery.)

More on this soon.  For now, ponder where people would get acupuncture if, all of a sudden, lots more people wanted it.  Are there other issues that should be a higher priority?

 

Barking up the Wrong Tree

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When a hound goes crazy at the base of a tree which does not hold the quarry, he is barking up the wrong tree.  If he’s just a pet and you’re no hunter the only harm done is annoyed neighbors.  If, however, you depend on a successful hunt to feed your family, you’ve wasted a day, exhausted yourself and your dog, taught prey to avoid the area, and your family goes hungry.

I hope you’ll join me as I explore how the “Acupuncture Profession” has done a lot of barking up the wrong tree over the past few decades.  Most of us who make a living (or try to) in the field of Acupuncture and Chinese/East Asian/Oriental Medicine have some strong feelings about what should be done to “save” the profession.  We may believe we know who and what is to blame for our current predicament.  My experience is that we are often wrong.  That much of our struggle is due to self-inflicted wounds.  And that with a little more thought and exploration we could become far more effective “hunters” than we have been.

I don’t intend for this to be about blame.  I’ve been a part of the establishment over the years, and met many dedicated, hard-working, well-intentioned people .  I’ve on the Virginia Advisory Board on Acupuncture for the past eight years.   I spent many, many, years on the board of the Acupuncture Society of Virginia, and I even did a short-lived stint on the board of the AAAOM.  This is not about “them,” it is about us — what we believe – is it correct?  What are our options, what are the consequences of our actions?  I hope we can explore the path forward informed by the past, but not wearing the past like a pair of cement shoes.