Membership in AAMA is Critical for the Future of Medical Acupuncture
— By Louis A. Kazal, Jr., MD, FAAFP
In 2009, at the end of the last lecture on the final day of the training program, Dr. Joseph Helms introduced Richard C. Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH, to the class. Dr. Niemtzow told us about his background, how he became an acupuncturist, his work with veterans, and his role as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Medical Acupuncture. He stressed the value of joining the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA) and gaining access to the journal. Dr. Niemtzow was so persuasive, I knew at that moment I would be joining and have remained a member since. Earlier this year, I was nominated to the Board of Directors was delighted to be elected at the annual meeting in March.
Why should you remain a member and help find new members?
The AAMA Is the only physician acupuncture organization the United States. If medical acupuncture is to become a standard part of conventional medical care, which it needs to be, it will require the AAMA to lead the way. For the AAMA to have influence in Washington, DC, we need a strong, thriving Academy. Unfortunately, membership has been slowly declining over the last decade. This must stop. We must not only reverse the trend but increase membership above previous levels. I hope each current member will renew membership yearly and talk with friends and colleagues who are medical acupuncturists to convince them to join our academy.
Think about our collective impact if every physician acupuncturist was a member of the Academy. Changing health care policy requires a well-organized effort supported by a strong AAMA. We know through daily clinical experience how valuable acupuncture is for our patients, but the U.S. health care system does not. And for the most part, academic health centers, and especially medical schools, do not either. This also must change and only will by working together through the AAMA.
Medical Acupuncture for All!
Inadequate insurance reimbursement is a major obstacle to achieving parity with conventional medicine. Despite the CMS decision in 2020 for Medicare to cover acupuncture to treat chronic low back pain (cLBP), reimbursement is so meager that few physicians accept Medicare, and patients have to pay on their own. The reality is that most patients who could benefit from acupuncture do not get treatment.
The lack of access to acupuncture for cLBP is bad for patients and for the “system.” Health care expenditures for low back pain combined with costs associated with disability exceed the total cost of cardiovascular disease care and cancer care combined! Conventional medicine seems content to continue to manage it with expensive procedures despite poor outcomes. Evidence-based guidelines recommend acupuncture as first-line therapy, yet the majority of academic health centers and hospitals do not offer it. I suspect that if acupuncture was reimbursed at the same rate or higher than a steroid epidural for instance, this script might flip. How do we get there?
Promotion of Evidence-Based Change in Health Policy
Promotion of evidence-based change in health policy championed by the AAMA could increase the role of medical acupuncture. Only through AAMA leadership representing a substantial membership can this happen. For medical acupuncture to have a seat at the table, we need a stronger voice representing a large membership. Decisions about our place in health care and the financial viability of it are being made without us. We need to work through the AAMA for the good of our patients to increase their options for better outcomes, improve patient satisfaction, and reduce health care costs.
Other Reasons to Remain or Become a New Member
The journal Medical Acupuncture alone is worth the membership dues, but the educational opportunities are world class and worth it too. The AAMA education committee with strong administrative support and AAMA board leadership has been responsive to member suggestions with AAMA providing a wide variety of very accessible continuing education options in different formats to meet individual needs and interests. Collegial fellowship is the icing on the cake. Many of us practice in isolation in terms of the acupuncture portion of our clinical work. Being an AAMA member offers connection to a broad community of physician acupuncturists.
In conclusion, advocacy, education, clinically useful research studies, and fellowship with colleagues all provide excellent reasons for remaining a member and recruiting new ones.
