Welcome Our New AAMA Members
Please join us in welcoming the following new member who became part of the Academy in June 2021.
- Andrea Marx, MD of Baltimore, MD
And welcome back to the following returning member:
- Rana Rand, DO of Berkeley, CA
If you have peers or colleagues who aren’t currently members of the AAMA, please encourage them to learn more about the benefits of membership by visiting the website or contacting Janice Brown, the membership committee chair.
AAMA Legislative Committee Report
The Legislative Committee continues its work monitoring and responding to legislation relevant to our members and their practice of medical acupuncture. Of note this month:
- By collaborating with the Communications Committee, the Legislative Committee hopes to increase member awareness of important legislative activity and advocacy efforts.
- The committee is currently monitoring 48 bills that address acupuncture, chronic pain, opioids, and dry needling.
- Colorado HB1276 has been signed by the governor. This law requires health benefit plans to cover a minimum of six nonpharmacological treatments (PT, OT, chiropractic, and acupuncture) for patients with a pain diagnosis.
- Maine LD1045 has been signed by the governor. This law establishes the Maine Health Care Plan to provide universal health care coverage to all state residents. The Maine Health Care Board will include one integrative medicine provider.
The Legislative Committee will continue to watch for bills that affect AAMA members and respond to the authors and co-sponsors appropriately. We will also contact YOU when legislation in your state may affect your ability to practice acupuncture. In that event, we ask that you write your representatives and senators since they prefer to hear directly from their constituents. If you learn of relevant legislative activity, please connect with the committee by email: info@medicalacupuncture.org.
2021 Research Competition Winner
Congratulations to our colleagues who authored the research paper selected as the winner in the AAMA Annual Research Competition. We want to celebrate their efforts and recognize them as winners of the 2021 Research Paper Competition!
The first-place winner was authored by Stephanie I. Cheng, MD, DABMA, Deirdre C. Kelleher, MD, Danya DeMeo, BS, Haoyan Zhong, MPA, George Birch, BS, Michael P. Ast, MD, MPH. The paper is entitled, “Incorporating Intraoperative Acupuncture to Reduce Opioid Usage After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Prospective Cohort Trial.”
Watch the video of the paper’s presentation at the AAMA’s 2021 Annual Symposium (Virtual).
Call for Proposals/Presentations for 2022 Annual Symposium
2022 Symposium – Save the Date! Cincinnati, OH May 5-8, 2022
The symposium committee is looking to our membership to broaden the variety and array of presentations in 2022. As much as we do our best to anticipate your needs by meticulously scrutinizing surveys from past meetings, we are now reaching out for ideas to the general membership – people who may not have attended a meeting in several years! DEADLINE EXTENDED TO AUGUST 1, 2021.
- Are you an expert in a facet of Medical Acupuncture?
- Is there a topic that you’re particularly knowledgeable and passionate about?
- Are you able to describe the importance of your material and rationale for presenting at a large national meeting?
- Can you summarize your presentation in a few specific and measurable learning objectives?
- Can you present to physicians and healthcare professionals in an engaging manner so they can take home specific acupuncture skills and/or knowledge?
- Are you prepared to stand in front of a sophisticated group of physicians, managing your talk, as well as follow up questions?
We invite you to submit a proposal for next year’s meeting.
New AAMA Webinar: Perioperative Acupuncture Program
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
8pm EDT, 7pm CDT, 5pm PDT
Presenter: Stephanie Cheng, MD, DABMA
Register now.
Integrative health therapies are gaining popularity with increasing numbers of patients expecting to be offered non-pharmacologic options when seeking treatment. The Joint Commission requires hospitals to offerings nonpharmacologic pain relief options, but despite this mandate, integrative health practices are rarely routinely incorporated into perioperative care. Join Stephanie Cheng, MD, DABMA for an insightful discussion of her experience incorporating acupuncture intraoperatively as part of a multimodal analgesia regimen. During this webinar, she will speak to implementation of a perioperative acupuncture program, how to identify potential roadblocks as well as highlighting the evidence that supports its usage. Q&A to follow.
At the conclusion of this webcast physician participants will be able to:
- Identify areas to incorporate acupuncture into perioperative period.
- Recognize potential roadblocks of implementation of a perioperative program.
- Explain how perioperative acupuncture can help in decreasing opioid usages post operatively.
Time’s Running Out – Renew Your AAMA Membership Now!
The AAMA is planning big things for 2021-2022! June 30 was the official membership renewal deadline. Renew now to make sure you don’t miss anything.
The most important part of the Academy is YOU! Through your membership and participation, the Academy will continue to advance in stature and quality. Your membership supports your success as a medical acupuncturist. We thank you for your current AAMA membership and for your dedication to medical acupuncture. We ARE in this together — and together we will thrive. Please take a few minutes and renew your membership today!
Your AAMA Membership comes with valuable benefits, including:
- ACCESS TO ACUPUNCTURE CME
- SUBSCRIPTION TO MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE JOURNAL
- ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM
- MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE RESEARCH
- LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
- PATIENT REFERRAL
- SUPPORTING THE GROWTH OF MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE
SAR Virtual Symposium 2021 Summary
AAMA member, Mitchell Elkiss, DO, participated in the recent SAR 2021 Symposium and shared his notes with fellow members:
“Generally, the virtual symposium platform worked well for this international scientific symposium on acupuncture research. The quality of the presentations was excellent. I believe that we clinicians enjoy and need this type of conference to support our practices.
There was considerable discussion of Chinese herbal medicine for an acupuncture conference. The acupuncture was largely presented and performed TCM style by Lac, OMD, or MD/DOs.
I was surprised to see very few AAMA members in attendance and even fewer presenting. The AAMA symposium’s papers and posters could well have been presented at SAR. The incorporation of medical acupuncture’s lens on diagnostics and therapeutics would lead to a richer conversation.”
Download PDF of full symposium summary.
Boost Your DABMA Branding with AAMA Certification Mark
The AAMA’s medical acupuncture certification mark represents the AAMA’s commitment to promoting the highest standards of education and training in medical acupuncture. If you are a full member or Fellow of the AAMA with DABMA certification, you may request an electronic file of the certification mark and guidelines for its usage. Upon verification of your status, a jpg file will be sent to you. Email the AAMA.
AAMA Member Offers Weekend Workshop
In this two-day working, Dr. Jay Sandweiss will present diagnostic and treatment techniques that utilize manual muscle testing to determine the underlying factors responsible for somatic dysfunctions. The workshop, Applied Kinesiology: Muscle Testing Comes Alive, will be held October 16-17, 2021, in Chicago, IL. Learn more.
Scam Targeting LAcs and Other Licensed Professionals in CA
The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) recently warned about an attempted scam aimed at licensees of DCA’s boards and bureaus. In the scheme, an individual falsely identifying themselves as an employee of the Acupuncture Board contacted licensees and attempted to gather personal information. It’s possible the scammers will expand to other states. The news serves as a reminder to all of us to be vigilant in the face of unexpected contact. Here’s potentially helpful guidance from the California Medical Association.
