Blog & News
Jan 30, 2012
Hi members:
Here is the latest information about the new acudetox bill going before the state legislature:
A bill allowing mental health professionals and psychiatric technicians to perform five-point auricular acudetox was introduced and ultimately defeated in the 2011 legislative session. The bill initiator, an M.D. in Pueblo, is introducing another acudetox bill in the current legislative session. The AAC has been working with the bill sponsors to insure the content is agreeable to us. This bill will allow specific mental health workers to perform the NADA procedure on patients that have been diagnosed with an addiction disorder. A key inclusion for us is that either a licensed acupuncturist or M.D must do indirect supervision. Currently 18 states have acudetox statutes in place, and if this bill passes it will be one of the most well defined statutes of its type. The bill, HB12-1141, has now been scheduled to go before the House Health and Environment Committee on February 14, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. Pasting the following link into your browser will allow you to read the text of the bill:
Click here to open bill
By working with the bill sponsors, the AAC has worked hard to protect the acupuncture scope and interests of licensed acupuncturists in Colorado, potentially add some employment opportunities for L.Ac.’s, insure patient safety, and enable more patients to receive acudetox treatments.
Linda Gibbons, L.Ac.
AAC Legislative Chair
Jan 23, 2012
Dear AAC Members,
Written comments opposition the proposed rule to force healthcare workers to take a flu shot need to be received by February 1st. It would be great if everyone could send in comments to oppose this rule. If you have questions, please contact your Colorado State Director, Cindy Loveland, at codirector@nvicadvocacy.org.
Sincerely,
Dawn Richardson, Director of Advocacy
National Vaccine Information Center
http://NVIC.org and http://NVICAdvocacy.org
Dawn@NVICAdvocacy.org
URGENT ACTION ALERT: Colorado Flu Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers
1/20/2012
The Colorado Board of Health will have the final hearing and adoption of the new rule that mandates healthcare workers get an annual flu vaccine on Feb. 15, 2012. There is NO religious or personal exemption in the current version of the rule. Time is running out and comments must be received by Feb. 1st, 2012.
ACTION NEEDED NOW:
Send written comments addressed to the Colorado Board of Health before Feb. 1st, 2012 to the attention of Jamie Thornton and plan on attending the final hearing on Feb. 15th.
Jamie Thornton, Board Program Assistant
4300 Cherry Creek Dr. South
Denver, CO 80246-1530
Jamie.thornton@state.co.us
303-692-3464
303-691-7702 – fax
The official agenda will be posted on the health dept. web site here:
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/op/bh/
MAIN POINTS TO MAKE:
1. Not allowing a declination for religious reasons is a civil rights violation, a human rights violation and eliminates a religious right that has been recognized in the state of Colorado for years. There will be legal challenges to this rule that will be costly for the State of Colorado.
EEOC rules state religious exemptions must be allowed. This rule violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Code and the ADA:
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/pandemic_flu.html#36 see pint #13 in this EEOC Document.
Tell the board the rule must include an exemption or declination for religious reasons. The state cannot define religion and they cannot discriminate based on religion., so the religious exemption cannot be tied to any particular religion.
2. This rule needs to go through the legislative process, not the rule-making process being used by the Board of Health. The true stakeholders were not engaged in the drafting process. No one was allowed to comment at public meetings where this issue was discussed.
An opposing view or comments were not allowed after the very biased presentation at the board meeting on Jan. 18th. The regulatory analysis that was done, is inadequate and there has been no true cost/benefit analysis done.
http://www.nvic.org/PDFs/NVAC/NVPO-Flu-Vaccine-Public-Comment-docx.aspx
- read the NVIC comments concerning this issue being discussed at the national level. This is an excellent, well referenced source of information. This information applies, not only at the national level, but at the state level.
Tell the board to vote NO on this rule and send it to the legislature,
The legislature is the appropriate place for this matter to be considered. Elected officials who are accountable to the people are the ones who should be considering a rule that will effect so many people in Colorado, not appointed board members.
Mark your calendar for Feb. 15th and plan to attend the board meeting for the final hearing of this rule. The board will allow public comments, however they may limit the time depending on how many people want to comment. They may allow 5 minutes a person, or less than that.
Contact your local news station and local newspaper and ask them to cover this story.
Details of the meeting can be found here:
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/op/bh/hearingnotices/6CCR1011-1ChIIPart10Influenza/Notice.pdf
The revised rule can be found here:
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/op/bh/hearingnotices/6CCR1011-1ChIIPart10Influenza/ProposedAmendments.pdf
The Statement of Basis and Purpose, why they are doing this, can be found here:
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/op/bh/hearingnotices/6CCR1011-1ChIIPart10Influenza/StatementOfBasisAndPurpose.pdf
The so-called regulatory analysis, including the cost of this rule, can be found here:
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/op/bh/hearingnotices/6CCR1011-1ChIIPart10Influenza/RegulatoryAnalysis.pdf
Jan 23, 2012
Letter from AAAOM – Action Alert!
Essential Health Benefits: In 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, a health insurance reform law intended to ensure access to quality and affordable health insurance for all Americans. Starting in 2014, most health plans will be required to offer a comprehensive package of items and services to patients, known as “essential health benefits” (EHB). Under the new law, EHB must cover certain specific services including emergency services, maternity and newborn care, prescription drugs as well as preventive and wellness services, among others.
The AAAOM strongly supports designating acupuncture as an EHB. Our full position statement is available in the Governance section of our website at aaaomonline.org. If you are able to contribute financial support to this effort, which will be solely used to further publicize and generate action on this issue, please click here or contact us. To participate in committee work or related research projects, please contact us at info@aaaomonline.org.
Public Input is Needed: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is currently accepting input regarding their approach to establishing EHBs. A strong public show of support for acupuncture as an essential health benefit will be noticed by policymakers and will lay a solid foundation for future federal acupuncture initiatives.
Take action now: Ask your patients to send an email to the address below to show their support for EHB. Also, send your own email as a patient showing your support. Emails should request that acupuncture be designated as an essential benefit service and should share the benefits of acupuncture and its cost effectiveness. A sample letter is included on our website.
To send a message to HHS, visit aaaomonline.org/ehb or send an email directly to: EssentialHealthBenefits@cms.hhs.gov and carbon copy EHB@aaaomonline.org so that we can track the letters sent. The deadline for comments is January 31, 2012.
Thank you for your support of our efforts to serve our profession. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please contact AAAOM at 1-866-455-7999, extension 3, or info@aaaomonline.org.
Warmly,
Jeannie Kang, MSTOM, LAc, DNBAO, DNBIM
President, AAAOM Board of Directors
Nov 29, 2011
Dear Acupuncture Association of Colorado:
For over thirty years the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) has served as our national AOM professional association, representing licensed acupuncturists and AOM health care providers throughout the U.S. and abroad. Over the past five years, the AAAOM has been monitoring and constantly engaging the ever-changing terrain of health care delivery in this country as well as working to finetune our goals and member services.
The AAAOM’s leadership is composed entirely of volunteers. As volunteers, we ask acupuncturists like you to step up and help the profession that we all love and respect. We are pleased to announce that the AAAOM Board of Directors 2012 Elections are now underway. The 2012 elections will be conducted exclusively online. For complete details about the election, go to www.aaaomonline.org/elections.
Please encourage colleagues you feel would make a significant contribution to the well-being of our profession to run for the AAAOM Board of Directors. Nominations are now open and will close on January 23, 2012. To submit your nomination application, please complete the online submission form at www.aaaomonline.org/nominations. Nominations that are (USPS) mailed to AAAOM will not be accepted.
You will need to log in to your membership account at www.aaaomonline.org to verify your membership status to determine your eligibility for nomination or to vote. Should you have questions or problems with the online nomination form, please contact the AAAOM office at 866-455-7999. Press extension 1 if you require assistance with logging into your AAAOM membership account. Press extension 3 if you require assistance with the nomination form or the election process. You may also email us with any questions at elections@aaaomonline.org.
Thank you,
The AAAOM Election Committee
(Jessica Gregory, Claudette Baker, Deborah Lincoln, and Joshua Saul)
Nov 28, 2011
Howdy all!
The AAAOM is working to get acupuncture accepted on the national level. Here’s what they have to say:
AAAOM is working to designate acupuncture as an Essential Health Benefit (EHB) under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Such designation as an EHB will serve as a catalyst to increase opportunities for all practitioners in mainstream medicine across the nation. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued a Consensus Report concerning this to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS will make a determination about the inclusion of acupuncture in EHB by May, 2012. Right now, the AAAOM is organizing a letter support national campaign to let our voices be heard.
The AAAOM needs the active nationwide support of as many practitioners, state organizations, students, schools, and patients as possible. As the health care landscape dramatically changes, the federal recognition and inclusion of acupuncture as an Essential Heath Benefit will serve as a critical first step for increasing patient numbers and therefore employment opportunities for acupuncturists nationwide.
The hope is that acupuncture, and eventually all aspects of Oriental medicine, will be included in national discussions about health care, with possible inclusion into programs such as Tricare. I encourage you to regularly check AAAOM’s website (https://aaaomonline.org) for information about this endeavor and visit our Rally Congress site (http://aaaom.rallycongress.com) to join and participate in our support letter campaign now.
Once you fill out the information for the letter, there are options to help your patients get involved as well!
yer (it’s not the needle, it’s the paradigm!) pal,
greg
Nov 14, 2011
Hi AAC Members:
As you are all aware, “dry needling” has become commonplace in Colorado as more physical therapists and chiropractors are getting trained to perform this procedure on their patients. Dry needling is defined as the insertion of filiform needles in myofascial trigger points. The training requirements are 46 hours of face-to-face training and 2 years of prior experience as a physical therapist or chiropractor. The practitioner must also provide a written disclosure of the number of hours of training they have had in dry needling prior to treating the patient.
We contend that dry needling is an acupuncture procedure and as such should require much more training in order to insure patient safety. In addition, we have been hearing of instances where physcial therapists perform dry needling on patients that do not have acupuncture insurance and then get reimbursment. However, an acupuncturist performing the exact same procedure would not be eligible for reimbursement. Even though dry needling is by law not described as acupuncture, some patients have chosen to go to a physical therapist instead of an acupuncturist for “dry needling” because their insurance will pay for it. Also, some patients have reported that dry needling has been extremely painful.
Below is the link to a questionnaire that we ask you to present to your patients that have had experience with dry needling. As the questionnaire states, we are not trying to get individuals in trouble. We are trying to collect written documentation that we can use in the near future to help strengthen our position as licensed acupuncturists against the scope creep we are seeing with dry needling. Please have your patients mail, fax or email the questionnaire to the AAC office prior to December 15, 2011. Thanks for your help.
__________________________
Aug 4, 2011
Check out the Classified Ads for new listings! Employment opportunities and office space available!! Click on the tab “Acupuncturist Area” and see the Classified Ads link in the left-hand column.
Jul 13, 2011
Have you seen AAC’s Classifieds? Looking for work? Need office space? Go to:
http://acucol.com/acupuncturists-area/employment-opportunities/
Mar 15, 2011
Just got word from Linda Gibbons, the legislative chair that HB 1119 for acu detox was voted down on a third and final vote in the House. This vote is recorded and should be available for confirmation http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2011A/csl.nsf/BillFoldersHouse?openFrameset Select the range of the bill — 1119, and view under history.
Mar 3, 2011
Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine*
Position Paper on Dry Needling
It is the position of the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine (CCAOM) that dry needling is an acupuncture technique.
Rationale
A recent trend in the expansion in the scopes of practice of western trained
health professionals to include “dry needling” has resulted in redefining
acupuncture and re-framing acupuncture techniques in western biomedical
language. Advancement and integration of medical technique across professions
is a recognized progression. However, the aspirations of one profession should
not be used to redefine another established profession.
In addition proponents of “dry needling” by non-acupuncture professionals are
attempting to expand trigger point dry needling to any systemic treatment using
acupuncture needles and whole body treatment that includes dry needling by
using western anatomical nomenclature to describe these techniques. It is the
position of the CCAOM that these treatment techniques are the de facto practice
of acupuncture, not just the adoption of a technique of treatment.
Terminology
The invasive procedure of dry needling has been used synonymously with the
following terms:
- Trigger Point Dry Needling
- Manual Trigger Point Therapy, when using dry needling
- Intramuscular Dry Needling
- Intramuscular Manual Therapy, when using dry needling
- Intramuscular Stimulation, when using dry needling
History
The system of medicine derived from China has a centuries-long continuous
distinct practice with an extensive literature over 2000 years old. After President
Nixon’s visit to China in the early 1970s, public interest in and demand for
acupuncture resulted in the establishment of first-professional degrees in
acupuncture in the United States. Today over 50 accredited1 first-professional
colleges teach a diversity of styles of health care utilizing acupuncture, Chinese
herbology, manual techniques such as tuina (Chinese therapeutic massage),
nutrition, and exercise/breathing therapy. Individuals who attain this degree
undergo a rigorous training program at a minimum standard of three academic
years that contains 450 hours in biomedical science (biology, anatomy,
physiology, western pathology, and pharmacology), 90 hours in patient
counseling and practice management, and 1365 hours in acupuncture. Of the
1365 hours in acupuncture, 660 hours must be clinical hours.
Acupuncture is a system of medicine that utilizes needles to achieve therapeutic
effect. The language used to describe and understand this effect is not limited
and is articulated in both traditional and modern scientific terms. The National
Institutes of Health has recognized the efficacy of acupuncture in its consensus
statement of 19972 and continued funding of research. It is clear that other
professions such as physical therapy and others also recognize the efficacy of
acupuncture and its various representations such as dry needling due to the fact
that they are attempting to use acupuncture and rename it as a physical therapy
technique.
Dry needling is an acupuncture technique
As a system of treatment for pain, acupuncture relies on a category of points
derived from the Chinese language as “ashi” (阿是) points. “Ashi” point theory
describes the same physiological phenomenon identified as “trigger points,” a
phrase coined by Dr Janet Travell3 and dates to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
While Dr. Travell coined the phrase “trigger point”, the physiological phenomenon
has been long known to acupuncturists. Dr. Travell herself had contact with
acupuncturists and chiropractors interested in acupuncture in the Los Angeles
area in the 1980s. Dr. Mark Seem, author of A New American Acupuncture4,
discussed the similarity of their techniques in the 1990s.5
Modern contributors from the field of acupuncture in the specialization of dry
needling techniques are:
Dr. Mark Seem, Ph. D., L. Ac., published the textbook A New American
Acupuncture covering the topic of dry needling in 1993. His books have been
published for over two decades.
Matt Callison, L. Ac., is the founder of the Sports Medicine Acupuncture®
certification program and the author of Motor Points Index. The continuing
education certification program is available to licensed acupuncturists through a
private seminar company and through postgraduate studies at the New England
School of Acupuncture.
Whitfield Reaves, L. Ac. is the author of The Acupuncture Handbook of Sports
Injuries and Pain: A Four Step Approach to Treatment. He also offers a
postgraduate continuing education program in Sports Acupuncture only for
licensed acupuncturists.
From the above sources it is apparent that acupuncture has an established
history of using treatment utilizing what are now labeled trigger points.
Documented practice of “dry needling” by acupuncturists
The National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine (NCCAOM), the certifying board for acupuncture, completed a job task
analysis in 2003 and again in 2008. The analysis documented the prevalence of
actual use of dry needling techniques, i.e. the treatment of trigger points or motor
points with acupuncture needles, by practicing acupuncturists. In 2003, 82% of
acupuncturists surveyed used needling of trigger points in patients that presented
with pain. Of the patients that present for acupuncture treatment, it is estimated
that 56% present with trigger point pain. The others present for non-pain
conditions such as non-trigger point pain, digestives disorders, infertility and
many other conditions. The other 18% of acupuncturists used acupuncture
needling techniques in non-trigger point locations. These findings document that
acupuncturists are well trained to use and have consistent historical usage of
trigger and motor point “dry needling” treatment. Dry needling represents a
substantial daily practice among American acupuncturists.
History of “dry needling” in North America
Dr. Chan Gunn, M.D., is the founder of dry needling in Canada. He wrote in
1976, “As a first step toward acceptance of acupuncture by the medical
profession, it is suggested that a new system of acupuncture locus nomenclature
be introduced, relating them to known neural structures.”6 One may reasonably
infer from this statement that Dr, Gunn believed that in order for acupuncture to
be accepted in Western medicine, the technique would need to be redefined.
Using a different name for the same technique does not rise to the level of
creating a new technique. Dr. Chan Gunn’s dry needling seminars are only four
days in length.
Jan Dommerholt has published extensively on the technique and teaches dry
needling to both western trained health professionals and licensed
acupuncturists, but his teaching has been focused on the profession of Physical
Therapy (PT). He argues that dry needling is a new emerging western technique
described in western scientific terms. He is also attempting to redefine
acupuncture based solely on eastern esoteric concepts.
A current author and provider of dry needling courses, Yun-tao Ma, Ph.D.,
extends dry needling beyond trigger points to include acupuncture points. He
describes the points according to the neuroanatomical location and effects and
calls them “Acu reflex” points. It is this adaptation and renaming of acupuncture
to provide total body treatment that poses the greatest risk to the public, as it
circumvents established standards for identical practice, i.e., acupuncture,
without the rigorous training of acupuncture and the licensing of such.
It is the position of the CCAOM that any intervention utilizing dry needling
beyond trigger point dry needling is the practice of acupuncture,
regardless of the language utilized in describing the technique.
State Board of Medicine complaints against acupuncturists for dry
needling
In 2009, a physical therapist submitted a complaint to the Maryland Board of
Acupuncture concerning the use of the term dry needling in chart notes by an
acupuncturist. The Maryland Board of Acupuncture correctly dismissed the
complaint because the procedure was done by a licensed acupuncturist trained
in the use of dry needling, i.e., acupuncture.
In filing the complaint, the physical therapist was not asserting that the
acupuncturist caused any harm or potential of harm to the patient. Rather, the
physical therapist asserted that the acupuncturist used proprietary language that
was unique to physical therapy, when in fact the acupuncturist was using
language that was common across professions. The Little Hoover Commission,
in its 2004 report to the California legislature concluded, “interactions with other
health care providers, including collaboration and referrals, as well as with many
members of the public, benefit from the use of common, Western-based
diagnostic terminology”7
Summary Position of the CCAOM on Dry Needling
It is the position of the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine (CCAOM) that dry needling is an acupuncture technique.
It is the position of the CCAOM that any intervention utilizing dry needling
beyond trigger point dry needling is the practice of acupuncture,
regardless of the language utilized in describing the technique.
* Contact Person: Valerie Hobbs, MSOM, LAc (VHobbs@acupuncturecollege.edu).
1 The Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) is recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education to accredit colleges of acupuncture and Oriental medicine and authorizes such
colleges to confer Master’s level first-professional degrees.
2 http://consensus.nih.gov/1997/1997Acupuncture107html.htm.
3 Travel, Janet G., and David G. Simons. Myofascial pain dysfunction: the trigger point manual. Lippincott
Willimas & Wilkins, 1983, Print.
4 Seem, Mark. A new American acupuncture: acupuncture osteopathy, the myofascial release of the
bodymind. Blue Poppy Press, 1993. Print.
5 Private communication of October, 2007 with Whitfield Reaves, L. Ac., who attended study groups with Dr.
Travell in the 1980s, and in a letter from Dr. Mark Seem to Jan Dommerholt November 11, 2007. Seem
relates his invitation and demonstration of acupuncture “dry needling” techniques to Dr. Travell in New York
City in the 1990s.
6 Gunn, CC, Ditchburn FG, King MH, Renwick GJ, Acupuncture loci: a proposal for their classification according to their
relationship to known neural structures, Am J Chin Med, 1976 Summer; 4(2): 183-95.
7 Milton Marks “Little Hoover” commission on California State Government Organization and Economy by the UCSF
Center for the Health Professions, Acupuncture in California: Study of Scope of Practice, May 2004, pg. 13.
Feb 10, 2011
Dear Colorado Acupuncturists:
I have been a member of the Acupuncture Association of Colorado for 2 years now. I am officially the Public Relations Chair. I want to thank you all for your comments regarding your frustrations around the continued legislation that allows other professions to practice acupuncture. Specifically, the bill right now – House bill 1119. We hear you and are working on explaining what is happening and what we have been doing regarding this bill. We would like your feedback, whether you are a member or a non-member of the AAC. You may contact Noel Love, L.Ac., Public Relations Committee Co-Chair at noellove@gmail.com with your comments and feedback.
In the spirit of gathering information, Do you want to fight this bill or are you in support of it?
Feb 7, 2011
Dear AAC members:
I am very pleased to inform you that we have found a sponsor for our Insurance Parity bill. The sponsor is Legislator Su Ryden from Aurora. The bill will be sent to committee sometime in February before hopefully going on to the Legislature for a vote.
To summarize, the Insurance Parity bill will amend a Colorado Statute regarding insurance reimbursement for acupuncture. Currently insurance companies that include acupuncture as a patient benefit are not required to include licensed acupuncturists (L.Ac.’s) as qualified medical providers of this service. Therefore, practitioners with far less training in acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, such as M.D.’s and chiropractors, may be reimbursed while we are not. The passage of this bill will rectify this disparity and also insure we are paid the same as other practitioners for acupuncture services.
This bill will only impact Colorado insurance law, therefore Federal government insurance programs will not be affected.
You may be asking yourself, “What’s the big deal? I don’t accept insurance so this won’t benefit my practice at all.” Actually, the passage of this bill will benefit all L.Ac.’s in Colorado by promoting our profession as an important and viable option for quality medical services for everyone.
HERE’S WHERE WE NEED YOUR HELP
We need you to get your patients to send letters to the legislature urging this bill to be passed. If your patients have been denied reimbursement for acupuncture services done by an L.Ac. but are covered if done by another type of practitioner it would be helpful if they can be as specific as possible. Even if they have not experienced any disparity, they can still send a letter voicing their support for the bill.
Also, as acupuncturists we can write letters in support of this bill.
It is important to start composing and collecting these letters now so we will have them ready to send once we know which committee will consider the bill. Below are a couple of examples of letters that could be adapted for use.
Once we know where to send the letters we will send another email. In the meantime, if you have any questions please give me a call or email.
Patient Sample Letter 1
(Date)
Dear (Legislator):
I am writing in support of the bill for Insurance Parity for Acupuncturists. I receive
acupuncture regularly from a licensed acupuncturist and get wonderful results for pain
and stress relief.
My insurance plan includes acupuncture as a covered benefit but only when performed
by a (MD/Chiropractor/other). It does not cover acupuncture when performed by a
licensed acupuncturist.
Please give your vote in support of this bill. Thank you.
Sincerely,
(Name)
Patient Sample Letter 2
Dear (Lawmaker):
I receive acupuncture on a regular basis for pain. I honestly don’t know what I would do
without acupuncture since it has really lessened my pain and I don’t have to take as much
medication.
I am writing today because I have always had to pay out of pocket for acupuncture. What
makes me mad is that my insurance company covers acupuncture if a doctor or
chiropractor does it, but not if it is done by a licensed acupuncturist. This does not make
any sense to me since licensed acupuncturists have more training and experience than a
doctor or chiropractor does. I could go to someone who is covered for acupuncture, but I
don’t know if I would get the same results. I pay my premiums and I feel I am entitled to
receive the best possible care.
I hope to see a change in the law that makes reimbursement equal for licensed
acupuncturists as well as for other health care workers who also provide acupuncture.
Sincerely,
(Name)
***
Sincerely,
Linda Gibbons
AAC Legislative Committee Chair
(720) 530-8218
LegislativeComm@acucol.com
