The American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA) held their second annual business meeting March 17-18 in Philadelphia, Penn. It was attended by 38 representatives from 25 states, as well as representatives from the ACAOM, CCAOM, and NCCAOM — to name a few.
Conference Presentations
Dan Wen of TCM Zone presented information on herbal manufacturing and safety issues, and Marilyn Allen from the American Acupuncture Council gave a talk during a lunch reception.
Meeting attendees had the opportunity to share with one another the major state initiatives occurring in their locales, granting all in attendance a broader view of the profession at large. In addition, each of the invited guest organizations were able to introduce their work, and means of collaboration among professional groups.
Work at the Forefront
Committee and outreach:
- Report and discussion on dry needling, with a presentation by Brent Foster, JD.
- Activities by and the development of the Herbal Medicine Committee.
- Updates on work with ISO, a key international initiative.
- Leadership development materials and resources from the Leadership Task Force.
- ICD 11 Code updates and risk management considerations.
- Participation and activities of the Rapid Response initiative, which is an interorganizational and international collaboration among ASA, ANF, and other groups.
- Activities in relation to the AMA CPT Code committee and participation from our industry.
- Actions and materials presentation by our Public Education Committee, who have been hard at work to keep acupuncture on the sights of those working to battle opioid addiction.
- Developments with Meridians: The Journal of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
- A presentation by Matt Bauer on ANF's important effort towards producing a full-length movie on the benefits of acupuncture. The movie is entitled, "Getting to the Point."
- Reports from ACAOM, CCAOM, and NCCAOM on their work, including issues surrounding gainful employment, educational standards, changes in the national licensure scene, and more.
Board Members
Internally, the board is delighted to have seven dedicated members, adding Zeyiad Elias officially to the board via Council vote, and adding Kallie Guimond by appointment to service. Rhode Island also joins us as the newest state association member, and the nominating committee has been hard at work developing guidelines and vetting procedures for new organizational members, new state delegates, and new board members.
Our governance committee will also be working to formalize policy development procedures to guide the ASA Council in its creation of such positions. The ASA Board will be in attendance at numerous national and international meetings, and the state association members will be creating more visibility for ASA at state events.
We also plan to continue enhancement to our web presence and operational platforms for state associations, making member management, information distribution, and resources easier, more economical, and more easily achieved.
Council Fund
Finally, we are excited to announce the development of a Council Fund, which will be an earmarked line in the budget to return funds earned back to the state investors for development and implementation of projects at the state level.
Our hope is that this fund will grow over time, and provide robust resources for the development of the profession. And we look forward to continuing to grow this organization with integrity for the benefit of the profession, and encourage each and every practitioner to join their ASA member state association. For more detailed information on this meeting and the organization, please visit us at www.asacu.org, and especially explore our "Resources/Publications" section.
Dr. David Miller is one of the only physicians in the U.S. dually board certified in Pediatrics and Traditional Chinese Medicine (including Chinese herbalism). He is one of a growing number of health professionals seeing a need in medicine for more Holistic options. For more information please visit eastwestintmed.com.