Media Scan: NESA/Tufts Partnership, Weil/Tucson IM Center, AMA vs NDs, Ullman Book, Perlman/massage
Written by John Weeks
Media Scan: NESA/Tufts Partnership, Weil and City of Tucson IM Center, AMA vs Illinois NDs in Illinois, Perlman/Massage Study in NYT, elsewhere, plus
Summary: Boston Globe: The New England School of Acupuncture and the med school at Tufts are in a unique inter-institutional program on pain management ... Arizona Daily Star: The City of Tucson is meeting with Andrew Weil, MD around the possibility of energizing an inner city development with an integrative center ... Chicago Tribune: The MD battle against licensing naturopathic physicians grows in the AMA's home state as NDs push for licensing ... Press Release, Ontario: The government announce a plan to modernize regulation of naturopathic medicine through a college which will also ovresee homeopathy .. New York Times: Results of massage study led by Adam Perlman, MD, MPH creates media buzz ...
NESA and Tufts in Partnership for Pain Education
Richard Glickman-Simon, MD, go-between for NESA and Tufts
The Boston Globe ran a fascinating story on December 26, 2006 on an inter-institutional relationship between the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) and the Tufts University Medical School. According to the article, "the two schools -- a few miles apart in distance, worlds
apart in philosophy-- linked up this year for a pioneering program in pain
management." The account quotes Richard Glickman-Simon, MD, credited with creating the joint program, saying that "upon
graduation the students will become experts on
both the Eastern and Western perspectives." Glickman-Simon chairs the
Western biomedicine department at NESA. NESA has a long history of
collaborative relationships with Tufts, Harvard and various health systems. Many
were forged originally under NESA's visionary past-president Dan Seitz, JD and built upon since. The article notes that the Tufts program
would not have been possible 5-10 years ago, but that now NESA has
relationships with many leading hospitals in the Boston area. Like the recent Integrator article on acupuncture integration at Good Samaritan Hospital, this pioneering work is based on an inter-institutional relationship developed over time. (Thanks
to Janet Kahn, PhD, for bringing this story to my attention.)
City of Tucson Broaches IM Center Project with Weil
Andrew Weil, MD, approached by the City of Tucson
Colleague Matt Russell sent a news report from the Arizona Daily Star which describes how Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup and various members of the city council have met with Andrew Weil, MD,
about a possible plan to try to invigorate a "lagging Rio Nuevo Downtown development" by building an integrative center. Weil
expresses enthusiasm, linking the proposal with the city history as a dry climate health haven for individuals with asthma and other
concerns. The project would require government assistance, according to
Weil. His business advisor Richard Baxter states that the
discussions were originated by Mayor Walkup, who sought to build on Weil's name. A
word of consideration regarding the project, which is still in informal
discussion phase: Using an integrative clinic to energize an economic development
may be a tough road to walk up, Walkup.
NDs Push for Licensing Under the Nose of the AMA
The Chicago Tribune ran a December 26 story
on 2007 licensing efforts planned by naturopathic doctors in Illinois. The battle is interesting as Illinois is the home state of the American Medical Association which has a national plan to stop NDs from being licensed to practice medicine. The plan was revealed in an AMA resolution last June and is part of the AMA's repressive Scope of Practice Partnership.
AMA officials were probably not pleased to meet the happy naturopathic
patient whose story began the article. Peter Eupierre, MD, the president of the Illinois State Medical Society
blasted the naturopathic profession for "allowing those who are not
medically trained to practice medicine." The writer captured a standard in the proposed bill
that licenses would only be granted to
graduates of educational programs accredited by the profession's
federally-recognized accrediting agency. Yet Eupierre dismisses the
profession's standards and accreditation as "questionable."
Lise Aschuler, ND: CTCA physician heads up ND licensing effort in Illinois
The
president of the Illinois Association of Naturopathic Physicians, Lise Alschuler, ND, is on the staff of the Midwest Regional Medical Center, the founding site for Cancer Treatment Centers of America
which has an ND as its vice president for integrative medicine. A
similar bill did not make it out of committee in 2006. (Thanks to Lou
Sportelli, DC, for bringing this article to my attention.)
In other naturopathic legislative news, the Integrator has learned from Mary Ellen Kelly, ND,
that the government of Ontario has moved to modernize the regulation of
naturopathy in that province. The profession is currently regulated
under an "antiquated and ineffective Drugless Practitioners Act"
according to a statement from the Canadian College of Naturopathic
Medicine. The government's plan is to regulate naturopathy and
homeopathy under one new "college" which it has recommended establishing. Perlman's Study on Massage for Arthritis of the Knee Widely Picked Up
Adam Perlman, MD, MPH - study gives massage visibility
Massage for arthritis of the knee got a major visibility boost last month through publication of research led by Adam Perlman, MD of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).The study, which found lasting relief for arthritis sufferers following a course of Swedish massage, was picked up by the New York Times and numerous other publications. Perlman is theHunterdon Endowed Professor of Complementary and
Alternative Medicine at the Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at UMDNJ.
Does This Describe General Practitioners in Your Neighborhood?
Is this true in your experience? General practitioners are increasingly both practicing, and referring for, various complementary therapies, according to a recent study lead by research Louise Poynton.
The survey of 300 general practitioners found that 95% refer for some
complementary medicine, and 20% practice some form. Acupuncture topped
the list of modalities practiced, while referral was most often to
chiropractors. Do these percentages sound high? Probably for the United States. The report was from New Zealand television and based on research in that country. Interestingly, the authors concluded that the actual practice of
complementary therapies by GPs has gone down in the last 15 years. Referral, interestingly, is up.
The Chicago Tribune ran a 
