The State of California is the leading state in the USA in the field of Acupuncture, becoming the first State of the country to provide licenses to qualified practitioners in 1978. The candidates and applicants have to pass the California Acupuncture Board examination for the license. Let’s see the qualifications and requirements for the Los Angeles acupuncture license:
•    The qualifying for the acupuncture California license students are supposed to complete a degree, after 3,000h of courses and study and take a practice training of at least 805h in oriental theory and  450h of herbal medicine studies.
•    The applicant has to provide evidence of completion of one of the following:
a.    An educational and training program approved by the acupuncture board pursuant to Section 4939.
b.    The completion of a tutorial program in the practice of an acupuncturist which is approved by the board
c.    A documented educational training and clinical experience which meets the standards established pursuant to Sections 4939 and 4941, in the case the applicant has studied outside the USA.
•    The applicant has to be at least 18 years of age
•    The Applicant must pass the examination administered by the acupuncture board, testing the abilities and the level of expertise of the future practitioner of acupuncture CA.
•    The applicant must complete a clinical program as a training intern at a clinic in California bearing an acupuncture California license.
•    The applicant qualifying for the acupuncture Los Angeles license has to pay the initial license fee, as a condition for the actual issuance.
Even if you apply and obtain a California acupuncture license there are still some things to consider. First of all you should be aware that the license of the acupuncturist in the State of California expires biennially and the professional needs to renew it; if practicing with an expired license, the licensee is considered illegal. The licensee is required to renew his license on time; in general the license expires at the last day of the birthday month. The biennial renewal fee for the Los Angeles acupuncture license is approximately $350.

The requirements and application processes of other professionals are completely different from the ones required for the issuance of a NYC acupuncture license. Here are the licensing requirements in short:
In order to obtain a New York acupuncture license one must:
•    Be of a good moral character
•    Be at least 21 years old
•    Have completed the education and examination required for the license.
a.    Education requirements:
The future acupuncturist must present satisfactory evidence of university education and pre-professional classes. He must complete at least 60h and nine semester hours in bioscience.  Moreover he has to complete an approved professional acupuncture program recognized by the New York State Education Department or the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM), or something equivalent. In order to consider a program equivalent, it must consist of 4,050h of in the class courses, supervised clinical experience and out of the class practice and assignments. The program must include 200h of in class course including anatomy, pathology and physiology, 600h of bioscience courses and courses of acupuncture principles, 650h of supervised clinical practice of acupuncture techniques, sterilization and precautions and 650h of of supervised clinical acupuncture experience in general health problems to include acupuncture diagnosis.
b.    The examination requirements: in order to obtain the acupuncture NYC license,  the applicant has to complete the  the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s (NCCAOM) Acupuncture, Foundations of Oriental Medicine and Point Location Modules examinations and the Clean Needle Technique course.
•    The Applicant has to demonstrate proficiency in English in the case his country of origin is not the USA, or if English is not the principal spoken language at the country of his origin or the country where he completed his studies.
If qualified, the applicant should obtain his New York acupuncture within 2 months after his application request.

Networking with other health professionals in the same area can be a valuable tool in obtaining new patients for a practice.  If you have a specialty area or would rather work in one specific target area then network toward that goal. For example, if you specialize in treating patients who have headaches or TMJ problems, network with dentists in the area. Try to set some time aside to meet with them and explain to them how your treatment works. Many who work with western medicine or dental practices are happy to have avenues to offer patients who are not responding to traditional treatments.

Another way to network with others in your area is to think about joining local organizations such as the chamber of commerce or civic clubs who work within communities. This is an excellent way for you as a practitioner to meet others who can and will refer you patients once they find out what you can do.

Another way of networking is to educate the public on what treatments you have to offer as an acupuncturist.  Offer to give talks or demonstrations at luncheons or meetings of these organizations. This will help other professionals see how you work and what you can do for your patients. It also helps the general public to be more knowledgeable as to how alternative therapies work and how they can help them in case a need arises in the future.

One of the biggest problems that acupuncture practitioners face is keeping their appointments scheduled with patients consistently. Many health practitioners find after practicing for some time and building up a steady practice of regular patients, they still are not seeing enough new patients coming into their practice. This can lead to empty appointment times in their future. The only way to keep a practice healthy and thriving is to have an influx of both new and returning patients on the books consistently.

This leads to acupuncturists scratching their heads to find ways to entice more new patients in their doors. Something effective that is frequently overlooked is to get their existing patients to help them do this. Basic marketing courses will tell you that word of mouth advertising is one of the best ways that a business or practice can use to become successful.

So how do you get existing patients to help you get new people in the door? One successful acupuncturist sends out a nice Christmas card with two vouchers for a free exam and consultation to his existing patients each Christmas season. These are to give to friends or loved ones as a gift. He only asks that these be given to people who have not been seen by his office before and could benefit from his services. This has been a very successful marketing campaign for his practice.

Another great way of keeping your office and practice in the front of your patient’s mind is to keep up with your patient’s birthdays. Send them a nice birthday card. If the patient has not been seen in some time, offer a visit at a reduced rate as a birthday gift to them. You can include a voucher for a friend or a loved one at that time as well. Patient’s love to give away things and will tell others how great you are when they give these out as gifts. It is an excellent example of two ways you can market your acupuncture practice in an effective manner without having to pay for expensive advertising that may or may not give you the results that you are looking for.

An acupuncture practitioner is only as good as the staff that is behind him or her. If an acupuncturists have excellent staff that works in conjunction with them, that practice will thrive. However, even a good practitioner with a lazy or unproductive staff will definitely feel the pinch in the wallet when things do not go well.

So the first rule of patient retention is to have all staff members on the same page. Have regular meetings with staff and let them know what is expected of them.  Tell them what you expect from them and show them how to be proactive with patients rather than reactive.

Here is an example. Mr. Brown leaves the treatment room and has been instructed to return in two weeks. The receptionist should say to Mr. Brown, “I see you are returning in two weeks, I have Thursday at 3:00pm available.”  If the patient hedges, she should say, “I know you like the late afternoon appointments and they do book very quickly” to let him know this time might not be available later.

That is an example of how a patient should be handled. An example of how it should not be handled would be the receptionist asks Mr. Brown when he would like to come back.  This offers the patient an easy way to postpone booking the return appointment.

Another way to improve patient retention is to have your staff take down the names and phone numbers of patients who do not rebook for the next acupuncture treatment at the time they are in the office. Have them call to remind the patient that they need to come in if they have not scheduled and get them to schedule at that time. This has proven to be much more effective than sending out postcards or other correspondence.

For most patients their first contact with any practitioners’ office will be through a phone call.  It is very important to remind staff members to keep the smile in their voice when dealing with patients on the phone. This is especially true of new patients. They want to feel that they are being invited to use the services offered and have a pleasant experience while using the services in the office.

One way to make sure that this is being carried out is to call the office at random times from an undisclosed phone number. Listen to the tone and cadence of the person who answers the phone. Evaluate how they answered the phone.  Another is to ask a friend to call and pretend to be a patient looking for an appointment time or inquiring about services. Give them a few criteria to evaluate the office person’s phone etiquette. If there are problems work with staff members to improve these issues.

Next take a good look at your front office or waiting area. Is it open and inviting? Is there comfortable seating and material for patients to read while waiting to be seen? A relaxed environment will help a patient feel more comfortable and at home with the acupuncture office in general. The more comfortable a patient feels, the better the chances are they will return for further treatment in the future.

In order to have a successful practice, a acupuncturists must have a steady influx of regular and new patients coming into their practice. There are several marketing strategies that can be utilized in order to make this a reality for any practitioner. Here are some strategies that are proved to be working.

First, give new patients the personal touch. Send them a hand written thank you card for using your services. Have someone from your staff call them to inquire as to how they feel after their treatment. This makes the patients feel special in your eyes, shows that you care about their health, and want them to feel better. This goes a long way toward keeping patients on your table.

Second, in a struggling economy some patients may have issues with paying out of pocket for CAM treatments. Since most acupuncture treatments are ongoing or long term, it might be wise to offer your patients a discount on a set number of treatments or on a monthly basis for payment up-front. This is a win-win situation for you and the patient. You receive money up-front and are assured of bookings by that patient. The patient will definitely use the service if they have paid for it.

Give satisfied patients cards or coupons to give to their friends or loved ones. This with their world of mouth referral will go a long way in bringing in new patients, thus improving your patient numbers. Word of mouth advertising is still the best way to sell anything today so do not hesitate to use it as a marketing strategy. You can also ask satisfied patients to give you a testimonial to use in a newsletter or quarterly email newsletter.

American scientists have studied many factors of infertility and ways of treatment and came to interesting conclusions. Results of last researches have shown that in case of pelvis disorders it is very helpful to try fitness training and acupuncture.

It is a known fact, that approximately 10 % of women of reproductive age suffer from diseases of ovaries. Scientists connect occurrence of illnesses (such, for example, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) with unstable female mentality and mobile nervous system.

During tests scientists studied impact of acupuncture sessions combined with physical activities (at least  3 times a week) on women’s condition. After 4 months of treatment they have noticed efficiency of the procedures. The majority of women noticed that menstrual cycle has become regular , and level of a man’s hormone which influences development of illness, has decreased. Besides, the general condition of patients has improved.

Although there is no clear scientific explanation of how acupuncture infertility treatment works,  it makes women throughout the world happy moms.

The functions of all individuals are governed by the fundamental energy that is the basic underpinning of all Asian medicine. Qi, as it is known, is believed to flow through the whole body, along lines known as meridians, which connect the body’s major organs.Throughout the body there are certain points, along these meridians, which are located close to the skin’s surface. These points have been carefully mapped over the thousands of years that acupuncture has been practised: it is into a combination of these points that the acupuncturist places the needles. According to Eastern medicine, the Qi can be influenced through the stimulation of these points, re-balancing the energy so that if flows freely. According to Western medicine, when an acupuncturist stimulates these meridian points an effect occurs on the biochemical and metabolic condition of the body, enabling the brain to release endorphins.

Acupuncture is becoming so much part of mainstream medical practice that it is being widely recommended due to its proven efficacy in reduction of chronic pain through the release of endorphins which are known to be more than 200 times stronger than morphine. In fact, studies carried out by Harvard Medical School on how the stimulation of the meridian points in acupuncture affected the activity of the brain went a long way in proving this fact. In this particular study they used 13 healthy individuals between the ages of 27 and 52 years of age, and functional magnetic resonance imaging to check on the brain’s activity. The acupuncturist inserted the first needle into the Hegu point between thumb and forefinger with the result that each candidate was found to have a calming effect exerted deep in the structures of the brain – in the hippocampus, hypothalamus and amygdale. At the same time, the sensory area of the brain’s cortex was stimulated.

Acupuncture is particularly effective for conditions that produce pain such as arthritis, sciatica, fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions such as lower back pain. The list of conditions that can be treated with acupuncture is quite extensive, but apart from pain acupuncture is very effective for everything from hay fever to poor eyesight; anaemia to high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome to food allergies, morning sickness to Lupus.  Addictions such as smoking, drugs and alcohol are also successfully treated with a course of acupuncture treatment. There is, in fact, a huge range of human conditions can be treated effectively with acupuncture that, it is always as well to arrange a consultation at an acupuncture clinic if you are suffering from mental, physical or emotional problems that you would like to have treated.

When selecting an acupuncture clinic that has a Western medical doctor in its staff, ask if he is licensed. Each american licensed acupuncture doctor will have letters L.Ac. after the his name.