Chinese Medicine in the United States
by Changzhen Gong, Ph.D.
July 2014
The national debate about healthcare is often heated, and it
brings up many conflicting opinions. My area of interest is the acceptance and
integration of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine into mainstream
medical practice in the United States.
From my perspective, the trend for medicine in America is
steadily moving toward integrative medicine. More and more, acupuncture and
traditional Chinese medicine are being recognized as an effective medical
modality, both as an adjunct to Western medicine and as stand-alone therapy for
many medical conditions.
Examples of acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment include
treating side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea, or increasing the
successful implantation rate of in vitro fertilization procedures. The World
Health Organization recognizes more than 40 health conditions for which
acupuncture and Chinese medicine are effective treatments, including headaches,
back and joint pain, sinusitis, insomnia, weight loss and addictions, and many
more. A “blended” medicine, which integrates the best of East and West, is
taking shape.
To support this statement, I will cite a few
recently-published reports that provide evidence for this significant paradigm
shift in healthcare.
The first report is “Integrative Medicine in America: How
Integrative Medicine is Being Practiced in Clinical Centers across the United
States.” Sponsored by the Minneapolis-based Bravewell Collaborative, this
report states that acupuncturists and Chinese medicine practitioners are the
most frequently employed practitioners at integrative medicine centers. In
addition, acupuncture and Chinese medicine interventions are one of the most
frequently prescribed interventions across the spectrum of health conditions.
The report concluded that integrative medicine is now an established part of
healthcare in the United States.
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