Three major factors in the surge of acupuncturists in the United States

The importance of Chinese medicine in foreign countries is getting higher and higher. At present, many foreigners have purchased traditional Chinese medicine paste recipes to produce traditional Chinese medicine health products. 70% of Western medicine doctors recommend that patients go to acupuncture and moxibustion after seeing a doctor. According to statistics, the number of acupuncturists in the United States reached 45,000 in 2009, and the number of acupuncturists in the California region reached 15,000. According to industry estimates, at this rate of development, the number of registered acupuncturists in the United States may exceed China's. People can not help asking why the development of acupuncture in the United States is so fast?

Western medicine can be acupunctured without passing the exam

Although Chinese medicine is called alternative medicine in the United States, the Western medical community in the United States attaches great importance to acupuncture. Acupuncture is not only used in the conditioning of sub-health and prevention, but also widely used in the therapeutic field. After working in the medical profession in the United States for more than 20 years, Ding Wenjing, chairman of the North American Medical Education Foundation, told the Beijing Daily reporter that “I had a classmate who qualified for an anaesthetist for Western medicine after obtaining a medical license in the United States. The hospital where he worked sent him to China to study acupuncture. anesthesia". Ding Wenjing introduced that in the United States, there were 27,000 registered acupuncturists in 2003, and there were approximately 45,000 people in 2009. Many American doctors in the United States do not need to register to do acupuncture.

According to the "American Acupuncture Legend" published by the People's Health Publishing House, there are more than 40 acupuncture methods in the United States and it is legally recognized that acupuncture is an independent therapy. For doctors who already have a Western medicine license, they are not very strict in acupuncture regulations. The typical requirement is that the 200- to 300-hour designated acupuncture training program can get the doctor's “acupuncture license” and does not need to take the unified examination.

According to industry sources, acupuncturists with acupuncture qualifications in the United States are a special force. They are in mainstream medicine and have received good modern medical education. Once they agree with the value of acupuncture, they will be applied in clinical practice. Promoting the integration of acupuncture and moxibustion into modern medicine will also play a positive role in acupuncture legislation, medical insurance payment, and scientific research.

American Acupuncture Education Time Short Course Open

“Acupuncture courses in the United States only speak very useful parts. Licensed acupuncturists can practice medicine.” Ding Wenjing said. “And the U.S. acupuncture course is also open to other majors. After studying a master's degree in computer science at a school, the U.S. acupuncture course felt that acupuncture was practical and began to learn acupuncture courses.” It is understood that non-medical professionals in China want to It is not possible to apply for a clinical specialty in a medical school.

In the United States, most states have regulations for practising acupuncturists. For example, they must be graduated from formal acupuncture schools with a three-year or more degree. After studying for more than 2000 hours, they can apply for acupuncture licenses through a unified qualification test. In China, acupuncture clinicians need 10 years to learn. Du Lin, deputy chief physician of the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion at Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that in order to become acupuncturist in a Chinese medicine hospital, he must first complete at least five years of undergraduate study in a regular medical school, have basic theoretical knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, and enter the hospital after graduation. After two years of standardized training, the above two models are faced with Chinese medicine general practitioners, not just acupuncture. After entering the acupuncture and moxibustion department of the hospital, there will be a special clinical teaching. This stage takes one or two years. The Chinese medicine practitioners who first entered the department can not independently operate acupuncture, and they need qualified Chinese medicine practitioners to guide them from the side to themselves. It takes at least six months to get started and one or two years to slow. "Overall, a Chinese acupuncturist needs at least ten years from theoretical learning to clinical entry."

U.S. Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinics Open Cost Low Consumption High

In the Chinese medicine clinics in the United States, its business includes acupuncture, massage, physical therapy and so on. The Beijing Commercial Daily reporter learned that opening a middle clinic in Beijing costs about 3 million yuan from applying for a license to opening a business, rent, and staff. It also takes several months to apply for a business license for a Chinese medicine clinic. Ding Wenjing was surprised at the figure of 3 million yuan. The cost of opening a Chinese medicine clinic in the United States is not high. Renting a house and applying for a license is a short time. A day or two can be won. “The threshold of the acupuncturists in the United States is not high. I have a classmate who studies sports medicine. After he got the acupuncture license through training, he started operating. Some Chinese medicine clinics can be covered by medical insurance.”

The practice of acupuncturists in U.S. Chinese medicine clinics is in compliance with the relevant provisions of the U.S. acupuncture law. Although the contents of the acupuncture methods vary from state to state, acupuncture and moxibustion have been guaranteed by laws and regulations and have gradually developed. In 1992, there were 5,525 persons who obtained acupuncturists' licenses in the United States, 5,640 in 1993, 6,945 in 1994, 8,694 in 1996, 10,623 in 1998, 14,228 in 2000, 27,000 in 2003, and 45,000 in 2009. It is understood that 4% of adults in the United States received acupuncture treatment in 2002, and 3.17 million received acupuncture in 2007. In 2007, patients paid 823 million US dollars for self-purchased acupuncture. The average cost for acupuncture was 47 US dollars per acupuncture. In the United States, acupuncture can treat low back and leg diseases, chronic diseases, and unknown pain. “One of my classmates opened a high-end Chinese medicine clinic in New York to do acupuncture for the local rich people, which costs a few hundred dollars at a time,” said Ding Wenjing.

It is understood that in the Beijing General Hospital, acupuncture and massage related departments, charges in accordance with the provisions of the National Development and Reform Commission, acupuncture a 4 yuan, the hospital has no pricing power charges.