When: Sunday January 18th 9am-1pm
Where: New York College of TCM 155 First Street, Mineola, NY 11501
Fee: Students $65, Professionals $75
CEU Info: 4 PDA’s awarded that fulfill the NCCAOM requirement for Ethics and Safety

Course Description:

This course delivers a detailed overview of AOM professional ethics, liability and risk by examining real cases. In the sensitive field of health care, a misconduct complaint or lawsuit is not always a result of a practitioner’s bad behavior or judgment. Experienced and careful practitioners routinely find themselves facing the prospect of damaging professional disciplinary actions or litigation because they failed to utilize effective risk management strategies. This course will provide practitioners with effective risk management strategies.

Topics covered will include:

-Overview and emerging trends of risk for alternative health care providers
-Avoiding common ethical pitfalls for well-intentioned practitioners
-The correlation between NCCAOM and state misconduct complaints
-The relationship between litigation and ethical complaints
-In-depth analysis of real cases

Presenter:

Michael Taromina, Esq. has an extensive background representing and educating Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine practitioners, institutions, organizations and students. As the Chair of NCCAOMs Professional Ethics & Disciplinary Committee he co-drafted the Code of Ethics and Grounds for Discipline and oversees the adjudication of misconduct cases from all over the country. As legal counsel to New York State Acupuncture Coalition (NYSAC) he has served an integral role in the drafting and lobbying effort to amend the New York State Acupuncture statute. He is also a Public Board Member (Alternate) of AAAOM and legal advisor to AAAOMs Herbal Medicine Committee, NCCAOMs Regulatory Affairs Task Force, TCM World Foundation, Acupuncture Society of New York (ASNY) and Chinese Medical Science Foundation (CMSF). As a faculty member, Michael has designed and taught courses in health law, biomedical ethics, liability and practice management at Touro Colleges Graduate Program for Oriental Medicine, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, Tri-State College of Acupuncture, New York College of Health Professions, Eastern School of Acupuncture & Traditional Medicine, Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences and Mercy College.

Contact: James Shinol at Thinkacupuncture@aol.com or (516)509-5444

Our event on May 7th begins at 9am
Orientation

The New York State Assembly chambers are located in the Capitol Building. Most Assembly offices are in the Capitol, Legislative Office Building and Agency Building 4. These buildings are all part of the Empire State Plaza complex in downtown Albany, New York.

The Empire State Plaza also houses many State agencies and commissions, as well as the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, New York State Museum and Empire Center at the Egg.

Our event is in the “Well.” This is on the first floor of the Legislative Office Building. When you get there, as for directions. This room is a major landmark.

Driving Directions

From the North: Take Interstate 87 (Northway) to Interstate 90 (East) exit, proceed east to Interstate 787 and take Empire Plaza exit.

From the South: Take New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) to Exit 23 – straight through Toll Booth to Interstate 787, then take Empire Plaza exit.

From the East: Take Interstate 90 and cross Hudson River. Take exit to Interstate 787 South, along river. Take Empire Plaza exit.

From the West: Take the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) to Exit 24 (Albany), proceed east on Interstate 90 to Interstate 787 South, along river. Take Empire Plaza Exit.

Visitor Parking

The following map highlights some of the visitor parking areas in and around the Empire State Plaza.

And here is a link to their website, http://www.cs.state.ny.us/home /findus.cfm

Michael A. Taromina, Esq.

All Proceeds go to Benefit New York Acupuncture Coalition

When: Sunday, July 13th, 9am-1pm

Fee: $45 for Eastern Alumni, $55 for all others

Call 973-746-8717 to reserve your seat.

Below is the description of the class. But before that here is what Michael has to say about the Coalition and our work.

Over the past two years, the dedicated volunteers of NYSAC have mobilized and energized the AOM profession in the State of New York. Their efforts have resulted in unprecedented political support for NYSAC’s legislative initiative–NYS Assembly Bill-A10143/Senate Bill-S. 7333. However, there is much more costly work to be done before we can claim an historic legislative victory for the AOM profession in one of the most important and influential health care states in the nation. Accordingly, I am asking you to secure and advance the present and future domain of your medicine by contributing to NYSAC’s efforts through attending this NCCAOM Ethics CEU class. My time and every penny received will be donated directly to NYSAC so please join me.

Course Description:

This course delivers a detailed overview of AOM professional ethics, liability and risk by examining real cases. In the sensitive field of health care, a misconduct complaint or lawsuit is not always a result of a practitioner’s bad behavior or judgment. Experienced and careful practitioners routinely find themselves facing the prospect of damaging professional disciplinary actions or litigation because they failed to utilize effective risk management strategies. This course will provide practitioners with effective risk management strategies.

Topics covered will include:

-Overview and emerging trends of risk for alternative health care providers

-Avoiding common ethical pitfalls for well-intentioned practitioners

-The correlation between NCCAOM and state misconduct complaints

-The relationship between litigation and ethical complaints

-In-depth analysis of real cases

Presenter: Michael Taromina, Esq. has an extensive background representing and educating Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine practitioners, institutions, organizations and students. As the Chair of NCCAOMs Professional Ethics & Disciplinary Committee he co-drafted the Code of Ethics and Grounds for Discipline and oversees the adjudication of misconduct cases from all over the country. As legal counsel to New York State Acupuncture Coalition (NYSAC) he has served an integral role in the drafting and lobbying effort to amend the New York State Acupuncture statute. He is also a Public Board Member (Alternate) of AAAOM and legal advisor to AAAOMs Herbal Medicine Committee, NCCAOMs Regulatory Affairs Task Force, TCM World Foundation, Acupuncture Society of New York (ASNY) and Chinese Medical Science Foundation (CMSF). As a faculty member, Michael has designed and taught courses in health law, biomedical ethics, liability and practice management at Touro Colleges Graduate Program for Oriental Medicine, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, Tri-State College of Acupuncture, New York College of Health Professions, Eastern School of Acupuncture & Traditional Medicine, Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences and Mercy College.

On-Line article here.
PDF Link here.

December 9th, 2007, 4-5PM at PCOM

If you missed the last one- make sure you come to his one!

December 13, 2007 @ Pacific College Of Oriental Medicine in Manhattan, 915 Broadway, 6-10:30pm

NYSAC Ethics and Liability in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine – CEU Fundraiser presented by Michael Taromina, Esq. (4 CEU Credits/PDA Points) NCCAOM Provider #: ACHB 631-001

100 % of PROCEEDS GO TO THE NYSAC LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE
Licensed Acupuncturist: $75
Students with school ID: $25

To Register: Email your name, address, phone number to nysacupuncture@gmail.com.

Payments are accepted via paypal on our website or you can register through PCOM and check can be sent to:

Michelle Helfner
ATTN: NYSAC
140 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10022

For additional information contact Michelle Helfner 917-992-6391.

ATCMS is pleased to announce an exciting seminar on Dec. 9, 2007, entitled “How to Diagnose and Treat Neck, Shoulder, Elbow and Wrist Diseases” and “Introduction to Diagnostic Radiology/Medical Imaging Techniques”.

How to Diagnose and Treat Neck, Shoulder,
Elbow and Wrist diseases – the role of TCM
by Jun Xu, M.D., L.Ac.

Introduction to Diagnostic Radiology/Medical Imaging Techniques
by Xiaojiang Hu, M.D.

Date and Time: 12pm to 5pm on Sunday December 9, 2007

NCCAOM CEU: 5
Fees: $60

Location:
Sheraton LaGuardian East Hotel
135-20 39th Ave. 2nd floor (Phoenix Terrace)
Flushing, NY 11354

Due to limited seats, pre-registration is required. Please send your contact information to “education@atcms.org” if you decide to attend the seminar.

Sunday October 14, 2007 @ 3:00 PM

Pacific College of Oriental Medicine 915 Broadway & 21st Street, 2nd Floor New York NY 212.982.3456

These meetings are an opportunity to gain information, show support for the profession & find out ways to get involved.

OUR THANKS TO…

A special thanks to Michael Taromina, all of the attendees and the folks at PCOM for making our fundraiser class Ethics and Liability in AOM a great success. We had a full house and look forward to more running more successful fundraising classes.

Keep checking the web page for details of new events.

October 1, 2007 @ Pacific College Of Oriental Medicine in Manhattan, 915 Broadway, 6-10:30pm

NYSAC Ethics and Liability in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine – CEU Fundraiser presented by Michael Taromina, Esq. (4 CEU Credits/PDA Points) NCCAOM Provider #: ACHB 631-001

100 % of PROCEEDS GO TO THE NYSAC LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE
Licensed Acupuncturist: $75
Students with school ID: $25

To register click to open this Registration, fill it out and send it to:

New York State Acupuncture Coalition

ATTN: Michael Jabbour
250 Fifth Ave
Suite 507
New York, NY 10001

or Email your name, address, phone number to nysacupuncture@gmail.com.

Payments are accepted via paypal simply click on the “chip-in” button to the right or mail the registration form and check (payable to NYSAC) to the address listed above.

For additional information contact Michelle Helfner 917-992-6391.

Final Federal Rule on Dietary Supplement cGMP Released:

http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/cf0441.pdf

http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/oc0790.pdf

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dscgmps6.html

Attached Article (PDF)

This is an update from the NYS Acupuncture Coalition. The legislative initiative to include herbs in the scope of practice is going strong. The Coalition wishes to work in an inclusive manner and would like to facilitate communication wherever possible. The goal is to send an email update biweekly.

The most recent event was a presentation to the New York State Acupuncture Board in Manhattan on Friday June 1, 2007.

The NYS Acupuncture Board is an official arm of the New York State Education Department. Every licensed profession in New York State has a Board. The current Executive Secretary is Mr. Larry De Mers. The Chair of the Board is Peter Dubitsky, LAc and Vice Chair is Yemeng Chen, LAc.

Part of the legislative process in Albany involves the State Education Department being asked for an opinion on any Bill that effects one of the licensed professions. When the State Education Department is officially asked for an opinion it is customary for the Board of that profession to participate in information gathering and dialogue to support the State Education Department in handing down an opinion to legislators. As such it is important for the Board to be as informed as possible about the legislative effort we are undertaking. It is important to keep good communication with the Board as the process moves forward. This enables the members of the Board to be up to date and able to have an informed discussion about the legislative effort to include herbs in the LAc practice act. It also gives a favorable and supportive opinion to the administrators of the State Education Department, which can be passed on to the legislators.

As part of preparing a professional-looking presentation for the meeting with the Board, a binder packet was assembled. The packet included about 20 letters of support from state and national organizations. These included professional organizations, alumni organizations, NYS AOM schools, Chinese herb growers and suppliers, and national certifying bodies. The letters are impressive. The packet is impressive. To view the packet go to the website at www.nysacupuncture.org.

The organization and preparation of the binders was done with fervor and passion over Memorial Day weekend by members of the Steering Committee and spearheaded by Michelle Helfner, recent AOM grad of Touro and Michael Jabbour, current AOM student of Touro. They were supported by members of the Touro student body and faculty.

The meeting was attended by members of the NYS AOM community as well as members of the NYS Coalition Steering Committee.

The speakers to the Board were Dr. Mark Seem of the Tri-State College of Acupuncture. Dr. Seem read a statement prepared by a consortium of NYS AOM schools regarding the training and practice of Chinese herbology in New York.

The NYS Coalition was skillfully represented by Mr. Michael Taromina, ESQ, legal consultant to the Coalition. Mr. Taromia persuasively presented the legislative goals and explained the reasons for these goals to the Board. Mr. Taromina concluded his presentation with a request for Board support for the update to the LAc practice act when they are asked for an opinion from the State Education Department and Albany legislators.

Kathleen Golden, M.S, LAc, Steering Committee member, impressed upon the Board the importance and timeliness of this project and entertained questions and concerns from members of the Board regarding the legislative initiative.

Both Mr. Taromina and Ms. Golden made the point to the Board that the Coalition is a consensus-building and broad-based effort by the LAc profession to update the practice law in NYS. The evidence of this was the cross section of AOM community members present at the meeting. Present were: current students from the AOM schools of Touro College, Pacific College and Tri-State College, school administrators Gina Lepore and Wendy Matus from PCOM, PCOM Alumni Association President Jeremy Pulsifer, Michael Gaeta, Past President of ASNY, as mentioned, Mark Seem President of TSCA, and a handful of practicing acupuncture and Oriental medicine professionals.

The meeting went very well and the profession was represented in a polished, cohesive and professional manner. This was a successful group effort; and an impressive first brush with Albany on the legislative initiative.

Since the June 1 meeting the presentation packets prepared for that day have come in very handy for our lobbyist David Carroll in his presentation to legislators in Albany. As always, it is important for members of the profession to stay connected, check the website and PLEASE make a financial contribution to the effort. Thus far we have paid our lobbyist for 2 months of work and the July bill is just about due. In addition, we have paid professional Bill writers to work on the language of the Bill. To see the amazing and professional job they did with the language of the draft look on the website. The effort needs financial support, make a donation via the website at www.nysacupuncture.org. We must pay the lobbyist to continue to pursue our goal.

The next Town Hall/fund-raising meeting will be held on July 15 at:
Pacific College of Oriental Medicine – 915 Broadway @ 21 St., in Manhattan, to begin at 5:30 PM

Please plan to attend and bring a friend from the NYS AOM Profession.

Your Colleagues, The NYS Coalition Steering Committee

http://www.nysacupuncture.org/NYASC-Public.pdf (retired – get latest here: 2008 Legislative Guide)

http://www.nysacupuncture.org/NYSAC-Support.pdf

Please contact nysacupuncture@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

This is an update from your colleagues at the New York State Coalition.

On May 20th the second town hall meeting was held at Touro College. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the legislation for inclusion and protection of herbal medicine under the LAc license. The meeting was well attended. Once again we garnered support from many members of the community, including practitioners, students, professional organizations, and schools.

We brought everyone up to date on the Coalition’s activities, including the following developments:

*The original lobbyist discussed at the February meeting became
unavailable to the Coalition, so the members of the Steering Committee had to research and identify a new lobbyist. The search lead to Mr. David Carroll of Northeast Government Consulting (see www.ngclobby.com). Mr. Carroll is motivated, enthusiastic and already hard at work. This week he submitted our preliminary language to professional bill drafters for review. He also held numerous meeting with contacts in Albany on behalf of our legislation. He is working to get us a bill number by the end of the legislative session.

*Our original lobbying day, planned for April, was postponed due to need to find new representation. Now, with David Carroll’s support, we are looking to reschedule that day for some time after the summer break. We will let you know as soon as the date is finalized.

*The State Board for Acupuncture is meeting on June 1. At this time the Steering Committee will make a formal presentation to the Board, to seek support for our initiative.

*After the bill is numbered we can all begin to visit legislators in their home offices to make contact, inform them of the bill, and ask for support and favorable passage once the bill is presented for vote.

We are building and learning as we move along. It is important to stay connected in the process. Feedback from the May 20th meeting indicates the importance of inclusion and communication. Look for regular email updates and more consistent follow up in the months to come. Also, we understand the need to provide time and room for dialogue—our next general meeting will be organized to encourage open discussion and dialogue.

Thank you for your continued support as we move forward toward achieving
our legislative goals.

Best wishes for the Memorial Day Holiday.

With kind regards,

The Steering Committee of the New York State Acupuncture Coalition

Dear AOM Colleagues:

In February 2007 The NYS Acupuncture Coalition sponsored a Town Hall meeting at Touro College to put forward to the professional community a legislative proposal that seeks to protect the use of herbal medicine within the acupuncture license. The proposal met with tremendous support from the community. This includes seasoned practitioners, new graduates, students, Chinese herb growers and suppliers, AOM professional organizations and schools.

There followed from the meeting continued outreach and communication efforts. To this end a question and answer session was held at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in March, which was well attended. A meeting in Long Island is in the planning stages and a follow up meeting in Manhattan will be held on May 20th. The Steering Committee has continued to hold weekly conference calls and to respond to issues as they arise.

Legislative initiatives require patience, tenaciousness and a commitment to keep the focus on the proposed goal. This requires a commitment over the long term and to see the Bill go through it’s many stages, over multiple legislative seasons. The initiative is still active alive and kicking. IT NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT.

If you wish to see this goal achieved attend the meeting, bring a colleague and if you can not make the meeting: make a financial contribution to pay our lobbyist. If the profession wishes to achieve the benefit of legal acknowledgment of it’s herbal work, financial support is a requirement. You can do this at the meeting or on the web site @ www.nysacupuncture.org.

Please join members of the New York Acupuncture/ Oriental medicine community and the Coalition Steering Committee

Sunday May 20, 2007 @ Touro College in Manhattan, 27 West 23 St. off 6th Ave. 6th floor, 4:30 PM

This is a follow up meeting to continue to chart the course for the achievement of legal, inclusive and protected use of herbal medicine for the licensed acupuncturist in New York State.

They are posted here: nysacupuncture.org/about/faq

To Our Fellow New York State Practitioners of Chinese Medicine:

First, we want to thank those of you who returned our recent poll. We studied every response, and gave particular consideration to the comments many of you added to the space provided for additional feedback. The raw data minus comments and names are available at asny.org/poll.xls. The results from over a hundred responders make it clear that our profession has diverse opinions concerning the herbal scope of practice issue. However, from some of your comments, it is clear that there is a misunderstanding of the ASNY board’s position on this issue. We apologize for that and seek to change that now.
ASNY and the Coalition are in full agreement on the legislative objectives regarding the addition of herbs to our scope of practice as stated on the New York State Acupuncture Coalition (NYSAC) website (nysacupuncture.org) As you may well know, currently the use of herbs is legally unregulated and unrecognized by the State of New York. Anyone at all can recommend herbs. What we all desire is to acquire legal protection for the use of herbs for our profession.
The ASNY board is keenly aware of the professional reality involving the differences between the practice of acupuncture and the practice of herbology. We are aware of the differences in training and the fact that acupuncturists have limited academic exposure to herbs within the formal educational environment. In no way is ASNY suggesting or encouraging untrained acupuncturists to use or recommend herbs to their patients. Yet we also recognize that some—perhaps many—have additional training in herbs, some through outside classes and distance learning coursework, some through apprenticing, and some through self-study. We are not suggesting acupuncturists use herbs outside their knowledge base, just that they should be in our legal scope of practice. For this reason we are in support of including “ready made” herbal formulations in the legal scope of practice for the acupuncturist. Any custom made herbal formulas or modifications to standard formulas demand a high level of training. ASNY supports the requirement of additional training and the completion of the NCCAOM Diplomate in Oriental Medicine.
ASNY has an important asset in the fight ahead, our talented lobbyist, Tim Sheridan. Mr. Sheridan was instrumental in getting ASNY’s initial licensure bill through the State Assembly in 1991. He is an expert in maneuvering through the political intricacies in Albany and has been on retainer with ASNY for over fifteen years. In his opinion we face two major challenges: we are two critical votes shy of being able to get ANY legislation out of the Education Committee and onto the floor of the legislature for a vote. Another hurdle will be the AMA (American Medical Association), which has a multi-million dollar war chest designed to defeat any increase in scope of practice of any CAM profession, anywhere in the U.S. We’ve been told that the AMA has earmarked at least $25,000 to New York State for such a battle.
As a tactic for success, we need to ask for more than we want. As our lobbyist states, “If you want five you must ask for ten. Every health profession will have their hands on the bill and each will want to cut out that which is important to them. The AMA, the chiropractors, the naturopaths, the dentists and the podiatrist and physical therapists will all comment and try to alter the bill. The more you include the more you have to bargain with.”
And, most importantly, to win against such strong adversaries requires your help, too. As such, we ask that each of you remain current in your membership, and if it has lapsed, renew immediately through asny.org. Only through strength and unity can we succeed.
We welcome your continuing feedback on this important and complex issue. As your board, our role is to act as leaders and representatives of the profession. However we also try to represent the views of our constituent members. To effectively act as your voice, we must continue to communicate. Please feel free to reply with any comments.

We thank you for your continued support as we strive to do what is best for our profession.

The ASNY Board

On Sunday, February 11, 2007, the steering committee for the New York State Acupuncture Coalition, hosted a town hall meeting at Touro College to discuss proposed changes to the scope of practice for licensed acupuncturists in the state. The meeting, organized by steering committee member, Kathy Taromina, MS, Lac, brought together over 100 people, including practitioners, students, representatives of state and national organizations, herbal growers and suppliers, and interested members of the general public.
Kathleen Golden, MS, LAc, steering committee member, welcomed everyone and introduced the distinguished assembled panel. She gave a history of acupuncture regulation in the state and detailed the contributions that went into the scope of practice initiative.
Michael Taromina, Esq., steering committee counsel, outlined the proposed legislation, which includes the following:
1) language to amend the current acupuncture law to encompass the practice of herbs
2) proposal to include a mandatory continuing education provision to bring acupuncture professional standards in line with other medical providers and many other licensed professions in the state. The proposal includes a CEU requirement of thirty six hours per three years licensure term.
3) setting the acupuncturist membership of the state acupuncture board to the same ratios as other professional boards and
4) allowing for visiting faculty to practice within an educational context.
Following the presentation of the proposed legislation, distinguished panelists from the acupuncture and Oriental medicine field discussed the proposed legislation. Those participating included Yemeng Chen, LAc, president and academic dean of New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and official representative of TCMAA; Jean Giblette, Director of High Falls Gardens; Thomas Leung, owner of Kamwo Chinese Herbal Pharmacy; Marilee Murphy,LAc, RN, dean of acupuncture and Oriental medicine at New York Chiropractic College and steering committee member; Steven Schram PhD, DC, LAc, representing the board of the Acupuncture Society of New York; Betsy Smith, associate deputy director for legislative and state issues at the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Elaine Stern, LAc; and Kejian Xiao,MB, LAc, faculty member, Touro College.
After the panelists concluded their statements, steering committee member Megan Haungs, MS, LAc, LMT, mediated an audience discussion of the proposal. Comments included support for the proposal, questions about the continuing education requirement, and a discussion of the proposed educational requirements for practitioners recommending custom-made herbal formulations.
Taking the floor again, Taromina asked the attendees for a show of applause indicating their support for going forward with the proposed legislation as it now stands…and the response was an overwhelming show of support for the initiative.
Golden then outlined the next steps to be taken, including letter writing and political outreach. A community-wide trip to Albany is planned for Tuesday April 24th.
The meeting was a historic moment for the acupuncture and Oriental medicine profession in New York State and was especially notable for the across-the-board agreement among practitioners, students, alumni associations, schools, and numerous state associations to move forward with the initiative.
For more information on the Initiative please visit nysacupuncture.org.