AACMA Newsletter - 9 February 2024
9 February 2024
This Issue:
-
Happy Chinese New Year!
-
An Important Message to Practitioners from the Private Health Funds
-
WHO News
-
Reminder from the Office of the CAHO Primary Care Division: National Allied Health Virtual Research Forum 2024.
-
AACMAC 2024 with the General Theme of "Ancient in Modern - Chinese Medicine in the Modern Health Scape"
-
AACMAC 2024 First Keynote Speaker Announced!
-
Join AACMA Members Forum 2024 on 21st February
-
New Webinar for Professional Issues: Registration Open
-
Call for Abstracts: Exciting Opportunity to Share your Expertise, Insights, and Research findings at AACMAC 2024!
-
Moving or Adding a New Clinic?
Happy Chinese New Year!
Wishing all our members a prosperous and happy year of the Dragon!
xīn nián kuài lè (新年快乐), gōng xǐ fā cái (恭喜发财).
From the AACMA Board and National Office.
An Important Message to Practitioners from the Private Health Funds
Private health funds advise that cosmetic acupuncture is not eligible for private health fund rebates even if delivered as part of an holistic treatment.
Just as cosmetic procedures are not covered by Medicare unless the procedure is reconstructive for example- after burns or facial injury, cosmetic acupuncture is also classified as a non-essential procedure that is a personal choice and is not categorised as a necessary clinical treatment.
This issue has come to light after the private health funds have performed random audits on practitioners finding that they have been wrongly claiming rebates for cosmetic acupuncture.
Practitioners who have been found to claim rebates for cosmetic acupuncture will be required to reimburse the health funds for those claims they have made.
AACMA advises members to maintain compliance with health fund requirements and only claim for eligible treatments.
WHO News
The World Health Organisation recognises acupuncture as a viable treatment option for low back pain in its guideline published on 7th December 2023.
The purpose of the guideline is to provide evidence-based recommendations on nonsurgical interventions for chronic primary LBP (CPLBP) in adults, including older people, that can be delivered in primary and community care settings to improve CPLBP-related health and well-being outcomes. For this reason, the guideline does not consider interventions typically delivered in secondary or tertiary care settings (e.g. surgical or other invasive procedures) or workplace interventions.
Reminder from the Office of the CAHO Primary Care Division: National Allied Health Virtual Research Forum 2024.
The Department of Health and Aged Care is hosting the National Allied Health Virtual Research Forum on Tuesday 30 April 2024 to draw links between allied health research and policy priorities. The forum aims to facilitate a shared understanding between allied health researchers and government on the type of research that can be readily adopted by policymakers to inform changes to the Australian healthcare system.
The call for submissions is closing soon, at 11:59pm on 11 February 2024. Please submit your abstracts by this date to ensure they are eligible for consideration as presentations at the forum. The submission form and details regarding the selection criteria are available via the button below.
AACMAC 2024 with the General Theme of "Ancient in Modern - Chinese Medicine in the Modern Health Scape"
Pullman Brisbane from 2nd - 4th August is the place to be for the biggest Chinese medicine conference in the southern hemisphere.
AACMA in collaboration with Sustain Health, is excited to announce and host Poney Chiang in person as a keynote speaker this year. Poney was a huge success judging from member feedback when he presented for us at AACMAC 3years ago. You can read more about Poney below.
We are negotiating with other world renowned speakers and will make more announcements about the speaker line up in the coming weeks.
AACMAC 2024 First Keynote Speaker Announced!
Poney Chiang received a PhD from the Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, then a Master’s degree from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. He is an adjunct professor and founding director of the Integrative Acupuncture Program for the Faculty of Health at York University (Toronto). Poney is a professor at the American Neuro-Acupuncture Institute in Santa Fe, and former chair of herbal medicine at the Ontario College of TCM.
He began teaching in 2008 and has offered intensive training events for physicians and physiotherapists in North/South America and in Europe. Poney has been invited to lecture at the World Federation Acupuncture Society, American Academy of Medical Acupuncture Symposiums, Walter Reed Medical Center and Canadian Physiotherapy Association.
His research interests include cadaver dissection, MRI research and their relation to classical channel theory. He has a special interest in neuro-anatomy of acupoints and its associated neuro-modulation needle technique. He has authored peer-reviewed articles in Eastern and Western acupuncture journals and is currently focused on writing an integrative acupuncture textbook with Paradigm Publication.
Join AACMA Members Forum 2024 on 21st February
Join us for AACMA's Members Forum 2024 event. This exclusive gathering is your chance to voice your opinions and collaborate with fellow members on the critical issues that matter to you. Be a part of the conversation, share your insights, ask questions, and collectively work towards enhancing the practice of acupuncture in Australia. Secure your spot today and help make a meaningful impact on our profession!
Date: Wednesday 21 February 2024
Time: 7-8pm (AEST)
CPD: 1 CPD point (professional issues)
Registration (members only): Register here (only 500 places)
* This event will be recorded and be available for replay on membership portal. Please only use the register link above if you confirm to attend live.
New Webinar for Professional Issues: Registration Open
AACMA Webinar with Guild Insurance: Professional Behaviour
Date: Wednesday 13 March 2024
Time: 7-8pm (AEST)
Presenter: Christie Boucher, Risk Services Manager (Guild Insurance)
CPD: 1 point (professional issues)
Ticket: Member $25, Student Member FREE, Non-member $50
Call for Abstracts: Exciting Opportunity to Share your Expertise, Insights, and Research findings at AACMAC 2024!
Submissions are welcome from TCM practitioners, educators, researchers and other areas of the profession to share expertise and knowledge at Australasian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Annual Conference (AACMAC) in Brisbane 2-4 August 2024.
Abstract submissions will close on 10th March 2024.
If there is a particular area of Chinese medicine that you love, an AACMAC presentation is a great opportunity to indulge your passion and research it in depth. The time spent developing and delivering your presentation will be eligible towards your annual Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements.
AACMAC gives you a platform to share your ideas and experience with your professional colleagues and friends. As a speaker, you can take pride in having a direct influence on that development.
Presenters with accepted abstract/s at AACMAC 2024 will be waived the registration fee to attend the conference.
Don’t miss your chance to present your topic or research results to a broader TCM audience. Download here the Abstract Submission Form and email the completed copy to events@acupuncture.org.au by 10th March 2024.
Moving or Adding a New Clinic?
Please contact our membership team with your new clinic details by email at aacma@acupuncture.org.au so they can apply to the health funds for new provider numbers.
- Medi Bank only update: deadline Sunday 11 February 2024
- February monthly updates: deadline Thursday 22 February 2024
Ceased practicing at a clinic, please provide the address and the ceased date so we can advise the health funds to remove your details.
To check your workplace details or membership go to our website https://www.acupuncture.org.au/ then
- Go to ‘Login’ at the top right-hand corner then
- Click ‘Member Login’ to log into the website your Username is your email address on AACMA’s record and the password you created.
- For the first time login, please click the ‘Forgotten Password’ button to set up a password.
If you have issues logging in or setting up a password, please don’t hesitate to contact the membership team 07 3457 1800 we are happy to assist you.
