Guest guest Posted June 19, 2000 Report Share Posted June 19, 2000 My point was not that Chinese Medical diagnosis is any less valid than conventional medicine's. Just don't expect the prevailing paradigm to accept it. Not until we first validate our medicine in their eyes. It's unbelievably naive to expect otherwise. Of course there are Mds,etc. interested in TCM diagnosis. What does that have to do with insurance companies and insurance codes? MDs themselves are complaining about HMOs and their inappropriate or non existent codes for conventional medical diagnosises. We are just beginning to scratch the surface interfacing with conventional medicine in clinical settings(hospitals,etc,). This kind of elitist attitude will assure that hospitals will only hire MD medical acupuncturists. I sure would if I were a hospital administrator. I wouldn't want liver yang rising on the chart that other professionals were supposed to be reading and interpreting unless it were accompanied by language they could understand. This reminds me of the Roman Catholic church sending out missionaries to the far east to convert the " heathen " . Do you think the missionaries expected the natives to all speak English, or Spanish, or Portuguese? No,they learned the indigenous language, taught their own language, and taught religion. Western medicine is the prevailing paradigm. We have to learn to work within it. That doesn't mean we have to compromise our medicine, but rather that we need to speak the language of the majority so that they can understand and accept what we do. Is our treatment going to differ so much whether or not we state a code for hypertension as opposed to liver yang rising? I don't understand the rigidity of many of the opinions expressed regarding this matter. If we don't bend, we may break. I hope we all have the foresight to recognize this. Perhaps for practitioners who have been in the field for 15 years, they are comfortable with their cash practices and established clientele. For the rest of us, though, times have changed. We need to adapt. And really, aren't we reaching more people and allowing them to benefit from our medicine if we do expand and find a reasonable way to work within the prevailing system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 20, 2000 Report Share Posted June 20, 2000 >In a message dated 6/19/00 7:50:00 PM, zrosenberg writes: > ><< No, I am not talking about the present economic scene. . . .but it does not >mean that Chinese medicine has any inferiority to Western medicine. Just >political and economic inferiority. But Microsoft is the giant of the >computer world, and what is their future? Apple and Linux have been able >to prosper despite Microsoft's dominance. How? Through technological >superiority. Chinese medicine will survive as a QUALITY medicine, as a >clear alternative to biomedicine when necessary or desired, not as a >second-rate biomedical clone. >> > >We will never make it as a biomedical clone. Only as being represented as the >voice of experience. Our experiences didn't provide us with all of the >information, but more than any other field that still exists. Our history can >bring us in the future as we look at the world thru OM eyes. > > >This is true, altho we do need to have enough of an understanding to do >simple western medical diagnostics so that we can refer properly, especially >if we are in a state where we are primary care. We are still not usng the >western diagnostic system to make our diagnosis, treatments, and prognosis, >altho experience can lead us to a good idea of the latter. >David Molony > Well said, David. I agree that we should be conversant in biomedical language and basic diagnostics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 20, 2000 Report Share Posted June 20, 2000 >My point was not that Chinese Medical diagnosis is any less valid >than conventional medicine's. Just don't expect the prevailing >paradigm to accept it. Not until we first validate our medicine in >their eyes. It's unbelievably naive to expect otherwise. And how are we supposed to " validate' Chinese medicine? >Of course there are Mds,etc. interested in TCM diagnosis. What does >that have to do with insurance companies and insurance >codes? MDs themselves are complaining about HMOs and their >inappropriate or non existent codes for conventional medical >diagnosises. We are just beginning to scratch the surface interfacing >with conventional medicine in clinical settings(hospitals,etc,). This >kind of elitist attitude will assure that hospitals will only hire MD >medical acupuncturists. What is 'elitist' about being honest about what we do? And what is wrong with educating western medical personnel in the basics of Chinese diagnostics? Why are we so ashamed of what we do? What is the point of studying and practicing TCM if we don't share it with anyone else, or take pride in it? I sure would if I were a hospital >administrator. I wouldn't want liver yang rising on the chart >that other professionals were supposed to be reading and >interpreting unless it were accompanied by language they could >understand. This reminds me of the Roman Catholic church sending out >missionaries to the far east to convert the " heathen " . Do you think >the missionaries expected the natives to all speak English, or >Spanish, or Portuguese? No,they learned the indigenous language, >taught their own language, and taught religion. >Western medicine is the prevailing paradigm. We have to learn to >work within it. That doesn't mean we have to compromise our >medicine, but rather that we need to speak the language of the >majority so that they can understand and accept what we do. Who was implying that we shouldn't be able to communicate with western physicians? Not only is every TCM practitioner trained to do so (in any decent school), even the lay person these days has a handle on biomedical language. . . .with the internet and public media, sophistication about medical lingo is at an all-time high. Who wants to convert anybody? Most medical professionals I have interfaced with WANT to know what Chinese medicine is about! Is our >treatment going to differ so much whether or not we state a code for >hypertension as opposed to liver yang rising? I don't understand the >rigidity of many of the opinions expressed regarding this matter. If >we don't bend, we may break. I hope we all have the foresight to >recognize this. Perhaps for practitioners who have been in the field >for 15 years, they are comfortable with their cash practices and >established clientele. For the rest of us, though, times have >changed. We need to adapt. And really, aren't we reaching more >people and allowing them to benefit from our medicine if we do expand >and find a reasonable way to work within the prevailing system? This is a big issue, but I don't see the answer in any of the solutions you have offered here. > > > >------ >Lonely? Get Firetalk! >Free, unlimited calls anywhere in the world. >Free voice chat on hundreds of topics. >http://click./1/5477/9/_/542111/_/961478979/ >------ > >Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare >practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics >specializing in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of >professional services, including board approved online continuing >education. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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