Member Benefits

ASM Membership Benefits

  • Visibility for your practice via our “Find a Practitioner” section of the website**
  • Discounted rates at our hosted classes and other educational opportunities**
  • Membership in the ASA (American Society of Acupuncturists) our national organization providing many ASA benefits including National News (can be seen on the ASM home page), ASA monthly newsletter plus the discounts and programs listed below:
    • Professional Liability insurance Discounts:  CM&F for Liability Insurance  and Huntington Insurance on behalf of Westminster Group
    • Group and Individual Insurance Discounts: Insurance Specialists, Inc – Term Life, Disability Insurance,  Business Overhead Expense Insurance, Disability Income Insurance, Dental Insurance
    • Freshbennies Program:  membership program with healthcare and other benefits
      • Discounts on prescriptions
      • 24/7 access to medical advice
      • Access to expert health advisors who help navigate “the system” including medical billing issues
      • Help finding prices before you need a medical procedure
    • JASA: Unlimited access to The Journal of American Society of Acupuncturists with new issues each quarter and access to back issues – found in the members only area
  • Latest News/Updates: Updates are posted on our news blog and sent out in e-Newsletters covering what is going on in the acupuncture profession in Massachusetts plus updates on ASM events, meetings, and more.
  • Annual Meeting with in-person updates, fun networking opportunities and discounted CEUs
  • Voting rights**
  • Networking opportunities for increased business, alliances and support**
  • Access to the “Members Only” section of the ASM website**
  • Opportunity to serve as an ASA representative, join association committees, or the Board of Directors**
  • Online membership account enabling you to update your profile, make payments, register for events, receive newsletters and more
  • National listings of classes:  sorted by region and date and class type

 
** Items with this mark are for licensed acupuncturists who are professional members.

The On-Going Work of the ASM Includes

  • Protecting the acupuncture scope of practice and maintaining the freedom to practice without medical supervision in Massachusetts
  • Professional representation in Massachusetts by a licensed advocate and lobbyist Dan Delaney
    • Advocates for our profession to key persons in the Massachusetts government and the public health sphere
    • Helps interpret new regulations and legal documents
  • Active engagement in the legislative process; we champion and monitor bills related to acupuncture, our advocate assists us in this process.
    • Universal Insurance reimbursement for acupuncture in MA
    • Dry needling legislation to protect our profession
    • Scope of practice regulations
  • Communication of the latest developments in the Acupuncture profession
  • Education and expansion of public understanding of acupuncture and herbal medicine
  • Representation in the ASA (American Society of Acupuncturists). The ASM sends two representatives to attend national meetings and participate in the national conversations.

Sign The Petition

Petition to specify best practices of dry needling

Signature from

Dear legislators,

We, the undersigned are concerned that dry needling is not in the scope of practice by rule or law for any allied health professionals yet they are performing the invasive procedure of the insertion of needles for therapeutic release. Please move this bill forward to specify best practices and protect patients in the Commonwealth.

We ask for your support for the following to become law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as proposed in S 2463:

  1. Only those with a doctorate may perform dry needling/trigger point acupuncture
  2. That Dry Needling/Trigger Point Acupuncture is defined using the CMS CPT code group definition owned by the AMA: “The insertion of a needle into a trigger point, the manipulation of the needle, the removal of the needle”.
  3. No distal needling
  4. No electrical stimulation on needles
  5. Any significant adverse events (one requiring medical attention), be reported to the Board of Health within 48 hours
  6. 500 didactic and 150 clinical training hours requirement for this practice
  7. All practitioners will pass a third party national psychometric exam to both demonstrate competency and the ability not to harm.
  8. Anyone practicing dry needling shall obtain and maintain the advanced orthopedic clinical certification
  9. Anyone practicing dry needling shall meet the continuing education requirements for acupuncture
  10. The CNT course and exam taught by the CCAOM exam be passed by all practitioners of dry needling/trigger point acupuncture.
  11. Specific and appropriate written consent be obtained from the patient and malpractice insurance must specify dry needling/trigger point acupuncture coverage.

%%your signature%%

161 signatures

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