Lessons From an Acupuncture Teaching Clinic: Patient Characteristics and Pain Management Effectiveness

ObjectivesTo understand the following about patients using an acupuncture teaching clinic:(1) sociodemographic characteristics and main complaints and(2) self-reported level of patient-centered outcomes regarding pain management.Methods/DesignRetrospective chart review.SubjectsA total of 458 new patients at NESA clinic during October 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010 were enrolled in the study.InterventionsA variety of styles of Oriental medicine, primarily Chinese and Japanese style acupuncture and also heat treatments (MOXA or heat lamps) and Tui Na (Asia bodywork).ResultsResults from Objective 1 were descriptive (n = 421). Objective 2 focused on the 59 patients from the larger sample who completed both an initial and a follow-up Measure Your Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP) form and who used acupuncture for pain management of (1) diseases of the musculoskeletal system and/or connective tissue or (2) migraine/headache. Both the symptom severity and activity of daily living/well-being scales of the MYMOP showed over 15.8% improvement from baseline to at least six weeks of treatment: 28.6% for Symptom 1, 19.4% for Symptom 2, 35.7% for activities of daily living, and 25.0% for well-being. The relative majority for each sociodemographic trait investigated were as follows: female, about 40 years old, white, not Hispanic or Latino, married, highly educated, and employed. Most patients were confident in acupuncture treatment. Out of the 421 acupuncture patients, 68.2% wanted acupuncture in order to manage pain. Overall, 20.6% of the patients (59, N = 287) who used acupuncture for pain management for diseases of the musculoskeletal system and/or connective tissue or migraine or headache completed the sixth-week follow-up MYMOP form. Of these patients, 57.6% (34, N = 59) returned during week 6 of the semester for acupuncture treatment and reported clinical improvement in at least one MYMOP severity score, and no score got worse.ConclusionsThe information about sociodemographic characteristic and patient-centered outcomes of pain management can be used for service provision, future study planning, and marketing. Future studies should address the low follow-up rate, the quality of self-reported clinic data, and the reasons that patients chose acupuncture treatments and teaching clinics.