Acupuncture's Role in Solving the Opioid Epidemic: Evidence, Cost-Effectiveness, and Care Availability for Acupuncture as a Primary, Non-Pharmacologic Method for Pain Relief and Management –White Paper 2017

Publication date: November 2017 Source:Journal of Integrative Medicine, Volume 15, Issue 6 Author(s): Arthur Yin Fan, David W. Miller, Bonnie Bolash, Matthew Bauer, John McDonald, Sarah Faggert, Hongjian He, Yong Ming Li, Amy Matecki, Lindy Camardella, Mel Hopper Koppelman, Jennifer A.M. Stone, Lindsay Meade, John Pang The United States (U.S.) is facing a national opioid epidemic, and medical systems are in need of non-pharmacologic strategies that can be employed to decrease the public's opioid dependence. Acupuncture has emerged as a powerful, evidence-based, safe, cost-effective, and available treatment modality suitable to meeting this need. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective for the management of numerous types of pain conditions, and mechanisms of action for acupuncture have been described and are understandable from biomedical, physiologic perspectives. Further, acupuncture's cost-effectiveness can dramatically decrease health care expenditures, both from the standpoint of treating acute pain and through avoiding addiction to opioids that requires costly care, destroys quality of life, and can lead to fatal overdose. Numerous federal regulatory agencies have advised or mandated that healthcare systems and providers offer non-pharmacologic treatment options for pain. Acupuncture stands out as the most evidence-based, immediately available choice to fulfil these calls. Acupuncture can safely, easily, and cost-effectively be incorporated into hospi...
Source: Journal of Integrative Medicine - Category: Complementary Medicine Source Type: research