Objective: There is a growing need for students and practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine to gain experience with standardized data collection, patient outcomes measurement, and practice-based research. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a process for standardized data collection that could eventually be adopted for clinical, research, and quality assurance purposes. Settings/location: The setting for this study was an acupuncture and Oriental medicine teaching clinic in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Methods: Four (4) aspects of data collection were assessed and improved, including intake and post-treatment questionnaires, follow-up with patients, integration of data collection into clinic flow, and commitment of resources to the project.
Outcome measures: The outcomes measures were data collection and missing data rates, burden on patients and clinic staff, and efficiency of data entry. Results: Revision to the data collection process resulted in decreased burden to patients and staff, more detailed and aggressive follow-up protocols, enhanced training for clinic staff, and increased personnel and data related resources.
Conclusions: The systematic collection of descriptive and clinical characteristics can be accomplished in a teaching clinic with thoughtful attention paid to data collection protocols, dedicated resources, and the involvement of all relevant personnel.
This is the fourth article from the ASA Advocacy Committee on the impact of the Acupuncture for Our Seniors Act on our patients, profession and practices. H.R. 4803 will codify licensed / qualified acupuncturists as providers under Medicare who can work and bill independently as "licensed / qualified acupuncturists." Currently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) covers acupuncture for chronic low back pain/cLBP, but licensed / qualified acupuncturists cannot treat or bill Medicare patients because we are not recognized as providers under the Social Security Act.