NCCAOM a Decade in Review:

2010 to 2019

The NCCAOM^® announced a temporary 18-month route to NCCAOM Reinstatement allowing Former Diplomates (who at one time held NCCAOM certification and are now in terminated status) to return to active status without having to take the Reinstatement Exam.

In August 2019 the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) took the opportunity to provide comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Proposed Decision Memo for Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain (cLBP) (CAG-00452N). These comments in part led to the CMS announce the historic decision to cover acupuncture for low back pain and go out of their way to include Licensed Acupuncturists as the key group of providers for acupuncture services.

The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®) Board of Commissioners is pleased to announce that they have selected Mina M. Larson, NCCAOM’s former Deputy Executive Director from a wide list of nationwide candidates, as its new CEO, effective July 22, 2019.

To read the official announcement please click here.

After serving as NCCAOM^® CEO for over 15 years, Dr. Kory Ward-Cook retired to her home in Southern California. The NCCAOM is truly grateful to Dr. Kory Ward-Cook for all her efforts and leadership throughout her time with the organization.

TheNCCAOM^® joined the Voices for Non-Opioid Choices coalition. Dedicated to increasing patient access to non-opioid therapies and approaches to managing acute pain, where addiction can start.

The NCCAOM^® is pleased to announce a new route to achieve NCCAOM Certification in Oriental Medicine for all California licensed acupuncturists who meet eligibility requirements. The California Licensed Acupuncturists Route for Certification in Oriental Medicine will open in the first quarter of 2019 and will close on December 31, 2020 and no additional NCCAOM examinations for certification will be needed if all requirements are met.

For more information on the California Licensed Acupuncturists Route for Certification please click here.

The NCCAOM^® added the Advocacy Hub to the NCCAOM Website in an effort to share the work and advancements on the State and National level on behalf of  NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturists™.

The NCCAOM^® Board of Commissioners and staff are delighted to announce an organizational rebranding that will include a fresh look for the NCCAOM website, logo and service marks for each area of certification. This effort reflects an update to NCCAOM’s external brand, with a more modern and visually pleasing style. This move will strengthen the NCCAOM brand and further align the service marks for recognition within the industry and to the public.

In addition to the visual updates, you may notice that our organization is now known simply as NCCAOM. We will now only use organization acronym, reflecting a move away from outdated verbiage, while retaining the well-known corporate brand.

To read the full announcement please click here.

The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®) is pleased to announce that all NCCAOM applications are now completed and processed in a paperless system. The transition to a paperless system reduced submission and processing times on all applications by more than 50 percent.

At NCCAOM^®, we place a high value on helping candidates become as prepared as possible for the National Board Exams. Which is why the Exam Preparation Center was added to the NCCAOM website. The Exam Preparation Center includes a comprehensive NCCAOM Candidate Preparation Handbook containing all the information a candidate (approved applicant) needs to prepare for the NCCAOM exams. In addition, the NCCAOM Exam Content Outlines are available in English, Chinese and Korean language for each module. Official NCCAOM Practice Tests™ were also added to help candidates prepare for the exams.

The NCCAOM^® advocacy team is committed to advancing the respect and public knowledge of the Diplomates that hold NCCAOM Certification. In an effort to continue the advancement of NCCAOM Diplomates the NCCAOM secured the Trademark for the term “NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturists™.” To promote this new term the NCCAOM asks all of our Diplomates to proudly refer to themselves as NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturist™.

The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®) is pleased to announce that NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturists™, who are also state licensed, now have an established qualification standard for employment positions within the VA Health Administration, according to the newly published Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Handbook.  This revision establishes the Acupuncturist occupation under VA’s title 38 Hybrid excepted service employment system in accordance with the authority established under the “Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010”.

To read the full announcement please click here.

NCCAOM’s move to Washington D.C. is a huge step in achieving further recognition and making important connections with the federal government and did you know that as part of this effort, the NCCAOM has recruited an experienced federal lobbyist to help with advocacy work?

To read more please see press release with this announcement here.

The NCCAOM is pleased to announce that Bureau of Labor Statistics has published the final 2018 BLS Occupational Handbook with the new Standard Occupational Classification code for Acupuncturists. This handbook is available in its entirety via the following link here. The NCCAOM also announced this exciting in their press release about Acupuncturists Earns Distinction from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To ensure that all certifying exams reflect current acupuncture and Herbal medicine (AHM) practice, the NCCAOM conducts a research-based Job Analysis study at minimum every 5 years. The most recent JA study, completed in November 2017, was conducted only 4 years after the prior JA study in 2013.

To read the results of the 2017 Job Analysis study please click here.

NCCAOM^® and Echo Media Group, a PR and marketing communications agency, are working hard to increase the awareness of acupuncture and Oriental medicine and the visibility of the NCCAOM certified Diplomates. Below, you can find detailed monthly status updates on our Public Education campaign activities.

NCCAOM^®  held a meeting to address rising concerns regarding the practice of Dry Needling.

To read the full NCCAOM position on Dry Needling please click here.

The Opioid Crisis Timeline is designed to spotlight all of the collaborative efforts of the NCCAOM and other partner associations and colleagues to bring awareness to a simple and cost-effective solution, acupuncture services, to this national epidemic. In 2017, drug overdoses involving heroin claimed the lives of more than 15,000 Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since 2000, the rate of deaths from drug overdoses has increased 137%, including a 200% increase in the rate of overdose deaths involving opioids (opioid pain relievers and heroin).

Governor Matt Mead signed HB 165, the state’s first law regulating acupuncture, also known as “The Wyoming Acupuncture Practice Act”, making Wyoming the 47th state to implement laws regulating the practice of acupuncture. The Wyoming Acupuncture Society, who worked closely with the bill’s authors to create and pass this milestone legislation, participated in the bill signing.

This practice act is designed to prevent untrained and inexperienced practitioners from performing acupuncture reducing unnecessary risk to Wyoming patients seeking acupuncture services. The bill requires Wyoming Acupuncturists to graduate from an education program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine  (ACAHM) and pass National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®) exams.

To read the full press release on the passing of the Wyoming Acupuncture Practice Act please click here.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, has released research validating the effectiveness of acupuncture and other non-drug health therapies for pain. The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®), which has long advocated for non-drug approaches to pain treatment, applauds the national agency’s attention to complementary therapies.

To read the full press release please click here.

With the help of NCCAOM^®, this practice act was designed to prevent untrained and inexperienced practitioners from performing acupuncture reducing unnecessary risk to patients seeking acupuncture services. The bill requires Kansas Acupuncturists to graduate from an education program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine  (ACAHM) and pass National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®) exams.

NCCAOM^® held its first Code of Ethics Symposium in Orlando, Florida. With the help of NCCAOM Diplomates from around the counrty the organization established a revised Code of Ethics and Grounds for Professional Discipline.

To read more about the NCCAOM Code of Ethics and Grounds for Professional Discipline please click here.

With the help of NCCAOM^®, this practice act was designed to prevent untrained and inexperienced practitioners from performing acupuncture reducing unnecessary risk to patients seeking acupuncture services. The bill requires Kansas Acupuncturists to graduate from an education program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine  (ACAHM) and pass National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®) exams.

To read the press release please click here.

NCCAOM^® in collaboration with a number of national, professional organizations, submitted two separate requests to the BLS requesting an independent occupational code for Acupuncturists. It was at an acupuncture and Oriental medicine national leaders meeting in 2006, that it was discovered that acupuncture was included as a modality under chiropractors and nurses, in the BLS Occupational Handbook.

In order to earn a unique SOC, the BLS requires professions to be trackable and growing.  Since BLS data is shared across federal agencies, acupuncturists’ recognition through an independent SOC means it will appear as a specific job classification with U.S. Department of Labor, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, and U.S. Census Bureau.

The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®) has received official approval from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs declaring that U.S. veterans can receive reimbursement for the costs of the NCCAOM certification examinations.  The examinations that qualify for reimbursement are the Acupuncture and Point Location Module, the Foundations of Oriental Medicine Module (FOMM), the Biomedicine Module, and the Chinese Herbology Module.

To read the press release please click here.

The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) crated by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence is the standard for credentialing institutions. The NCCA’s Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs, which were created in the mid-1970s, were the first standards developed by the credentialing industry for professional certification programs. The NCCA Standards were developed to help ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the public. They highlight the essential elements of a high-quality program. The NCCA standards are consistent with The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, & NCME, 1999) and are applicable to all professions and industries.

The acupuncture and Herbal medicine (AHM) community pulled together to achieve the monumental goal of obtaining more than the 25,000 signatures needed to activate the White House Petition to designate ‘Acupuncturist’ as a recognized healthcare provider under the Social Security Act.

NCCAOM^® instituted the Retired Diplomate Status for NCCAOM Diplomates whom wish to stay active in the Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (AHM) community but no longer practice. The NCCAOM is indebted to its long standing Diplomates who have devoted many years to the practice of acupuncture and Herbal medicine and also contributed immensely to the NCCAOM and the profession. The retired Diplomate designation allows veteran Diplomates to stay involved with the AHM profession and continue their affiliation with NCCAOM.

NCCAOM^® is pleased to announce that it has received registration on all four of its Diplomate certification trademarks from the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO). This registration means that only active NCCAOM Diplomates can exclusively use these credentials to identify and promote their certification.

To read the full announcement please click here.

Ohio added the Diplomate of Oriental Medicine (OM) or Chinese Herbology (CH) which includes passing the NCCAOM Chinese Herbology Examination as a requirement for acupuncturists practicing Chinese Herbs.