
NCCAOM Advocacy Update Summer 2018
With the headquarters move to Washington, D.C. in the beginning of the year, the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM®) is focused on providing services such as advocacy and public relations to promote our NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturists™ throughout the U.S. Therefore, the NCCAOM Board of Commissioners and staff are proud to announce that we have retained SmithBucklin’s Government Relations & Advocacy team in D.C. to provide federal advocacy services, further enabling our ability to work with U.S. policymakers and regulators. The SmithBucklin Advocacy team, under the leadership of John Richardson, also represents such groups as the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the National Society of Genetic Counselors, and Lamaze International. Our partnership with SmithBucklin will focus on a three-pronged strategy to build awareness of acupuncture as a mainstream, evidence-based methodology for many conditions, especially pain management, while expanding patient access to certified acupuncturists nationwide and advocating on behalf of NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturists. Pain management will be a primary focus, as we emphasize promoting acupuncture services for treating opioid addiction and pain.
The SmithBucklin Advocacy team will be responsible for expanding NCCAOM’s engagement with Congress, the federal government, NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturists™, and stakeholders across the health care industry. The goal of this partnership is to promote and serve the practice of acupuncture and the acupuncturist profession to better serve patients nationwide in three ways: