Niemtzow Richard C
Malcolm Grow Medical Clinics and Surgery Center, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine Center, Joint Base Andrews, MD, USA.
The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private views of the author and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the United States Air Force Medical Corps, the Air Force at large, or the Department of Defense. The author indicates that he does not have any conflicts of interests.
Med Acupunct. 2020 Dec 1;32(6):377-380. doi: 10.1089/acu.2020.1470. Epub 2020 Dec 16.
Developing a new and innovative acupuncture technique to deal with acute and chronic pain is a considerable undertaking in itself as many barriers must be overcome. Designing the technique and gaining acceptance is even more daunting and challenging across a large system of medical facilities such as the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration. Such was the case of Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA), a 5-needle placement in each external ear into specific auricular points to treat acute and chronic pain. This technique geared for military deployment is rapid, safe, and easily reproducible without side effects because it uses a choice acupuncture microsystem, namely the ear. Acquiring acupuncture practical skills is the prerequisite before designing the technique and then taking into consideration, neurophysiology data, and actual clinical experience to finally focus development is demanding. The benefits of BFA that was promulgated in a Joint Incentive Fund for $5.4 million resulted in thousands of trained health care providers and eventually many clinical trials to help validate the technique. Process improvement data were beneficial and important for its sustainment. There are 5 steps recommended for overcoming the barriers.
开发一种新的创新性针灸技术来治疗急慢性疼痛本身就是一项艰巨的任务，因为必须克服许多障碍。在国防部和退伍军人管理局等大型医疗设施系统中设计该技术并获得认可，更是令人生畏且具有挑战性。战场针灸（BFA）就是这样一个例子，即在每只外耳的特定耳穴中植入5根针来治疗急慢性疼痛。这种适用于军事部署的技术快速、安全且易于重复操作且无副作用，因为它使用了一种特定的针灸微系统，即耳朵。在设计该技术之前，获得针灸实践技能是先决条件，然后要考虑神经生理学数据和实际临床经验，最终聚焦于技术开发，这是一项艰巨的任务。在一项540万美元的联合激励基金中推广的战场针灸的益处，造就了数千名经过培训的医疗保健提供者，并最终促成了许多临床试验来帮助验证该技术。过程改进数据对其可持续发展有益且重要。为克服这些障碍推荐了5个步骤。
