Acupuncture Tony Y. Chon, MD, and Mark C. Lee, MD CME Activity Target Audience: The target audience for Mayo Clinic Proceedings is primarily internal medicine physicians and other clinicians who wish to advance their current knowledge of clinical medicine and who wish to stay abreast of advances in medical research. Statement of Need: General internists and primary care providers must maintain an extensive knowledge base on a wide variety of topics covering all body systems as well as common and uncommon disorders. Mayo Clinic Proceedings aims to leverage the expertise of its authors to help physicians understand best practices in diagnosis and management of conditions encountered in the clinical setting. Accreditation: Mayo Clinic College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Credit Statement: Mayo Clinic College of Medicine designates this journalbased CME activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s).TM Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Learning Objectives: Educational objectives. On completion of this article, you should be able to (1) discuss the basic philosophy of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, (2) describe the history, proposed mechanism of action, and safety of acupuncture, and (3) demonstrate a basic understanding of practice of acupuncture and its current evidence of efficacy. Disclosures: As a provider accredited by ACCME, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine (Mayo School of Continuous Professional Development) must ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in its educational activities. Course Director(s), Planning Committee members, faculty, and all others who are in a position to control the content of this educational activity are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest related to the subject matter of the educational activity. Safeguards against commercial bias have been put in place. Faculty also will disclose any off-label and/or investigational use of pharmaceuticals or instruments discussed in their presentation. Disclosure of this information will be published in course materials so that those participants in the activity may formulate their own judgments regarding the presentation. In their editorial and administrative roles, William L. Lanier, Jr, MD, Terry L. Jopke, Kimberly D. Sankey, and Nicki M. Smith, MPA, have control of the content of this program but have no relevant financial relationship(s) with industry. The authors report no competing interests. Method of Participation: In order to claim credit, participants must complete the following: 1. Read the activity. 2. Complete the online CME Test and Evaluation. Participants must achieve a score of 80% on the CME Test. One retake is allowed. Participants should locate the link to the activity desired at http://bit.ly/1dz0jLw. Upon successful completion of the online test and evaluation, you can instantly download and print your certificate of credit. Estimated Time: The estimated time to complete each article is approximately 1 hour. Hardware/Software: PC or MAC with Internet access. Date of Release: 10/01/2013 Expiration Date: 09/30/2015 (Credit can no longer be offered after it has passed the expiration date. Contact dletcsupport@mayo.edu. Abstract Worldwide, acupuncture is integral to everyday medical practice. In recent decades its practice has gained popularity in the United States. With increasing evidence of its clinical efficacy, acupuncture is now a widely practiced treatment modality in complementary and integrative medicine. According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, an estimated 3.1 million US adults and 150,000 children had acupuncture in the previous year. The National Health Interview Survey also estimated that between 2002 and 2007, acupuncture use among adults increased by approximately 1 million people. Patients want more information from their clinicians about the use of acupuncture and its safety and efficacy. Although many clinicians may recommend acupuncture, they often believe they are not sufficiently informed to discuss acupuncture with their patients. This article provides answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding acupuncture. ยช 2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research n Mayo Clin Proc. 2013;88(10):1141-1146 WHAT IS ACUPUNCTURE? Acupuncture is a technique of insertion and manipulation of fine needles in specific points on the body to achieve therapeutic purposes. Acupuncture has been practiced widely in China for more than 4000 years and is an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine. It was first