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June 2009
Swedish Institute on-line newsletter for our students, faculty and community.
The Swedish Institute is pleased to announce the start of a research project to assess the value of acupuncture in the management of chronic pain for low-income primary care patients. The project represents a collaboration between Montefiore Medical Center, the Continuum Center for Health and Healing, and the Swedish Institute Acupuncture Program. Patients participating in the project will be recruited from among adult patients with chronic pain due to osteoarthritis, back, or neck pain who receive primary care at one of three Montefiore Medical Group health centers, which are all members of the New York City Research and Improvement Networking Group (NYC RING).
Francesca Biryukov, MS, LAc, Dean for the Acupuncture Program at the Swedish Institute, was instrumental in negotiating the school’s participation in the project. As Clinical Director for the past 10 years, she has overseen many of the off-site clinics, as well as the Yu Wen Acupuncture Clinic at the school. “This will be a unique and exciting opportunity for student interns to be part of a research project at a major urban medical center,” she said. “Not only will they have the opportunity to use acupuncture to help people in the community, which all of our clinics offer, they will also be part of an interdisciplinary collaboration, learning how to conduct research and working with specialists who treat pain.” Students who intern during the research project will receive a special certificate of participation from the school to document their unique learning experience.
Patients receiving acupuncture will be evaluated for primary outcomes (pain level, pain free days, health-related quality of life) and secondary outcomes (pain medication use, and visits to primary care physicians and specialists). Outcomes for patients during a pre-acupuncture phase (patients receiving usual care only) will be compared to a period during which acupuncture is added to routine care. Pain measure will be evaluated eight weeks after the acupuncture treatments end.
Primary care providers at the health centers will be educated about acupuncture’s use for pain management and indicators for referral prior to the start of the project. Interns will be able to use an individualized approach rather than a standardized treatment protocol, reflecting a more “real-world” application. The rationale for this decision is based on the primary aim of the project, which is to demonstrate improved outcomes when acupuncture is incorporated into routine primary care.