Published: 2009-04-11 21:13:32
Author: Michelle Cater Rash, Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area, March 4, 2009
Heather McIver has seen a lot of changes since opening Stillpoint Acupuncture in Greensboro in 2001.
When she started her practice, many of her patients said their friends thought they were crazy for trying alternative medicine. Now, she says, she hardly ever hears comments like that. Meanwhile, local physicians are also more embracing and accepting of the practice, she says, with many of her patients now coming from doctor referrals.
“People are thinking of it less as voodoo,” she says, adding that even the Air Force recently began offering acupuncture as a service to its airmen and airwomen. “I don’t feel I have to defend myself anymore.”
The use of alternative medicine is on the rise nationally. According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, 38 percent of adults had used some type of complementary or alternative medicine in 2007, up 5 percent from 2002.
The center’s definition of complementary and alternative medicine covers a wide range of things from acupuncture and massage therapy to the use of vitamins and herbal supplements.
Among the most popular complementary medicines are the use of herbal supplements (used by 18 percent of the population), breathing techniques (13 percent) and chiropractic care (7 percent). While only used by about 2 percent of the population, acupuncture saw the biggest increase in use during the five-year period.
The study also found that more patients used complementary medicine when they were worried about the cost of more traditional care. Nearly 50 percent of complementary medicine patients chose it over conventional medicines because of concerns about the cost.
The types of patients visiting alternative and complementary clinics are as widespread as the types of treatments they receive. Local practitioners say they treat men and women, from newborns to the elderly.
They serve as the primary health care provider to some and provide only supplementary treatment or stress relief to others.
According to local practitioners and online research, alternative medicine providers typically charge between $75 and $90 for the first visit, which generally lasts between 90 minutes and two hours and involves both evaluation and treatment.