Pre-NMSAAM Town Hall Questions & Info

Resilience through Balance 2022 and Beyond

An NMSAAM Town Hall

by Tim Walsh, DOM, LAc

You are invited to participate in (or just experience) our first NMSAAM Town Hall Meeting via Zoom on November 22, 2021, 6:30 – 8:00pm.

Dr. Tim Walsh, DOM, LAc, is an NMSAAM Board Member at Large.

As the largest (and only) collective voice for DOMs in New Mexico, we are stronger when we know what our DOMs think and what they want. You have a voice! All DOMs are welcome to attend. You do not need to be an NMSAAM member to be welcomed into this Town Hall.

What do you want your state acupuncture association, NMSAAM, to be for you and our profession?

These questions and information are designed to inform you about possible topics for the Town Hall, and to ascertain your preferences and ideas ahead of time. The Zoom link will be sent statewide to all NMSAAM DOMs and to out of state NMSAAM members by Saturday, November 20.

Please help us to help you by letting us know your priorities from the following topics. Before the Town Hall, you are welcome to send your comments and ideas to info@nmsaam.org. We will do a poll at the meeting of the questions with each underlined topic.

Legislation

NMSAAM has hired a lobbyist group this year for the first time to advocate legislation that protects DOM licensure and our scope of practice, as well as for combating legislation that would be threatening to the acupuncture profession.

Our practice act sunsets in 2024, which may be a good time to “open up” our practice act. Other legislative topics of interest to some to address may be:

• License Reciprocity with other states
• Bringing basic injection therapy back to the general scope
• Tiered acupuncture licensing with the addition of a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) designation to the current slate of acupuncture professionals which includes DOMs, the Expanded Practice specialists, and the Detox Specialists. (LAc’s, like Detox Specialists, would not be required to have the NCCAOM herbal certificate.)
• NMSAAM has recently been working to bring more CEU providers to NM again by legislating temporary licensure with temporary loosening or requirements on out-of-state and out-of-country acupuncturists who are licensed elsewhere.

How would you rate the importance of Legislation for NM DOMs:  0 1 2 3 4 5

Please add any comments:

Continuing Education

• NMSAAM often provides 2 PDAs of NCCAOM required CEU courses at our annual board meeting. We generally offer the required ethics PDAs and safety PDAs every other year.
• In the past NMSAAM has organized weekend workshops that are sponsored by NMSAAM, these sponsored CEUs are discounted for members.
• NMSAAM members have recently been discussing the importance of providing or promoting resources that help the business development aspect of being a DOM.
• NMSAAM has recently been working to bring more CEU providers to NM by loosening the restrictions on out-of-state and out-of-country temporary licenses.

How would you rate the importance of NMSAAM facilitated CEUs for NM DOMs:  0 1 2 3 4 5

Please add any comments (for example, what topics are you interested in? Do you have specific knowledge or an area of interest that you would like to share with other DOMs in a Town hall or workshop?):

DOM Community

• NMSAAM provides opportunities to meet other DOMs, exchange information, and mingle with like-minded professionals
• NMSAAM organizes informal in-person gatherings for DOMs, their friends and family. The most recent event was August 2021.
• NMSAAM has organized community outreach events.
• NMSAAM will begin offering town hall events (online) to increase communication between NM DOMs, to provide education on relevant topics (possibly with CEUs), and to inform DOMs and the public about events important to our profession.

How would you rate the importance of Community for NM DOMs:  0 1 2 3 4 5

Please add any comments (Would you like more town halls for open discussion? What day/time? What topics interest you?):

Public Relations & Communications

• NMSAAM currently maintains a website and blog with DOM related local and national news, DOM email newsletters and a Facebook account.
• NMSAAM is working to build out our social network as a way of increasing the awareness of NM DOMs.
• NMSAAM is considering a feature of a NM DOM or clinic in our email newsletters.
• NMSAAM member Listserve resource for quick communications about specific topics with expert colleagues across the state and out-of -state members.

How would you rate the importance of Public Relations for NM DOMs:  0 1 2 3 4 5

Please add any comments:

Board of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

• NMSAAM monitors changes and chatter as it relates to the Board of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (BAOM) and acts as the voice of NM DOMs to represent their/our best interests.
• We are considering a Town hall or updates on our NMSAAM website about the differences between and functions of RLD (New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department), BAOM, and NMSAAM.
• Some BOD members attend BAOM meetings as often as they are able to sync with the BAOM.

How would you rate the importance of monitoring BAOM activity for NM DOMs:  0 1 2 3 4 5

Please add any comments:

Medical Insurance

• NMSAAM and the ASA continue to alert you to and sponsor webinars or town halls about the ever-changing realm of medical insurance providers, reimbursements, Medicare, and New Mexico’s developing Health Security Plan (universal healthcare of New Mexicans).
• Current goals are lowering co-pays for acupuncture and accessing Medicaid reimbursement
• NMSAAM maintains an Insurance Committee which stays informed on changes to reimbursements and provider contracts.
• The Insurance Committee is a valuable resource for DOMs who bill insurance.

How would you rate the importance of monitoring Insurance activity for NM DOMs:  0 1 2 3 4 5

Please add any comments:

Other general comments:

Please note: This article expresses the opinions and research of the author, and does not necessarily reflect all views or policies of NMSAAM members, the NMSAAM BOD, or the ASA.