Acupuncture and Expertise
A Challenge to Physician Control
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20334270 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Schwartz (0000-0001-8199-565X), Robert J Schwartz (0000-0001-9202-2984, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1981 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 5 |
| Publication date | 1981-04-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Hastings Center Report (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0093-0334 • E-ISSN: 1552-146X |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3561064 |
| PMID | 7053053 |
| OpenAlex | W2004764916 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
Oj ne of the unexpected consequences of reopening commerce with China in the 1970s has been the development of a demand for acupuncture in the United States. From the time of Richard Nixon's first visit, travelers have returned from China with pictures showing the use of acupuncture as an anesthetic in very serious operations, and with stories of the phenomenal success of acupuncture in treating pain generally not amenable to Western medical procedures. Although there is little doubt that the skilled application of acupuncture can ameliorate some kinds of pain, its action has not been explained by any theory based on Western principles. Many Western researchers believe that the process releases endorphins and enkephalins, substances produced in the body that act like morphine, but such a theory cannot explain the very specific nature of the effect of acupuncture. Doctors of Chinese medicine may be amused to watch laboratory attempts to discover the mechanism of acupuncture, which they know consists in maintaining the free flow of Ch'i, the force of life, through the body. The value of acupuncture, its practitioners claim, is that the Ch'i can flow freely only if the yin and yang are balanced. While balancing the yin and yang may be just as rigorous a discipline as any Western medical subspecialty, and while it may require just as much intelligence and care as any Western medical technique, its explanation is not scientific in the way we normally use that term. As long as acupuncture remained a quaint curiosity, the medical profession ignored it. But because recent legislative and judicial decisions, especially the Texas case of Andrews v. Ballard 498 F. Supp. 1038 (S.D. Tex., Hous. Div. 1980), have challenged physician control not only of
Acupuncture · Alternative medicine · Control (management) · Family medicine · MEDLINE · Political science · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Ethics in medical practice · Law · Medical History and Innovations · Medical Malpractice and Liability Issues · Medicine · Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1985 - 2025 (41) |
| Highly cited | No |