The three Case Management courses are designed to prepare the students to manage patient care as a primary health care professional.

Part 1: overview of the responsibilities of a primary care provider. By the end of this course, students will be able to perform a thorough intake according to the diagnostic principles of Oriental Medical theory, including western vital signs and other information relevant to integrated practice. Students will also learn to chart accurately and concisely, following S.O.A.P. notes procedure and patient report-of-findings, and write a detailed case study presentation utilizing S.O.A.P. format.

Part 2: prepare the students with the knowledge and skills of treatment planning, continuity of care, referral, and collaboration; follow-up care, final review, and functional outcome measurements; prognosis and future medical care.

Part 3: prepare students with the knowledge and skills of case management for workers’ compensation/labor codes and procedures and qualified evaluations, coding procedures for current procedure codes, including CPT and ICD-10 diagnosis. The course also will train students to write medical-legal reports, expert medical testimony and independent medical review. Emergency procedures and seriously ill patient special care also will be discussed.

This course provides students with the information they need to apply their acupuncture training skills in a business -like manner in a variety of clinical settings. The emphasis is on a practical application of business and professional skills and information necessary to provide acupuncture health care to an ever-growing population of patients. This course will teach students to understand the synergistic nature of the professional, ethical, financial and marketing skills necessary to run a primary health care practice in the USA in the 21st century and will prepare students to set up, run and/or maintain a viable practice.

This course builds basic skills in statistics and research methodology in the health field. To ensure the quality, appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of the services they provide, managers must make decisions based on the best available evidence. Even if they do not themselves engage in research activities, they should understand the research process, the assumptions which underlie different research strategies, and be able to critically assess research findings as a basis for decision-making. The course discusses the assumptions of clinical and social research models and the nature and use of health care statistical data.  Peer review process is also addressed.

This course focuses on the ethical considerations of practice management, including lectures and discussions on ethics, jurisprudence, and current issues affecting the modern health care practitioner. The laws and regulations of the California Acupuncture Board and other government agencies will be thoroughly reviewed. Students will gain familiarity with ethical issues facing modern integrated health care practitioners and an understanding of the legal responsibilities of private practitioners. Additionally, students will be taught the ethics of business management, including marketing strategies and insurance billing, and the laws and regulations of local and federal governments as regards Medical Ethics.