This post is a copy of the email I sent to let everyone know that Fireweed Acupuncture is changing the software used for booking appointments/classes and visit summaries for patients. Hopefully, the new software will make the patient experience much easier, including a better patient portal. (More details on the new features below!) This is a bit long but has important information on the software switch!

Conversations around privacy, especially in a healthcare setting, have come up often lately, and I wanted to share some of the thoughts and philosophy I have around it as a practitioner - and a journal entry here seemed like the easiest way. (It definitely isn’t a topic that I can boil down to an Instagram caption!) Some of this may seem like a bit of an odd topic, coming from an acupuncturist, but I hope the information is useful to you, and also gives you an idea of what I am thinking about while operating my practice!

A common sight in Iowa are Chiropractic offices that offer “chiropractic & acupuncture” - but this can be confusing to consumers! I often field questions from people asking what the differences and similarities are. So, continuing down the potentially controversial path, here is information that (I hope!) can help people sort out what they are looking for in their acupuncture practitioner.

I’ll say right up front - this is a hot issue in both acupuncture and physical therapy (providers who do dry needling) fields, with a lot of opinions on each side. But, as patients, what is important is to know the difference and how each can help you! So, my hope with this entry is to clear up some confusion and answer some common questions.

Many of us (including me!) like to start the new year off with resolutions, goals, or intentions. There’s something a little bit magical to me about milestones like a new year or a birthday - a chance to reflect and think of things you’d like to change going forward. While I don’t think there is a need to design an entirely new person every January 1st, I do think there is a lot of value in striving for changes we’d like to see in our lives! After all, life is about movement, and if there is no movement or change, we tend to stagnate - and stagnation in Chinese medicine is never a good sign. But, our goals and intentions can often quickly fall by the wayside.

Not knowing what to expect when seeing a new practitioner can be a big source of anxiety, especially if you’ve never gotten acupuncture before! This entry describes the process of your first appointment, from start to finish.

Not knowing what to expect for your appointments can be a big source of anxiety for people! This entry walks you through the step-by-step of what to do before your first appointment.

Determining the correct dose of an herbal remedy can often be confusing for people and is one of the most frequent questions that I come across when discussing herbal remedies with people. There are many different schools of thought related to dosing, so I am going to try to give a general overview of the different types of dosing, (briefly!) discuss formulas vs individual herbs, and then at the end I will summarize the way I practice.