In 2013, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine collaborated with the Integrative Medicine Working Group at Columbia University, New York, NY to add an acupuncture session for students on the university’s Morningside campus. For the past two years, the new acupuncture session has had about 2000 campus visits each year, with a no-show rate of less than 5% and high patient-satisfaction scores. The most-common diagnoses for student referral were back, neck, shoulder, and knee pain, muscle spasm, headache, and fatigue.
The new program has been such a success that further improvements and expansion are planned, such as a new session design specifically for athletes. PCOM and Columbia University may also do outcome-based quality-care studies together, such as figuring out how much money Medical Services saves by keeping students in-house for care. The excellent reception from students means that similar programs could meet with equal success in other college health centers, patterned on the groundwork laid in the development of this program.
For the full evaluation of the new program, see: Integrating an Acupuncture Service at an Ivy League University Student Health Service