Policy

Institute personnel have been leaders in policy development concerning complementary and integrative medicine. They have been involved not only in consistent scholarly publication on topics of law, regulation, ethics, and policy in the field, but also in forwarding the field through rendering legal advice to clients (in private practice and in pro bono projects), drafting legislation, and commenting on proposed regulatory activities. 

For example, among other activities, Advisory Board member Alan Dumoff, JD played a key role in drafting and lobbying for Maryland's first massage therapy statute, and also in working on the Hill toward amendment of the Kennedy-Kassenbaum legislation on specific area pertinent to reimbursement for complementary care.

Advisory Board member Sherman Cohn, JD has a long-standing history of developing legislation for acupuncture and traditional oriental medicine. A Board member of the National Acupuncture Foundation, Professor Cohn's involvement goes back to the early days of acupuncture's emergence as a profession in the U.S.

Michael H. Cohen, JD has participated in key public policy projects in integrative medicine, including:

• Serving as Consultant to Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Study of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
  
  
• Participating in drafting by the Federation of State Medical Boards of Model Guidelines for Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Medical Practice.
  
  
• Helping to advise the Massachusetts Special Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medical Practitioners.
  
  
• Serving on the Research Advisory Council for the Religion, Health and Healing Initiative, at the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School.