Saturday, October 8, 2011

Quality Control & Patient Referrals

It's been a while since I've updated this site, but for the past 5 years, I've never been busier... as many of you know.

With the onslaught of projects, teaching requests, consulting jobs, and other commitments (such as family), I've gotten to the point where I never imagined I'd be.... too busy to take on all comers.

In order for me to maintain some semblance of quality service to my existing patients, I've recently instituted new policies limiting new patients to only those who come with referrals from existing patients, as well as having raised my prices.

So that I can keep the kind of focused, devoted, and emotionally invested energy in the care of my patients, these steps have been quite necessary. To offset my severe lack of availability, I will eventually start offering workshops to clinicians teaching them my preferred methods of diagnosis & care.

Thank you for your understanding, for your support, and most of all, for your devotion.

Best always,

Mark Cheng, L.Ac., Ph.D., Sr RKC, FMS faculty

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Are your feet hurting? It could be Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is quickly becoming a more common condition, as we spend more time seated, wearing "heel lifted" shoes, and using irregular exercise patterns. Here's a short vid clip I did with Beachbody to explain the rough idea behind what might be feeding your foot pain & give you an idea of how to intervene with it!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Running into a dead-end with pain?

All too often, patients (and their doctors) get lulled into a vicious cycle of pain & treatment without end.

It's a common problem that plays out like this:

- Patient hurts.
- Patient goes to see doctor.
- Doctor prescribes treatment. Treatment works temporarily, often with side effects.
- Patient hurts again.
- Patient goes back to see doctor.
- Doctor repeats treatment again... and again.... and again.... and again.

Now while that sounds like it might be a great business plan for the doctor, it's a losing proposition for both the patient and for the advancement of medicine.

Doing the same thing over & over yet expecting a different outcome is the definition of either insanity or abject denial. I've heard of it happening plenty of times with the patient even going to see different surgeons, different specialists, and even practitioners of different modalities and still receiving outcomes that are anything but effective.

This isn't a slam at those doctors, but rather it's a call to start opening our eyes and our minds - both as patients and as physicians. We need to look outside the "usual suspects" when it comes to treating pain, especially chronic pain, but we also need to use a scientific method that is reproducible and logical.

This is our mandate as medical professionals. Let's make sure that we hold ourselves accountable to that and continue to strive to give our patients the BEST care possible, even if it means that we ourselves have to get outside of our comfort zones to learn new treatment methods!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Welcome back!

Welcome to the new & improved Chung-Hua.com website. This new blog-based format will allow me to give you the viewers, readers, researchers/students, & patients the greatest degree of interactivity with the least amount of down time.

The new format will concentrate solely on the clinical & rehabilitative services we offer at the Chung-Hua Institute, as well as providing you with educational health maintenance tips that you can implement at home, work, school or on the road.

Thank you for your interest & support. If you'd like to schedule an appointment, please e-mail us at dr@mark-cheng.com with the subject reading "Appointment Request".

We look forward to helping you meet, and exceed, your healthcare, recovery, and health maintenance goals!