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At the first visit, I’ll look at the whole picture of your health, not just one body part or organ. I’ll want to know what I can help you with, what you are looking for, what you’ve tried, what you haven’t, who you’ve seen, who you haven’t, what’s worked and what hasn’t, as well as review any outside records you have including labs, imaging studies, hospital records and consultant notes. And before I see you, we will ask you to fill out an intake inform so that I can review it before I see you. Then we will together develop a treatment plan tailored for you! And, if you like, I can send a note to any of your physicians letting them know my recommendations.
No, I find that our time is best spent together focusing on the unique ways that I can help address your health. That way you can get your routine health visits like pap smears, vaccinations, physicals, etc from your primary care doctor. Patients use me as a consultant that can help offer alternatives to medications or surgery.
For Whole Person Medicine, please call us our office and we can explain our fees. Depending on your situation and your insurance, certain services may be covered because I am a physician.
For Whole Person Therapy and Coaching, I charge $300 for the first hour-long initial visit. And then $200/hour for subsequent visits.
I am only contracted with Medicare.
As a courtesy to our patients who have PPO insurance, we can submit claims to the insurance, on your behalf. However, patients are ultimately responsible to understand their insurance coverage and benefits. Patients will be responsible for amounts due that are not covered by their insurance.
There is a pay valet parking lot behind our building (enter on Linden). There is 1 hour metered street parking nearby on Linden. There is also 1 or 2 hour street parking on McCarty, or Spalding Dr south of Charleville. For your first appointment, if you do not want to park in the valet lot behind our building, we recommend finding 2 hour parking, as your first appointment will be 60-90 mins.
There is a City of Beverly Hills public parking lot just one block north of Wilshire on little Santa Monica Blvd. View an overview of nearby parking lots from City of Beverly Hills here.
The first appointment is generally an hour long, and up to 1.5 hours long if it also includes an acupuncture treatment.
Follow-up acupuncture appointments are usually 40-45 minutes long.
Acupuncture treatments are very relaxing and enjoyable! I use a Japanese needling style that is intended for pain-free needle insertion. And if anything bothers you, please let me know and there are a number of things I can do to make it more soothing. The best acupuncture treatments are the ones where you can easily fall asleep, so I will be checking with in you to make sure you are comfortable. I have been trained in several acupuncture styles and I will tailor the approach to your specific condition.
Tiny! It’s like a strand of hair. The needle gauge, or size, is very different than needles used for blood draws. A standard size needle for a blood draw is 0.82mm in diameter and hollow to allow blood to flow through. I use acupuncture needles that are 0.16mm diameter and are solid. Solid acupuncture needles are less painful than thicker and hollow needles. I also utilize the highest quality acupuncture needles which helps ensure the most comfortable and nurturing experience possible.
Acupuncture is very safe. Complications are very rare especially when using individually sterilized, disposable needles. Complications such as organ puncture are extremely rare occurrences, especially with a well-trained practitioner.
Acupuncture is also safe during pregnancy. There are certain points that should be avoided during pregnancy which can possibly stimulate uterine contractions that well-trained acupuncturists are aware of.
This depends on the condition that is being treated. The range is generally from 1 to 3 times a week, depending on the intensity and severity of the symptoms. As the condition improves, the frequency of visits decreases. I generally recommend an initial trial of at least 4 treatments. Depending on the condition, patients often feel better after the first treatment.
If possible, it’s best to wear something comfortable, like workout clothes. If not, we have a cotton gown you can use. It’s also best to have eaten something within a few hours of your treatment. If you get acupuncture on an empty stomach, although rare, people could experience transient light-headedness.
It’s best to avoid vigorous exercise or physical therapy for at least a few hours after treatment. The pain reducing effect from acupuncture could make it easier to over extend and lead to accidental injury. It’s best if you can rest or relax after treatment. It’s also best to avoid caffeine or alcohol after a treatment while making sure to have adequate hydration. In general, exposure to cold after a treatment is also to be avoided. Getting a massage after acupuncture is perfectly acceptable and potentially helpful for certain musculoskeletal issues.
In case you haven’t noticed yet, I am a very open-minded practitioner and will utilize whatever is effective and is the most gentle. Most of these modalities I’ve learned outside of traditional Oriental Medicine programs. And trigger point injections can’t be done by acupuncturists and must be done by an MD.
I also have specialized training or have extensive experience using:
- Electroacupuncture / Electrical stimulation acupuncture. Sometimes this can be more effective than regular acupuncture. Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt!
- Osteopathy / osteopathic manipulation. For certain musculoskeletal conditions, I find combining this with acupuncture to be very effective.
- Scalp acupuncture / Neuroacupuncture. This is very useful for certain neurologic conditions as it combines advanced acupuncture needling techniques with modern understanding of neuroanatomy.
- Transcranial electrical stimulation. This can be very helpful for patients with stress, anxiety, PTSD, or even just needle phobia.
- Trigger Point Injections – these can only be done by an MD and can be more effective than acupuncture alone for particularly painful areas.
Click here to find out about my other offerings for pain and stress relief.
Please know that we do have a $50 cancellation fee for missed appointments or last minute cancellations. If you need to cancel your appointment for any reason, please be sure to call our office at least 24 hours in advance.
Medicare will cover acupuncture only in specific cases of low back pain. From the cms.gov website:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will cover acupuncture for chronic low back pain under section 1862(a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act. Up to 12 visits in 90 days are covered for Medicare beneficiaries under the following circumstances:
For the purpose of this decision, chronic low back pain (cLBP) is defined as:
- Lasting 12 weeks or longer;
- nonspecific, in that it has no identifiable systemic cause (i.e., not associated with metastatic, inflammatory, infectious, etc. disease);
- not associated with surgery; and
- not associated with pregnancy.
An additional eight sessions will be covered for those patients demonstrating an improvement. No more than 20 acupuncture treatments may be administered annually. Treatment must be discontinued if the patient is not improving or is regressing.
And yes, Dr. Chee is a participating Medicare provider.