Bartosz Chmielnicki graduted at the Silesian Medical Academy in 2002. Being a student he found interest in acupuncture. Therefore in 2004 he completed a course in acupuncture for medical doctors in Warsaw and afterwards he commenced working in the Chronic Pain Clinic in Tychy, Poland. Being exposed to the numerous patients he commenced to look for the reason of acupuncture effectiveness, which he did not find in the paradigm of western medicine. Hence in 2005-2009 he took part in the Chinese medicine course in Krakow, Poland. In 2008 together with Dr Michal Richter established the Compleo Clinic and School of Chinese Medicine (CCSCM) in Katowice, Poland. In a role of the medical practitioner who practices Chinese medicine, he eagerly shares his knowledge and experience. He lectures at the CCSCM, takes parts in various conferences and prepared an original programme for the treatment of pain addressed to medical practitioners. He published a poster and a book about 28 different qualities of the Chinese medicine pulses. For two years he has been working on presentation of the names of acupuncture points in the form symbolic drawings.

The molecular mechanisms of acupuncture.

Acupuncture is a method of healing and forms a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine – a logical, consistent and closed system of medicine originating from ancient China. Since the seventies of the XX century, western medicine by means of its own instruments and methods researches acupuncture extensively due to the clinical effectiveness and unprecedented, in western therapies, safety profile. In consequence, the last thirty years of research into acupuncture produced the long list of illnesses and conditions where acupuncture proved to be effective. Moreover the research have demonstrated the science proved mechanisms of acupuncture action. The presentation will demonstrate the research on the morphology of the acupuncture points, theories explaining the transmission of the acupuncture signal and the research on biochemical basis of acupuncture effectiveness.

Economic legitimacy of acupuncture.

Public healthcare from its early day was directly linked with expense. In various historical periods the issue of expense was emphasized or diminished due to the current political needs. These days health is frequently perceived as a merchandise and the treatment of alignments, restoration and maintenance of health make a wide range of available services. Therefore each therapy is judged not only on the basis of its effectiveness and safety, but also on the economical grounds. The lecture will present a selection of research results on the economic legitimacy of acupuncture treatment in different countries and various health care systems. The results might be helpful in the development of the strategies for the market of medical services.