The general practitioners have long given way to the Specialists in any profession or career. The Jack-of-all-trades has been replaced by the Master-of-One, and the know-it-all is relegated to the dustbin of history. A vocation demands a hundred percent attention, and he who believes he has mastered all, ends up merely skimming the surface. The realm of Hippocrates is one varied amalgam of disciplines, with each generation discovering new technologies on health-care. This is not a trend, but a necessity, because the future of mankind is at stake. We have known of a few Doctors who dabbled in Acupuncture, but their immersion to the field turned out wanting in some aspects. Consequently, that very primordial “trust” was quite elusive. A patient needs to trust his Doctor for optimum results. This interview took place at Point of Care Acupuncture Clinic of Dr. Jefferson Huan Ong (JHO) at BQ Mall.

LMP: What is Acupuncture?

JHO: Acupuncture is an Ancient Chinese procedure; it is part of a bigger body called Traditional Chinese Medicine. It deals with the energy in the body called Qi (Chi). In theory, Qi literally means spirit. It is translated as some form of living energy that exists in the body. It has two forms: Yin Qi and Yang Qi, the former is stable energy, cold, unmoving while the latter is warm, dynamic, always on the move, and unpredictable. You need the balance of the two, the predictability and stability of Yin and the dynamism of Yang. To maintain life, these two must have to be in correct balance. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the study of health is not only with regards to the physical body unlike; Western Medicine wherein it’s all the physical aspect – what you can touch, see, quantify, and measure. But in Traditional Chinese Medicine and all forms all Eastern Medicine, we do believe that there has to be oneness in all parts of the person, the body, mind, and spirit.

LMP: This kind of thought must have originated long time ago.

JHO: Yeah. In fact, it is purported to have originated ten thousand years ago. Just like most ancient civilizations, there is always the involvement of mind and spirit. If we go back to this kind of thinking, then we will able to treat the person more wholisticablly.

LMP: As an Acupuncturist, you treat the person not just physically but the other dimensions as well.

JHO: Of course, a person comes to see a Doctor for physical problem, pains, tumor, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. However, when you interview the patient and get to know him, (maybe not during the initial encounter), but when you get to know the patient he feels more relaxed and excited with you around.

LMP: Does it follow that it has touches of psychology, psychiatry?

JHO: Certainly. In fact, there is a group of Doctors who believe that Psychiatry is a pseudo science; they don’t believe that it is scientific. They say that, yeah, you are studying part of it but you cannot measure it, so it is not real science. However, that is not the case; I don’t believe that it should be like that. Psychology plays a great role, just like the Professor of mine had said that 80 percent of the disease burden, the burden of a particular disease, is in the mind.

LMP: Is that also your own experience with your patients?

JHO: Yes, I have patients who practically have no physical problem but they are so down, weak… they cannot function, they cannot go to the office, and they cannot sleep. They have children who are successful and a caring husband or wife. Depressed, for what?

LMP: In your training, did you have subjects in Psychiatry and Psychology?

JHO: Psychiatry is part of our curriculum in Medical School. It is one of the most interesting subjects but it also deals with one of the biggest theories. It has theory on a particular function of the brain, particular behavior, everything, although you can see them, you can predict many of these diseases (mood disorders, depression, anxiety) but because you cannot measure these conditions, that’s why some Doctors say that there is a physical cause to that. It is not purely just the process of the mind. Going back to Acupuncture, this is wholistic medicine, we involved all three elements: in Christian Theology we call that the body, the soul, and the spirit. The soul is mainly comprised of what we call, if we talk about it in secular term, the mind. The mind is not the brain; it is the face of unseen entities, your personality…everything that talks about you. Treating these three together, will bring about the best results. There are a group of practitioners of Acupuncture who are starting to make it more conformative to modern science which is a good thing, because now we are able to convince Doctors to accept Acupuncture as a specialty. In doing that, they create an image of Acupuncture that is very welcome; like for example, a person has a problem with the heart, problem with the liver, and this meridian connects to this, so everything is scientifically put together. In that way, it becomes more acceptable to modern medicine but it detaches itself slowly from the ancient way of treating diseases.

LMP: Going back to what you mentioned, are there some sectors, entities, scientists, doctors who still don’t accept Acupuncture as of now?

JHO: Yes, a very large percentage. Even though modern research shows that it works there are still some who remain very skeptical. It’s a difficult thing to fit in. When I took this up, I was very careful and when I introduced it, especially here in Bohol, I was already a member of the Bohol Medical Society so; I practically did not even care to tell my fellow Doctors in the Society about my specialty. They just came to learn about it and after that they asked me to speak in the Post-graduate course that they have.

LMP: What led you to this inclination?

JHO: When I started my practice after I passed the Board, I came to BQ and volunteered as a Company Doctor. I have to earn my keep, so I taught medical subjects at Holy Name University. While I was doing that, I ended up trying to put together some sort of profile of what kind of diseases or complaints patients come to see me for. The usually come because of pain, that is very significant, I mean you may have a tumor but you choose to hide. When it gets too painful you see the Doctor.

LMP: In your case, your liking for Acupuncture started not from the very beginning, not in high school, not when you were in college but only when you became a Doctor.

JHO: In fact, I was contemplating out the beginning to be an Infectious Disease Specialist or a Surgeon. But when I saw that pattern, it’s always about pain, so I tried to research on better ways to treat pain. It’s always the same pattern, you give them a mild analgesic, later on if it does not work, you end up taking the very powerful ones, like morphine just to ease the pain. It became a very frustrating fact because I have the most patients with this particular complaint. How do I deal with it? I had to look for a way, so I was thinking maybe I should take up Pain Management that falls under Anesthesiology. But I read an article about the World Health Organization that Acupuncture is being promoted as treatment for pain. It’s a pain management therapy. I asked my cousin in China to look for a school or hospital that I can train in Acupuncture. Luckily in my father’s hometown, they have this huge and modern hospital that deals on Traditional Chinese Medicine. They said, “You can enroll here, this is the training center for Doctors in Acupuncture.”

LMP: How long did you stay there?

JHO: I stayed for about three months but that was a full immersion. I have to learn to speak the Chinese language more, and I have to be in the hospital everyday.

LMP: What is the name of the hospital?

JHO: It’s Quanzhu Hospital. This particular hospital happened to be a training center for South East Asia. It is a famous hospital for Doctors from Singapore, Taiwan, Hongkong, Macau, and even the Philippines.

LMP: But that’s basically for Acupuncture alone?

JHO: Not just Acupuncture, it’s Traditional Chinese Medicine. That hospital has very modern facilities like, CT scan machine, X-rays, laboratories for different tests, they have departments for pediatrics, obstetrics, everything.

LMP: And you met the experts?

JHO: Yeah, I met the experts, that was the nicest experience. I was there during the summer when all the other students went home. I was their only student, that’s why I was able to learn a lot in just three months. I went to the hospital everyday including Sundays and was immersed with seventy patients daily. Even with that I still felt something was lacking. What I did was, I had to come home late of 2006 because my wife was about to give birth. In that scenario, wherein I was having a hard time, there was this Doctor in Cebu, a Medical Acupuncturist who was about to migrate to the States with his family; and his predicament was where to refer his patients. When he learned that I was coming home from China, he immediately told me that, “I will have you take over my clinic.” But I cannot leave my hometown because I promised myself; I am going to practice here, so I established another clinic in Tagbilaran.

LMP: How about that one in Cebu?

JHO: I go to Cebu every week and come back here every weekend.

LMP: Any difference between the patients in Cebu and Bohol?

JHO: Practically no difference because I cater to a wide range of patients. If they can take my location and eager enough to go there (because there are some who are choosy), I could provide my services even to Class A patients. And when indigents come for help, I could always adjust my fees. Hopefully, it will remain as my objective throughout my life, to reach the greater number of Filipinos.

LMP: You mentioned about people come to your clinic complaining about pain. What pain in particular?

JHO: All sorts. They come here for migraine headaches, eye pain, ear pain, throat pain. In Cebu, I noticed that the people there tend to be more open; they actually come for me for anything. They are not afraid to say that, “Doc, I have a sore throat. Can you treat it?”

LMP: Even sore throat could be treated?

JHO: Yeah, I will explain the theory why it is effective. In Cebu, the patients are very open when it comes to therapy; they’re more broad in a sense that almost anything they feel, they come to me for treatment. While in Tagbilaran, it’s more on back pain, if they have a cough, they usually not mention it.

LMP: Coughing is not pain.

JHO: Yeah, but Acupuncture is very effective for allergies, asthma, and others. The problem is that, patients usually want instant relief, which is not possible. If it is instant, it still comes back. That is why in Acupuncture, you have to come for a number of sessions because you are actually trying to rebalance the energy flow of the body, the Yin and Yang. Most disease entities would have an increased of too much of either Yang or Yin. Acupuncture balances from the energy point of view, and the physical will follow.

LMP: I understand that Acupuncture is piercing with needles.

JHO: That is the origin of the term, “acus” (Latin Word) means “needle.” This is actually penetrating and sticking with the needles. The origin of Acupuncture was way back in Ancient times in China, the first needles being discovered were made of stones. Later on, when humans started to use metals, it becomes better.

LMP: What are the metals you are using now?

JHO: I am using stainless steel because it is relatively inert to the body, it does not cause any reaction unlike other metals.

LMP: What’s the extent of the penetration, does it vary?

JHO: It varies a lot.

LMP: What’s the procedure and position of the patient during the treatment?

JHO: Lying down, sitting down, it depends on the area where we are treating.

LMP: How many needles have to be inserted?

JHO: It depends on the number of involved parts. To those recovering from accident, more needles are needed because of the many injuries.

LMP: In my case, my problem is colds. Where do you place the needles?

JHO: It depends, if the throat is your main problem, then we have to select a point that is pertinent to that.

LMP: For how long do the needles stick to the body?

JHO: For 15 to 30 minutes and the average is 20 minutes.

LMP: When it is removed is there no blood?

JHO: As much as possible, we avoid blood vessels but sometimes it can’t be avoided because there are small veins under the skin that cannot be seen; so there will be a little bleeding. But mostly, we cannot pinpoint the bleeding part because the needles are very thin just like the hair. For the fatty area of the body, we are using longer needles to reach the meridians. Meridians are energy channels where the Qi flows.

LMP: Has this something to do with Reflexology?

JHO: Reflexology is a simplified derivative of Acupuncture. It concentrates on the terminal points, the feet, hands, and scalp. These terminal points are very effective for treating certain diseases but they’re quiet general. The terminal points are limited in number, and then you apply pressure on a particular point that will stimulate the organ involved but it will not tell the organ particularly what to do. The advantage of Acupuncture is that, you are able to apply on certain points that would increase or decrease or you can connect it with the organ; it’s direct. It involves the whole body from the scalp to the sole of the feet.

LMP: Every Doctor has his own philosophy especially with the way he sees his patients. You mentioned a while ago about indigents, do you treat for free?

JHO: Sometimes, for those who cannot afford, and to those who accompany their patients, they tend to become curious so, I let them try.

LMP: What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when a patient sees you?

JHO: The person has a problem.

LMP: And you could help them all the time?

JHO: Not all the time. Sometimes I have to send them away. There was one time somebody came here with obviously having active tuberculosis. Even if I didn’t have other patients in the office, I cannot treat that person because he was trying to look for magic. When I asked him, “Did you go see somebody at the City Health Office to help you with this? The government gives free medicines for tuberculosis.” He answered, “No, because I want you to treat me.” I told him, “If I will treat you, you will spend for medicines. You must go to the City Health Office; I will not treat you here. Acupuncture is not the primary treatment for tuberculosis.” We know the cause of tuberculosis and the government has a very good program to treat this disease, and the result is very successful. Only that there are some people who do not cooperate.

LMP: Between males and females, who have more complains?

JHO: Females statistically have more complaints, that is because they verbalize more and ones they talk, they tend to tell you everything. That’s the openness women have. While men are secretive, they only tell the doctor, “I am okay, only my neck is in pain.” And not telling you that he also suffers from headache during the evening, stomach pain in the morning, he will not tell you a lot of things contributing to his neck pain. Probably, the neck pain is not musculus skeletal, maybe it is neurological, maybe he is about to have a stroke, a very high blood pressure, maybe he is suffering from diabetes. If you refer him for laboratory tests, he will leave because everything is okay. That’s the barrier between the sexes; females are easier to deal with and the males are usually dragged by their wives or children to come here. (Laughs)

LMP: A while ago, you were speaking about the mind, soul, body, and spirituality. You are a Roman Catholic, right?

JHO: I am a Born Again Christian.

LMP: Has religion no effect in Acupuncture?

JHO: I do believe that there is a universal need. Every human has this hallow part of his being that once filled, he continuously seek for fulfillment. I believe that, that is the spiritual portion, one need that we have, and we cannot quantify and measure it regardless of time and place. From the time man started to record history, spirit is always involved. Today, we may have a lot of atheists but they are no less human and no less needy.

LMP: What’s your philosophy in life?

JHO: As a Doctor, the simplest way to put it is, “to serve humanity and to communicate the goodness of God to them. I mean, in the absence of God we are no good.”

Awed and impressed by Dr. Jefferson H. Ong, I left his Clinic with happy thoughts about health care. Meeting him made my day, despite the quake that could unnerve an ordinary mortal into panic. He gave me his contact numbers ((038) 411-3164 loc. 294/09209491992) email address (jeffongmd77@gmail.com) and website (www.acupuncturebohol.com) upon my request. Now, I know whom to call and where to go when my not-so-young body emits discomfort and pain. It’s a pleasant thought to have a Doctor who is a friend you can trust with your life.

(Notation: Loy M. Palapos is presently confined at Medical City)

(Website: www.loypalapos.com; Email address: loy.pal@gmail.com; Cell #: 0949834595)