Shabnam Pourhassani, holds a doctorates and a masters in acupuncture and herbal medicine, deeply rooted in integrative medicine.

She is not your typical American Acupuncturist.

Integrative medicine in this setting is defined as the use of bio-medical diagnostic services while being managed by a licensed acupuncturist with  primary care privileges. (Dr. Pourhassani, DACM, Lac, only orders labs and imaging if they are medically necessary).

Adjunct acupuncture; is when acupuncture is added to other treatments, drugs, and surgeries.  Adjunct acupuncture is provided for patients during pregnancy, and in the hospital setting.

Other than during pregnancy; Dr. Pourhassani, DACM only provides adjunct acupuncture if research and evidence support the addition of acupuncture.  This busts the myth that acupuncture can be added to any and all other healthcare interventions. For many conditions; the evidence states acupuncture may be not only as effective, but also without side effects.  Other studies show acupuncture reduces utilization of services. Dr. Pourhassani does not support wasting healthcare resources.

Primary Care; practicing at the top of her license, since 2008; she provides primary care services to select patients. These patients reaped the benefits of obtaining appointments, tests and results faster than conventional primary care. Additionally, they reaped the benefit of receiving alternative treatments which altered their course of illness; they did not develop chronic illness, or chronic pain. (at this time she is not accepting new patients for primary care).

Dr. Pourhassani, DACM, LAc îs the acupuncturist to call for a consultation if other acupuncturist have not been able to reduce your pain, get you pregnant, or manage serious health concerns.

 

Pourhassani holds a second masters degree in health system science; completing courses in

• Quality, Safety and Performance Improvement,
• Health Analytics,
• Digital health,
• Cost-effectiveness,
• Leadership,
• Healthcare financing,
• Program evaluation,
• Health equity,
• Biostatistics,
• Clinical informatics,
• and Qualitative research.

Performance Improvement Initiative Lead 2022-2024

Developed and Executed a Comprehensive Research-Based Project

• Initiative Development: Spearheaded a performance improvement initiative aimed at reducing length of stay. This initiative was based on case reports, Joint Commission recommendations, and scientific evidence, ensuring that it adhered to the highest standards of patient care.
• Presentation Advocacy, and Stakeholder Engagement: Presented the project findings to hospital leadership and key stakeholders
• Qualitative Research: Designed and executed a qualitative research project, analyzing stakeholder interviews to uncover barriers to implementation of the novel initiative.

Digital Mobile Application Ideation and Stakeholder Engagement 2021-present
Addressing the STD Crisis in Response to New California Law

• Led the ideation process for a mobile digital health application aligned with new California laws and digital medical application regulations to address the growing STD crisis. In compliance with relevant legislation and healthcare standards.

Physician Well-Being Program Development
2022–Present

• Designed and developed a well-being program for physicians, surgeons, and residents, driven by requests to improve mental and physical health.
• Utilized scientific literature to provide evidence-based support for program initiatives, ensuring alignment with the latest research on physician well-being.

Oral presentations

• Invited. Grand Rounds Lecture. Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Department of Anesthesiology, 2023
• Required. Informatics Journal Club, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Master’s in Health Systems Science, 2022, Title: Improving the Delivery of Palliative Care Through Predictive Modeling and Healthcare Informatics. Journal: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association,
• Invited. MD/RN Lecture. Cedars Sinai Medical Center- Safety and Efficacy of Acupuncture Department of Neurosurgery, 2020
• Invited. MD/RN Lecture. Cedars Sinai Medical Center- Safety and Efficacy of Acupuncture Department of General Surgery, 2019
• Invited. UCI Grand Rounds, Dept. of OB/GYN- Safety and Efficacy of Acupuncture- April 2016
• Invited. Philippine Nurses Association Southern California Educational Conference- Safety and Efficacy of Acupuncture. November 15, 2015

Poster presentations

• Presenter, Shabnam Pourhassani, DACM, LAc, MSHS, Christopher Almario, MD, MSHS, Abstract; Barriers to Inpatient Implementation of Acupuncture within an Academic Medical Center, Southern California Regional Dissemination, Implementation and Improvement Science Symposium.May 30, 2024
• Presenter, Shabnam Pourhassani, DACM, LAc, MSHS, Christopher Almario, MD, MSHS, Abstract; Barriers to Inpatient Implementation of Acupuncture within an Academic Medical Center, Integrative Medicine for the Underserved, 2024 Annual Conference; Making Integrative Medicine Standard Care for All.August 2024

Teaching Experience

• Tutoring/Coaching for Medical Doctors who had previously failed their oral medical boards (One in Orthopedics and another was an OB/GYN).

Manuscript and Grant Reviewing

• Ad-hoc grant reviewing American Society of Reproductive Medicine, August 2022
• Ad-hoc, Medical Acupuncture, October 2024

Poster presentations

• Presenter, Shabnam Pourhassani, DACM, LAc, MSHS, Christopher Almario, MD, MSHS, Abstract; Barriers to Inpatient Implementation of Acupuncture within an Academic Medical Center, Southern California Regional Dissemination, Implementation and Improvement Science Symposium.May 30, 2024
• Presenter, Shabnam Pourhassani, DACM, LAc, MSHS, Christopher Almario, MD, MSHS, Abstract; Barriers to Inpatient Implementation of Acupuncture within an Academic Medical Center, Integrative Medicine for the Underserved, 2024 Annual Conference; Making Integrative Medicine Standard Care for All.August 2024

Professional Licenses and Board Certifications

• California State Acupuncture Board Licensed, 2008
• Qualified Medical Evaluator; State of California Workman’s Compensation, 2012-Present
• National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, 2014
• New York State Acupuncture License, 2014
• Fellow, American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine, 2018

Certifications

• Biomedical Investigators and Key Personnel, CITI Program, 2023-2033
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement Certificate Courses:
  • Introduction to Health Care Leadership,
  • Responding to Adverse Events,
  • Teamwork and Communication,
  • Human Factors and Safety,
  • Key Dimensions of Patient- and Family-Centered Care,
  • Introduction to Patient Safety,
  • Testing and Measuring Changes with PDSA Cycles,
  • How to Improve with the Model for Improvement,
  • Leading Quality Improvement,
  • Introduction to Health Care Improvement, 2023
• Nutritional Pain Management Certificate; Academy of Integrative Pain Management, 2017
• Hospital-Based Acupuncture training for labor and delivery, Lutheran Medical Center (now NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn) May 2017
• Clinical Mind-Body Medicine Certification, Harvard Medical School, June 2010
• Jing Shen Integrative Pediatric Post-Graduate 100-hour Training, 2021

Research Experience

• Qualitative Study. Barriers to Inpatient Implementation of Acupuncture within an Academic Medical Center. Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Beverly Hills, 2024
• Principal Investigator, Contract, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Beverly Hills, 2023

Non-Peer-reviewed publications

• Acupuncture Today, Acupuncture Fees Don’t Make Sense. Feb 2022, Vol.23, Issue 02
• Acupuncture Today, Venous Thromboembolism (VTE): Can Acupuncture Help Save Lives? April 2022, Vol. 23, Issue 04
• Acupuncture Today, Caffeine, Acupuncture and Pain. June 2022, Vol. 23, Issue 6
• Acupuncture Today, Infertility is Not a Disease, Nov 2022, Vol. 23, Issue 11
• Acupuncture Today, Ethical Considerations; Egg Freezing, Jan 2023