Category Archives: Live In-Person Classes

Documentation and Report-Writing

for Better Care, Reimbursement, Referral-building, and Malpractice Defense

With Instructor Anthony Von der Muhll, L.Ac., DAOM, DNBAO, FAIPM

Medical Documentation: Essential Best Practices

Live Webinar Workshop & Distance-Learning Course

Professional medical documentation skills are vital for:

  • Improving outcomes and learning directly from your patient cases
  • Building referral relationships and improving coordination of care with other medical professionals
  • Supporting insurance reimbursement
  • Complying with records requests and surviving insurance audits
  • Defense in case of malpractice suits and complaints to regulatory agencies

Class Topics:

  • Bring your charting up to the highest standards of professionalism by reviewing and applying best practices in:
    • Organization and completeness
    • Appropriate use of medical terminology
    • Documenting case management and safety procedures
  • Techniques to save time and effort while improving quality
    • Pros and cons of templates, checklists, and narratives: avoiding the appearance of "rote" treatment
    • Custodianship and transfer of patient records: keeping it safe and legal
    • Further learning: developing charting skills for your areas of specialization

Class notes feature sample initial (History of Present Illness) and progress (SOAP) notes.

Billing managed care insurance? Our Report-Writing Workshop for Managed Care class can help with treatment authorization and reimbursement. Register for both classes for -10% off each.

Report-Writing for Managed Care: HMO, Personal Injury & Work Comp

Live Webinar Workshop & Distance-Learning Course

-- "Thanks a lot for providing the class to us; very professional and useful, helpful!" -- Shaoying Bai, LAc., Sacramento CA

Report-writing skills are vital for treatment authorization and reimbursement for HMO, Personal Injury and Work Comp cases.

Class Topics:

  • Documentation and reporting of subjective and objective measurements of functional capacities and other key baselines, including:
    • Standard, research-validated questionnaires to measure patient self-assessments of functional capacity
    • Pain scales: how to use them accurately and reliably
    • Findings from observation and inspection
    • Joint range-of-motion
    • Strength, sensory function, and tenderness scales
    • Measuring limb girth and skin lesions
    • Special tests and physical examinations
    • Non-quantifiable assessments of functional capacity
  • Setting appropriate treatment goals
  • Presenting outcomes and making recommendations for future care to support reimbursement and treatment authorization/re-authorization requests

Class notes include sample initial functional capacity evaluations and re-evaluation reports for managed care insurance.

Live webinar workshops feature instructor-lead peer review/feedback regarding student chart notes and reports.

Student Ratings and Comments

from evaluation from prior live class offering in 2016, as required by California Acupuncture Board

Respondents: 13 of 17 enrolled

Average rating: 99/100

  • “Anthony as always is superbly professional, knowledgeable, and encouraging improvements in clinical practice. Thank you!”  --Anonymous
  • “All of your classes have been instrumental in my ability to improve patient care–but it could be a 2-day course to cover more. Thank you!”  –Jennifer Root, L.Ac.
  • “I always enjoy Anthony’s classes, very helpful info.”  --Anonymous

For Certification in Acupuncture Orthopedics, either the live webinar (8 hours), or the distance-learning class (5 hours) + one live 3-hour Case Consultation meeting focused on medical documentation is required.

Calf, Ankle & Foot

In-Person Classes & Live Webinars

Must be attended at the time/date offered for Live PDAs/CEUs

See below for detailed description of class contents

 

Basics of Calf, Ankle, Foot

with Anthony Von der Muhll

Contact Us for next class date

Anatomy Lab for Acupuncturists

with Jamie Bender

Fri July 10, 2026, 9:00-6:00, at ACCHS, Oakland CA

History-Taking, Exam, Assessment, Treatment

with Anthony Von der Muhll

Sat-Sun July 11-12, 2026, 9:00-6:00, at ACCHS, Oakland CA

Review & Practicum Lab

with Anthony Von der Muhll

Monday July 13, 2026, 9:00-6:00, at ACCHS, Oakland CA

Self-Paced Distance Learning

1-year on-demand access

See below for detailed description of class contents

 

Calf, Ankle, Foot:  History, Exam, Assessment, Treatment

Self-paced Distance-learning Module

with Anthony Von der Muhll

 

Comments from Class Evaluations

"This class will directly benefit my patients...Very thorough and patient teaching + re-teaching...No suggestions, he's awesome."  --Whitney Bird, L.Ac., Napa CA

"Wonderful class! I use this information in the clinic quite often." -- Eunhye Kim, L.Ac., Oakland CA

 

Clinical anatomy, kinesiology, and the jing-jin ("sinew meridians" or myofascial tracts)

  • Bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and neurology
  • Posture and motion dysfunctions
  • The arthritic progression: strain/sprain, derangement, degeneration

Physical exam of the calf, ankle and foot: how findings can guide treatment with acupuncture modalities

  • Observation of gait dysfunctions
  • Surface anatomy, inspection and palpation
  • Ankle and foot joint active range-of-motion, tracking and functional tests: measurements, diagnostic significance
  • Ankle and foot passive range-of-motion and joint-play/end-feel stress tests
  • Muscle length and manual strength testing and referred pain pattern charts for 20 key muscles of the calf, ankle, and foot
  • Special orthopedic tests for the ankle and foot
  • Documentation of physical exam findings
  • Measuring and reporting functional capacity baselines and treatment outcomes
  • Clinical flow charts to facilitate efficiency and accuracy in examination

Diagnosis, Pattern Identification, and Treatment

Calf

  • Gastroc/soleus strains and plantaris ruptures
  • Achilles, tibialis anterior, peroneal, and toe extensor tendinitis and nodular tendinosus
  • Tibialis posterior dysfunction
  • Medial tibial stress (“shin splints”) syndrome

Ankle joint

  • Ankle sprains
  • Calcaneal bursitis
  • Chronic ankle instability: ATF, PTF, and CF ligamentous laxity
  • Post-surgical adhesive capsulitis
  • Degenerative joint disease/osteoarthrosis
  • Sinus tarsi and lateral ankle impingement syndromes

Foot

  • Acute sprains/strains
  • Plantar fasciitis and metatarsalgia
  • Turf toe and sesamoiditis

Peripheral neuropathies

  • Peroneal neuropathy
  • Tarsal tunnel syndrome
  • Morton’s neuritis and neuromas
  • Reflex sympathetic dystrophy/complex regional pain syndrome

Treatment modalities include:

Build on your skills with the Review/Practicum Lab.

 

Hip, Thigh, Knee

In-Person Classes & Live Webinars

Must be attended at the time/date offered for Live PDAs/CEUs

See below for detailed description of class contents

 

Treating the Hip, Thigh and Knee with Classical and Modern Acupuncture

with Anthony Von der Muhll

Saturday June 7, 2025, 9:00-5:00

At: Gsundheitshuus, Zugerstrasse 21

6314 Unterageri, Switzerland

Basics of Hip, Thigh, Knee

Live Webinar with Anthony Von der Muhll

Monday, September 8, 2025, 8:00-9:00 pm Eastern Time

Hip, Thigh, Knee:  History, Examination, Assessment & Treatment

 

with Anthony Von der Muhll

Saturday-Sunday, October 4-5, 2025, 9:00-6:00

at the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine, 1980 Gallows Road, Vienna VA

Hip, Thigh, Knee:  Review & Practicum Lab

with Anthony Von der Muhll

 

Monday, October 6, 2025, 8:30-5:30

at the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine, 1980 Gallows Road, Vienna VA

Prerequisite: prior completion of Hip, Thigh, Knee: History, Examination, Assessment and Treatment (either in-person or distance-learning)

Self-Paced Distance Learning

1-year on-demand access

See below for detailed description of class contents

 

Hip, Thigh & Knee:  History, Exam, Assessment, Treatment

Self-paced Distance-learning Module

with Anthony Von der Muhll

 

Comments from Course Evaluations

"Anthony is a wealth of knowledge and a great service to the profession. So grateful for him!"  -- Kevin Craft, LAc., Oceanside CA

"I use this information everyday in the clinic. So very useful and effective!" -- Eunhye Kim, LAc., Oakland CA

 

Clinical anatomy, kinesiology, and the jing-jin ("sinew meridians" or myofascial tracts)

  • Bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, neurology
  • Posture and motion dysfunctions
  • The arthritic progression: strain/sprain, derangement, degeneration

History-taking: key diagnostic questions

  • "Red flag" symptoms of urgent/serious medical conditions potentially warranting referral to physician care: hemarthrosis, thromboses, infections, fractures, pediatric and adolescent conditions, and neuropathies
  • Identifying the affected jing-jin ("sinew meridians" or myofascial tracts).
  • Differentiating symptoms of muscles, tendons, ligament, joint and nerve injuries
  • Neural hypersensitization and psycho-social factors

Physical exam of the hip, thigh and knee: how findings can guide acupuncture treatment

  • Classical jing-jin and modern orthopedic observation, inspection and palpation
  • Joint exam: active range-of-motion and passive stress testing of the hip, tibiofemoral, patellofemoral, and superior tibiofemoral joints
  • Manual strength testing and referred pain pattern charts for 20 key muscles of the hip, thigh and knee
  • Special orthopedic and neurologic tests for the hip, thigh and knee
  • Clinical flow charts to facilitate efficiency and accuracy in examination

Diagnosis and pattern identification

  • Hip and Buttock
    • Muscle strains and myofascial pain: gluteals, piriformis, iliacus, tensor fascia lata
    • "Snapping hip" syndrome and enthesitis
    • Bursitis: trochanteric and iliopsoas
    • Femoral acetabular syndrome
    • Labral tears and capsular laxity
    • Osteoarthrosis
    • Neuropathies: sciatic, lateral femoral cutaneous
  • Thigh
    • Muscle strains and myofascial pain: quadriceps, hamstrings, sartorius, adductors, iliotibial band
  • Knee
    • Muscle strains and myofascial pain: popliteus
    • Bursitis: patellar, iliotibial, pes anserine
    • Patellofemoral syndromes
    • Ligament sprains: ACL, MCL, LCL, PCL
    • Meniscus injuries and degeneration
    • Osteoarthrosis
    • Superior tibiofibular joint laxity

Treatment of the jing-jin and orthopedic conditions