Acupuncture model image from VA.gov
An Iowa man had to seek help from the sheriff’s office after an acupuncturist inserted needles into his body and then went home and fell asleep, according to the state medical board.
According to commission records and a report from the Ryan County Sheriff’s Office in northwestern Iowa, a male patient entered the Rock Rapids office of state-licensed acupuncturist Xiaodong “Dave” Wang on June 12, 2023. I visited the place.
According to the committee, Wang inserted the needles into the man’s body, left Wang Acupuncture Clinic, went home, and went to sleep.
“The patient removed the needle himself and called the sheriff’s office for assistance,” the commission said. The patient waited an hour and a half for Wang to return before calling the sheriff’s office, and attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful, according to a sheriff’s report.
The medical board accused Wang of lack of professional competence, saying he failed to exercise the level of care that an average acupuncturist would normally exercise. The board agreed to charge Wang and settle the case with a warning and a $500 fine.
The agreement was signed in January but only recently made public. Mr. Wang declined to comment on the matter.
The medical board first issued Wang a license in 2018, but that license is set to expire in October.
This article first appeared in Iowa Capital Dispatch..
