In this enriching episode of The Patient Physician, meet Dr. Amy Matecki, a doctor and expert in both Chinese and Western Medicine. Dr. Matecki delves into her inspiring journey from China to the US, highlighting her dual training and the challenges of merging different medical philosophies. She discusses integrating Eastern practices like acupuncture into Western Medicine and how this fusion can transform healthcare from a sick care model to wellness care. This conversation addresses various issues, including physician burnout, the financial pressures of medical practice, and time management, as well as the importance of physician wellness programs. Dr. Matecki shares touching patient stories, the acceptance of integrative medicine, and the promising future of collaborative medical practices. The episode underscores the need for meaningful physician-patient relationships, a crucial aspect that Dr. Matecki believes is at the heart of effective healthcare, and the continuing education for future healthcare providers.
MEET OUR GUEST: DR. AMY MATECKI
Dr. Amy (Ying Li) Matecki graduated from Qingdao Medical College in 1989 and moved to California from China in 1994. She has been licensed to practice Medicine in California since 2002 and completed her Internal Medicine Residency as Chief Resident at Highland Hospital, Alameda Health System, a UCSF affiliate, in 2004.
In addition to serving in the public hospital, Dr. Matecki joined Alta Bates Summit Medical Center (ABSMC) Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2004, where she started a community hospital-based acupuncture program to bridge Eastern and Western Medicine. She has been the Medical Director of Integrative Medicine at ABSMC since 2008. She received her degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine from ACCHS in 2009. Integrating Chinese Medicine into conventional oncology practice, Dr. Matecki and her team of medical oncologists and doctors of Chinese Medicine not only provide clinical care but also present and publish their findings on safety from using acupuncture and integrative medicine to reduce pain, nausea, and anxiety that frequently accompanies conventional cancer treatments. In many case-level observations, Dr. Matecki and her team note that integrating Chinese Medicine may enhance cancer patients' quality of life.
Dr. Matecki was a Faculty Attending Physician in the Department of Medicine Residency at Highland Hospital from 2004 to 2019 and Chief of the Integrative Medicine Division from 2014 to 2019. She and her colleagues from Western Medicine and Chinese Medicine created a 'hospital privilege' policy for licensed acupuncturists in 2011. They designed policies, procedures, and training methods for acupuncturists to join the medical staff in providing inpatient acupuncture services at the hospital. The program ran from 2011-2019.
Dr. Matecki's pioneering spirit led her to co-found the nonprofit International Center for Integrative Medicine (ICIM) in 2010. Under the umbrella of ICIM, she played a key role in creating the first Chinese Medicine Residency in a US academic public teaching hospital from 2016 to 2019. Graduates from this residency program are now able to work in mainstream academic teaching hospitals' inpatient care and outpatient medical centers, a testament to Dr. Matecki's innovative approach to integrative medicine.
Dr. Matecki was the principal investigator (PI) for acupuncture research for chronic post-chemotherapy fatigue in collaboration with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She presented her study on the safety of acupuncture for patients with lymphedema at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Symposium in October 2009. Dr. Matecki was a co-investigator on the first Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved acupuncture study in a public hospital that studied acupuncture feasibility for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients; the study appeared in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (JACM) in 2017. She is the current PI for a Chinese herbal medicine research project at ABSMC.
Dr. Matecki and her team pioneered the first Sutter Bay Hospital Integrative Medicine Traditional Chinese Medicine Residency training program at ABSMC in 2023. Dr. Matecki is an Adjunct Clinical Faculty at Stanford Health Care, an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) member, and a House delegate for the California Medical Association (CMA). Dr Matecki currently serves on the California Acupuncture Board, first appointed by Governor Brown in 2016, reappointed by Brown in 2017 and Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021. She served as the California Acupuncture Board President from 2017-2021. She continues working on policy and safety guidelines for hospital-based Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine practice with a team of physicians, nursing staff, acupuncturists, multidisciplinary health care providers, and hospital administrators.
TIME STAMPS:
00:00 Introduction to The Patient Physician
00:53 Meet Dr. Amy Matecki
03:39 Dr. Matecki's Journey and Achievements
09:32 Challenges and Cultural Differences in Medical Training
12:42 Integrating Eastern and Western Medicine
18:40 The Reality of Private Practice
27:07 Navigating the Healthcare System
35:46 Navigating Pain Medication Challenges
40:58 Integrative Medicine Success Stories
41:23 Overcoming Skepticism in Integrative Medicine
45:51 Building a Collaborative Healthcare Team
52:52 Future Directions and Challenges in Integrative Medicine
57:13 The Role of Physicians in Patient Care
59:39 Promoting Integrative Medicine and Physician Well-being
