Acupuncture and Oriental medicine is one of the newest primary health care professions in California. The potential benefits of acupuncture are widely recognized, and it is being increasingly integrated with mainstream health care. Major health care centers such as UCLA, Mayo Clinic, and Johns Hopkins Medical Institution have established integrative medicine clinics that include acupuncture in it's services. Since the 1970’s, when acupuncture and Oriental medicine first became available in the United States, more than 15 million Americans have tried it. The risk of side effects is low and the potential benefits are high.