Acupuncturist Loses License Over Claims of Misconduct

A former Panorama City acupuncturist who state medical officials said helped write licensing standards for acupuncture practitioners across the United States has lost his license over allegations of sexual misconduct with women patients.

The California Board of Medical Quality Assurance canceled Alan Howard Francis’ license in July in connection with his treatment of three women for common ailments between 1983 and 1987.

Officials said Francis has been a member of the Washington-based National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncturists, a private group that has worked to set nationwide standards for the safe practice of acupuncture, an ancient and controversial Chinese practice that uses fine needles to treat disease and relieve pain.

Served as Instructor

In addition, Francis, 39, has served as an instructor at Los Angeles University, a small North Hollywood school that trains would-be acupuncturists. He also practiced at an acupuncture clinic operated by the school in Panorama City, officials said.

According to state legal documents, one incident of misconduct occurred in 1983 when a woman came to Francis complaining of eye irritation. After telling the woman to remove her bra and blouse and unzip her slacks, Francis touched her breasts and genitals, the documents said.

In a 1987 incident, Francis told a 25-year-old woman he treated for migraine headaches that they had been lovers in a “past life” and would become lovers in their present lives, according to the documents.

While he had the same woman in a “deeply relaxed state” during another acupuncture session, state officials said, Francis told her that they were on the same “psychic plane” and that they could “bond” with one another by mixing their blood. He then pricked the woman’s thumb and his own with a needle, although authorities said it was unclear if he smeared their blood together.

The third incident, also in 1987, involved a 38-year-old woman who suffered from an earache. During an acupuncture session, Francis asked her to touch him sexually, authorities said.

Francis could not be reached for comment. In legal papers, however, he denied the accusations, saying the women lied to state investigators.

Drug Allegation

The first patient, he said, reported him because she is a drug and alcohol abuser whom he refused to treat on her last visit. He also claimed that the woman owed him money. But state officials said they found those allegations “not credible.”

Francis charged that the 25-year-old woman was angry at him because he rejected her after she became infatuated with him. The 38-year-old woman, he said, was upset because of the fee he charged her, an assertion officials also labeled not believable.

In a 10-page legal decision revoking Francis’ license, state Administrative Law Judge Rosalyn M. Chapman wrote that he “appears to have a serious problem in dealing with female patients.”

“He is unable to control his impulses toward these patients, and perhaps his emotional involvement with them as well,” she wrote. Chapman said Francis “has never undergone psychological counseling or psychotherapy by a health care professional,” adding that such therapy would be desirable.

‘Serious Student’

Chapman said Francis no longer works at the Panorama City clinic. She described him as a “serious acupuncture student” who, although he holds no college degree, was working toward a doctorate at Los Angeles University. V. E. Simpson, acting president of the university, said Francis left the school after his license was taken away.

Chapman said that earlier this year Francis was treating drug and alcohol abusers and a comatose patient at an undisclosed hospital. But she warned that “these patients are less able . . . to complain about any misconduct” than the three women.

According to a spokeswoman, the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncturists has lobbied for standardized exams and licensing procedures for acupuncturists throughout the United States. Fourteen states use the group’s tests, she said, although California does not.