Once the practitioner has completed the interview, he or she will have formulated a diagnosis and have a treatment strategy in mind. At this point it is important that information is shared between the practitioner and the patient.The practitioner will normally take care to explain the nature of the problem, and the suggested treatment, as clearly as possible, in terms that the patient can understand. There is an obligation on the practitioner to make his or her understanding of the disharmony accessible to the patient, and the patient should expect and accept no less.

In all but a few cases, it is very unlikely that one acupuncture treatment will completely resolve a problem. More than likely, especially for long-standing, chronic conditions, a series of treatments, spread over several weeks or months, will be necessary. The practitioner should make it clear to the patient in what way acupuncture can be expected to help with the problem; and the patient should be told how many treatments are likely to be required, and over what length of time. Certain factors - such as how the patient responds to acupuncture ¨C will determine the rate of progress and the number of treatments required, but, obviously, cannot be known prior to treatment commencing. Most practitioners suggest that five or ten treatments, say, are agreed to initially, after which progress will be reviewed and a further agreement reached in the light of what has occurred. The main point is that, at all stages of the process, patients should be clear about what they have or have not agreed to in terms of a treatment program. Some patients may insist on an agreement being signed with the practitioner, but this is rare. A mutual clarity of purpose is important not only in professional and ethical terms but also in terms of setting the treatment agenda at a subtle level of energetic interaction between patient and practitioner.