Dr. Gary Chen founded the Natural Medicine Institute in Encinitas on Encinitas Boulevard, practicing as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine (O.M.D.) and California-certified acupuncturist with more than thirty years of clinical work. A graduate of Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine University trained in both Eastern and Western diagnostic methods, Dr. Chen holds physician membership in the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, anchoring an immune-disorder specialization that pairs with the dietary protocols at Nurture & Flow Nutrition. The practice treats patients from across the United States for autoimmune, gastrointestinal, and chronic inflammatory conditions using acupuncture, organic Chinese herbs, acupressure, and prescribed exercise regimens. Herbal prescriptions use raw loose-herb compounding rather than manufactured capsule formats, allowing precise dosing adjustments per follow-up pulse and tongue diagnosis, a whole-system TCM methodology that aligns with the integrative models at Healing Space Health Center in the same corridor. Highest-complexity cases involve multi-herb raw decoctions exceeding twelve medicinals per formula combined with sequential acupuncture protocols targeting Spleen-Kidney Yang deficiency patterns in refractory Crohn's flare management.