Short Notes: Organizational Action in CAM and Integrative Medicine
Written by John Weeks
Short Notes: Organizational Action in CAM and Integrative Medicine
Summary: Action abounds. Here are short notices of activity from the American Botanical Council, American Board of (Integrative) Holistic Medicine, American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Bravewell Collaborative, American Chiropractic Association, Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care, Hawaii Integrative Medicine Consortium, American Association for Health Freedom, American Public Health Association, Council for Responsible Nutrition and ... a taste of CAM developments in Italy.
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When I first wrote a newsletter on developments in complementary and alternative healthcare in 1997, the publisher wondered if I could find enough going on to fill the 8 pages I had each month. Times have changed. Here is a short-note scan of recent organizational action.
Correction on
Herzlinger Link with Wellspace Co-Owner, Clemente
An Integrator
article (Wellspace/SickSpace: Reflections on a Pioneering Integrative Clinic Gone Down for the Count, Novembre 27, 2007) incorrectly reported that Paul Clemente, one of the final co-owners
of the Wellspace clinic co-authored a Harvard Business School (HBS) case study of the
clinic. Regina Herzlinger, the author and HBS professor, notified the Integrator that Clemente “had nothing to do with my case study.” My
apologies to Herzlinger for not independently verifying a statement made to me
about Clemente’s role, and about the study itself, which Herzlinger describes
as ”an object lesson in business models gone awry.” [Note: Herzlinger subsequently shared with the Integrator, via an email note on November 12, 2008, that "Clemente was never a student or employee of the Harvard Business School."]
ABHM Becomes
American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine (ABIHM)
Wendy Warner, MD, president of
the American Board of Holistic Medicine
sent a note to the Integrator on
Wednesday, February 13, 2006, that her organization had changed its name to American Board of
Integrative Holistic Medicine (ABIHM).
The Board explained its unanimous decision this way:
"As we discuss in our review
course, we see 'integrative' as encompassing the tools we might
use for healing, while 'holistic' refers to how we approach our
patients and their care. It is possible to use integrative tools
while still coming from a very allopathic mind-set. Likewise, it is also
possible to approach a patient very holistically while using only conventional
tools for care. With this in mind, we changed the title of our annual
review course several years ago to reflect the way in which most of us
work. More recently, the Board voted unanimously to officially
change the name of our organization to the American Board of
Integrative Holistic Medicine (ABIHM). We feel this more
adequately and accurately reflects who we are and what we do.”
The change, which is being phased
in, follows recent work to draw a stronger connection between the “holistic
medicine” and “integrative medicine” elements in the MD community. A subset of
physicians associated with integrative medicine programs, typically those with
strong clinical practices, have chosen to sit for the certification exams.
American Botanical Council Acquires HerbMed
The not-for-profit American Botanical Council, a leading source of consumer, industry, research and media interest on botanicals has recently acquired HerbMedand an enhanced version of HerbMedPro, according to an ABC release. Mark
Blumenthal, ABC executive director states: “For
several years ABC has offered HerbMedPro as a benefit of membership to
all
ABC members at the Academic level and higher, and we consistently
receive
high praise about the usefulness of this time-saving research tool.”
ABC plans to integrate some of its own content into HerbMedPro. Adds
Blumenthal: "ABC is deeply grateful and honored that the Alternative Medicine
Foundation has chosen to convey its unique HerbMed and HerbMedPro databases
to ABC for future stewardship and development.”Jacqueline
C. Wootton, MEd, president and executive director of the Alternative Medicine
Foundation and founder of HerbMed, will retain her position as editorial
director of both databases, while ABC will assume control of the
administration, financing, and marketing of the database.Disclosure: I am a trustee of ABC. AAAOM Announces Standard for Acupuncture Practice
The American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine has
announced key new appointments to its board and chief publication, the American
Acupuncturist. Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association has become the public, voting
members. McGuffin is a long-time leader in the herb industry, with deep
connections throughout the community. (He will soon be featured here on the Integrator industry/practitioner
dialogue.) Michael Taromina, an attorney with extensive involvement in AOM legal and regulatory affairs, in New York, nationally and globally, was appointed to serve as the AAAOM's alternate public member. In addition, the AAOM appointed San Francisco State University
associate professor Adam Burke, PhD,
MPH, LAc, as editor-in-chief of the American Acupuncturist, AAAOM’s
flagship journal. Terry Courtney, MPH, LAcwill serve as clinical editor.
Courtney is dean of the School of Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine at Bastyr University and recent past chair of the Accreditation
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). ACA Announces
Key Appointment to Work Group of AMA Consortium
The American Chiropractic Association has a large enough presence that releases of developments come frequently. Recent highlights include a February 6,
2008 that Will
Evans, DC, PhD, CHES (Certified Health Education Specialist), has been
appointed to service on the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement
(Consortium) work group on preventive care and screening of the American
Medical Association.
According to the ACA, the Consortium, comprised of more
than 100 medical specialty and state medical societies, is “the body
through
which national quality measures are being developed.” As a member of
the
Consortium, ACA has ensured chiropractic representation on select
condition
work groups.
The ACA also announced that " "following
an unprecedented profession-wide campaign led by the ACA, UnitedHealthcare
(UHC) has announced it will rescind its recent policy declaring chiropractic
manipulative treatment for headaches and pediatric patients as unproven, and
therefore, not a covered service." United issued the policy in September of 2007 and all leading chiropractic organizations mounted a fierce opposition which led to a United decision in October to look into the matter further.
Naturopathic Cancer Specialty Society
Certifies First New Fellows
The
newsletter of Jacob Schor, ND, FABNO, recently told the tale of that 5-letter
acronym. The American Board of Naturopathic Oncology (ABNO), a specialty
society of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, has certified
its first fellows. ABNO’s process included establishing a board of medical
examiners then developing and administering a test through Comira, an
independent testing company. The first exams, reportedly grueling, were
administered in November 2007. Those who are successful will use the initials
FABNO (Fellow of ABNO). A good deal of the organizing energy came from the
naturopathic physicians associated with the Cancer Treatment Centers of
America, which employs NDs.
Bravewell
Collaborative Announces Patients’ Bill of Rights, New Publication
The winter 2008 issue of the newsletter of the Bravewell
Collaborative of philanthropists in integrative medicine announced publication
of a Best Practices in Integrative Medicine: A Report from
the Bravewell Clinical Network. The $50 book, available through
Bravewell, was “compiled by medical journalist Bonnie Horrigan, published in
November 2007 and offers an in-depth look at the eight integrative medicine
centers in the Bravewell Clinical Network.” Horrigan, the founding publisher of
Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine and editorial director of Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing,
focuses on how the clinics “are organized, what markets they serve, how they
are financed, what services they offer, what lessons the leaders have learned
along the way, and what business plan each center is using as their specialized
blueprint for success.” Bravewell also took its Declaration for New Medicine
and translated it into a Patients’ Bill of Rights. Comment:
The Bill of Rights is a useful document. I only wish that they saw fit
to acknowledge the patient's right to distinctly licensed CAM
professionals. 68% of Iowa voters and 75% in Washington State think
coverage should be in basic benefit plans according to polls funded by Code Blue Now!As visionary as Bravewell is in many of its initiatives, it's too bad that it lags behind the public on this.
Goldblatt (l) with conventional colleague Ann Nedrow, MD
Complementary
Healthcare Academic Consortium Incorporated, Names Goldblatt to Chair
Elizabeth (Liza) Goldblatt, PhD, MHA/PA, a long-time leader in
acupuncture and Oriental medicine education has been selected to take over as
chair of the Academic
Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care(ACCAHC). ACCAHC's core membership consists of councils of colleges,
accrediting agencies and certifying/testing organizations associated with the licensed
natural healthcare discipline. Goldblatt is a past president of the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine. She succeeds Reed Phillips, DC, PhD, ACCAHC's
founding chair. Like her predecessor, Goldblatt has a long-time
commitment to expanding multi-disciplinary understanding. ACCAHC, which was
begun in 2004 as a project of the Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium, was
incorporated as a 501c3 not-for-profit organization on January 9, 2008. (See
related article here.) Disclosure: I currently serve in a part-time
capacity as executive director of ACCAHC.
Beth Sommers, MPH, LAc, DSc (cand.)
Public Health Association
Expanding CAM/Integrative Practices Group
The co-chairs of the Alternative and Complementary
Health Practices (ACHP) special interest group of the American Public Health
Association (APHA), Richard Harvey, PhD and Beth Sommers, MPH, LAc, DSc(candidate)
are reaching out to involve more professionals in the ACHP group.
Current members include public health specialists, researchers
and academics, as well as providers of integrative care. The ACHP
special interest
group has its own electronic newsletter, accessible through the APHA's
website.
Writes Sommers: “In the spirit of advancing the level of research done
in these
areas, members provide peer review and other types of networking,
support, and
outreach to individuals interested in this field.” ACHP also sponsors 2
days of
programming and presentations at APHA’s annual meeting. For more
information
about the group’s activities, please contact Sommers at
.
Ira Zunin, MD, MBA, MPH
Hawaii
Consortium Reports on Two Years
A
distinctive player in the integrative healthcare world has been the Hawaii Integrative
Healthcare Consortium, organized by Ira Zunin,
MD, MBA, MPH, an Integrator adviser. The consortium includes representatives from most of that
state’s leading stakeholders and focuses on establishing and maintaining “collaborative
efforts among stakeholder members for the advancement of integrative healthcare
in Hawaii.” An autumn report on 2 years of action noted the following actions and plans:
with
Queens Medical system and a broad advisory group, facilitated 3 symposiums
related to integrated healthcare and the cost effectiveness of integrated
practice;
launched
a holistic PTSD working group, to focus on returning troops, as well as abuses
to their families, which is anticipated to become a pilot project in 2008a
plan in 2008;
facilitated
development of a pilot project designed to research the cost effectiveness and
outcome effectiveness of integrative healthcare for chronic health conditions
with the Medicaid managed care QUEST patients, with which the Samueli Institute will partner on research;
with
the Hawaii Department of Education and the Goldie Hawn Institute, a plan to
launch and research "a pilot project for elementary and middle school students
offering mindfulness and gratitude as a means of stress reduction and health
promotion;" and
to develop "a Second Opinion type television series."
Ambitious agenda. Throughout the workd,
the Consortium seeks to also fulfill on its commitment to "service to
the native Hawaiian community." The educational and
clinical initiatives nopted above are structured and located to serve
this population.Laura Crites, MA, MS, serves as
executive director of the Consortium. Federal
Legislative Initiatives of the American Association for Health Freedom
The
American Association for Health Freedom (AAHF), re-invigorated this past 18
months under the direction of Brenna Hill, is working on the following
legislative fronts. Hill reports that its Medical Information & Treatment to Access Act
has bipartisan support and the support of the Congressional Physician’s
Caucus. AAHF is also "finishing the drafting of the Science Free Speech
bill" which seeks to allow the
distribution of scientific research in connection with foods and
dietary
supplements. Hill states that “we are also concerned about conflicts of
interest at the FDA and their thinking on healthcare.” In a note to the Integrator, Brenna adds that the AAHF is drafting
responses currently related to FDA activity related to “attacking bio-identical
hormones, irradiation of food & supplements, guidance on off-label usage,
and (FDA’s) intent to reevaluate the scientific evidence for two previously
authorized health claims (dietary lipids (fat) and cancer; soy protein and risk
of coronary heart disease) and two qualified health claims that were the
subject of letters of enforcement discretion (antioxidant vitamins and risk of
certain cancers; selenium and certain cancers)." AAHF’s lobbying is led by
former Congressional staffer Bill Duncan.
Council for Responsible Nutrition to Try to Get “Out of the Box” of Reductive Research
Status of Non-Conventional
Medicine in Italy Highlighted in New Text
Integrative medicine in Italy is a few steps, if not a century, off pace. Paolo Roberti di Sarsina isdoing what he can to move it forward. He has kept me abreast of developments, though my lack of Italian has challenged my understanding. But a recent open-access article in English by Bologna resident Roberta Nuzzi in E-CAM, cats more light on challenges there. (See "Non Conventional
Medicine in Italy. History, Problems, Prospects for Integration,"
January 8, 2008.) In 2003, Roberti de Sarsina helped convene the Permanent Committee of Consensus and Coordination for Non Conventional Medicines. That committee is now made up of 23 associations: medical and scientific societies, federations and associations of patients, representing close to 12,000 medical doctors, dentists and veterinarians.
In 2007, the Committee published a book on the state of CAM, calling for legislation to better recognize the fields. In a Nuzzi's review, one catches a glimpse of a very different world. According to Nuzzi, the Committee's exploration took place in a context which "concentrated on the nine most reliable and representative CAMs disciplines, as acknowledged by Italian National Federation of Colleges of MDs and Dentists in the Document on Non-Conventional Medicines signed on 2002, which now falls under the exclusive competence, practice and responsibility of MDs (chiropractic, osteopathy, phytotherapy, homeopathy, anthroposophy, acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, homotoxicology)." Comment: The walk through this article remains a somewhat mysterious journey into another cosmos, stirring some nationalistic pride about how far we seem to have come, relatively, in open dialogue here in the United States. Credit goes to Roberti di Sarsina and a couple close colleagues, according to Nuzzi, for their success in kick-starting the dialogue.
Send your organization news to
for inclusion in a future Integrator article.
ABHM Becomes
American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine (ABIHM)
American Botanical Council Acquires HerbMed
AAAOM Announces Standard for Acupuncture Practice 
ACA Announces
Key Appointment to Work Group of AMA Consortium
Naturopathic Cancer Specialty Society
Certifies First New Fellows
Bravewell
Collaborative Announces Patients’ Bill of Rights, New Publication
Federal
Legislative Initiatives of the American Association for Health Freedom
