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background resources in PDF |
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some CAM/IM publication links |
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Issues #65 and #66 - July-August 2009 |
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Written by John Weeks
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Issues #65-#66 - July-August 2009
Issue #66 - August 10, 2009
August 10, 2009
"I'm
beginning to wonder if some new model of looking at the CAM/integrative
health care markets may be required." So writes Stephen Bolles, DC, in
this thoughtful reflection on the controversial NCCAM survey which
concluded that the visits to CAM practitioners may have dropped 50%
between 1997 and 2007. Bolles, who spent many years looking at the
consumer and CAM from inside the leadership of a consumer division of
United Health Group, writes: "To me (the NCCAM report) is kind of like an eloquent and detailed
answer to a problem that hasn't been defined." This
invited column touches on the "seduction" of the dollars projected in
the first Eisenberg study then presents ideas about how to think about
the CAM consumer, the CAM industry, and how to create a successful
business with the CAM-using clientele. More
August 10, 2009
The Integrator
Special Report, "Is CAM Practitioner Use Down 50% Since 1997? An
Analysis of NCCAM's Report on Costs of CAM and Visits in 2007,"
prompted a handful of responses. Here are brief notes from Georgetown
University professor of law Sherman Cohn, JD, Stephen Bolles, DC and
National Center for Homeopathy President Nancy Gahles, DC, CCH, RS Hom,
followed by longer notes from integrative clinic leader Bethany Hayes,
MD, Massage Research Foundation president Diana Thompson, LMT, holistic
medicine leader Bill Manahan, MD, NCMIC president Lou Sportelli, DC,
natural products manufacturers and marketer Gary Sandman, and Integrator reader Michaela Donohue. Not
surprisingly, all agree that something is amiss in one end or the other
of these comparative data. More
August 8, 2009
Anyone who wants to see how integrative practice fits into the best currents of actual clinical reform in conventional medicine will want to download or purchase 21st Century Medicine: A New Model for Medical Education and Practice. This savvy 142 page white paper from the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) provides excellent short synopses of prospective health
care, personalized medicine, systems biology, evidence-based medicine, integrative medicine, the chronic care model, and to a lesser extent,
the primary care medical home. The text and graphics clearly lay out
points of overlap and alignment in these movements toward reform that
is not merely of payment structures and delivery mechanisms. In their
effort to quilt functional medicine into the fabric of conventional
initiatives, the IFM author team of David Jones, MD, Laurie Hoffmann,
MPH and Sheila Quinn has provided a service for all the integrative
practice fields. Take a look at this exceptional foray into influencing
the healthcare reform debate and see how your experience/field fits, or
doesn't. Let's discuss this one. More
August 7, 2009
This
invited column from whole practice researcher Carlo Calabrese, ND, MPH,
offers exceptional insight into the opportunity which does, and may not
yet, exist for advancing our understanding of integrative practices
through the movement for "comparative effectiveness research" (CER).
Calabrese, who currently holds positions with the Helfgott Research
Institute and Oregon Health & Sciences University, has focused on
practical, real-world outcomes since before he began his MPH work in
the early 1990s. His conclusion is both sobering and enlightening as to
the steps the CER movement must take to begin to allow the kinds of
comparisons wellness, patient-centered care and integrative practice
need. The case clearly made in this column should be put in front of
President Obama's Federal Research Council on CER. More
August 6, 2009
Controversial NCCAM report suggests use of CAM practitioners may be down 50% between 1997 and 2007 ... IHPC
offers opportunity for integrative practice community to participate in
federal policy work, starting with thanking US Senator Sanders ...
Homebirth midwives make huge commitment to lobbying Congress for
inclusion under healthcare reform ... Boston Globe says Harkin, others are pushing for coverage of licensed CAM practitioners in reform package ... Invite
to September 25, 2009 Dr. Rogers' Price gala where $250,000 will be
awarded to a top integrative practice leader ... Health Journey's
Belleruth Naparstek shares significant advances of mind-body approaches
in the military ... James Gordon, MD to chair new College of Mind-Body
Medicine at Saybrook University ... Obama team convenes group of
employers to explore progressive health and productivity program for
federal employees ... Pelletier examines 2004-2008 employer studies of
cost-benefits of health promotion programs ... Holistic nurses name
Hines to national presidency ... Renaud steps down after 16 years
managing acu-detox association, new manager sought ... Abrams/Weil Integrative Cancer book becomes standard textbook for the field ... Example of integrative center inside a private medical group sought. More
August 4, 2009
Have visits to
CAM practitioners dropped by as much as 50% in the last decade? This is
the suggestion from a report released July 30, 2009 by the NIH National
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. The report is an analysis of 2007 data
from a survey of over 23,000 adults entitled "Costs of Complementary
and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Frequency of Visits to CAM
Practitioners: United States, 2007." The gross dimensions of consumer
use remain eye-catching: $33.9 billion in out-of-pocket expenditures
and 354 million visits to practitioners. Yet the authors also conclude
that, as compared with Eisenberg's 1997 data on CAM use published in JAMA,
total expenditures were almost flat and there was a shocking 50%
downtrend in the number of visits. Are consumers turning away from CAM
practitioners? How can this be with virtually all of these practitioner
fields growing significantly? How do we make sense of these findings? Here is an extensive Integrator analysis of the potentially damaging outcomes from comparing these survey findings. More
Issue #65 - July 20, 2009
July 17, 2009
Integrative services double at Providence Integrative Cancer Care ...
NCCAM clarifies position on homeopathy research following Zicam fury
... CAM gains mention in IOM and Obama Council's report on directions
for comparative effectiveness research (CER), plus Calabrese comments
... Licensed CAM, integrative practice and wellness in the US Senate
reform bills ... NCCAM clarifies position on homeopathic research
following Zicam study and National Center for Homeopathy request ... States
move to regulate yoga schools ... Israelson on FDA, dietary supplement
firms and adverse event reporting ... IAYT convenes effort to clarify
definition, scope of practice, guidelines for Yoga therapy ... ACA
announces formation of specialty Chiropractic Board of Clinical
Nutrition ... Huffington Post runs 2 articles relative to functional medicine as health reform model ... NCCAM announces portion of Obama stimulus funds ... International Journal of Naturopathic Medicine re-launched ... New York Times article
underscores how the NIH review process may keep the best research
unfunded ... New positions for Michael Wiles, DC, MEd and Patricia
Wolfe, ND ... New York Chiropractic College acknowledged in Chronicle of Higher Education ... Eric Goldman offers review of first Physician Heal Thy Practice conference. More
July 16, 2009
Many of you will know that I split my professional life between the Integrator (and related writing) and the organization featured here, the
Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care
(ACCAHC - www.accahc.org), for which I serve as executive director. This article is, with minor edits, ACCAHC's June 2009 Quarterly Report.
Its relevance to the integrative practice fields is that ACCAHC is the
most significant ongoing commitment of organizations from diverse
integrative practice fields to getting out of their silos and learning
how to collaborate. 15 organizations are members. Take a look at their
work and offer them feedback. More
July 10, 2009
US Senator Bernie Sanders
(Ind.-VT) and the Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC) have placed
"licensed complementary and alternative medicine providers and integrative health practitioners" in the
Kennedy-HELP bill's definition of healthcare professionals . This is not the only mention of "complementary and
alternative medicine," or "integrative care" or "integrative
practitioners" in the bill. The Samueli Institute's vice
president Brian Thiel guides us to other mentions in the Kennedy-HELP
draft legislation. These are in sections the establish a "wellness
council" and on the medical home. Small steps, maybe; but signs of
prospective integration into US healthcare policy. Do you know of other
similar advances? Let me know. More
July 10, 2009
Certain
voices in the US Senate have been talking about the need for a paradigm
shift in health reform, toward policy which helps us move to a
"wellness society." Wayne Jonas, MD, and his coalition through the
Samueli Institute have been promoting an ambitious Wellness Initiative
for the Nation. Here the Integrator interviews Brian Thiel,
Samueli Institute's vice president charged with government relations
for an update on how the effort is faring. There is good news here for
the advancement of a whole system vision of what a wellness society
will require. And there is a long legislative road ahead. More
For earlier articles, please click below:
Issues #55-#56 - Nov-Dec 2008
Issues #47-#50 - July-August 2008
Issues #45 & -#46 - May-June 2008
Issues #43-#45 Mar-April 2008
Issues #41 & #42 - Feb 2008
Issues #39 & #40 - Dec-Jan '08
Issues #37 & #38 - Nov 2007
Issues #35 & #36 - Oct 2007
Issues #33 & #34 - Sept 2007
Issues #30-#32 - July-Aug 2007
Issues #28 & #29 - June 2007
Issues #26 and #27 - May 2007
Issue #25 - April 2007
Issues # 23 & #24 - March 2007
Issues #21 and #22 - Feb 2007
Issues #19 and & 20 - Jan 2007
Issues #17 and #18 - Dec 2006
Issues #15 and #16 - Nov 2006
Issues #13 and #14 - Oct 2006
Issues #11 and #12- Sept 2006
Issues #9 and #10 - Aug 2006
Issues #7 and #8 - July 2006
Issues #5 and #6 - June 2006
Issues #3 and #4 - May 2006
Issues #1 and #2 - Apr 2006
All Postings to Aug 15, by Subject Matter
IAYT-Sponsored Series on the Future of Yoga Therapy
Or go to Archive, lower right column, on the home page.
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