More than a quarter of the hospitals recently surveyed by Health Forum, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association (AHA), offer complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) programs to the patients they serve, a number which represents significant growth. In the 2004 AHA survey, only 18.3% of hospitals said they offered CAM, and in 1999, a mere 7.7% answered affirmatively.
Survey organizers, Sita Ananth, MHA of Health Forum, and William Martin, PsyD, MPH, MA, of De Paul University in Chicago, sent questionnaires to 6,347 members of the American Hospital Association and received responses from 1,394 individual hospitals. Of those, 370 hospitals (26.5% of respondents) said that they did offer CAM. The top inpatient modalities were massage (37%); music therapy (27%); Therapeutic Touch (25%); guided imagery (22%); relaxation techniques (20%); and acupuncture (12%). The top outpatient modalities were massage (71%); tai chi/yoga/qi gong (47%); relaxation techniques (43%), acupuncture (39%), guided imagery (32%), and Therapeutic Touch (30%).
The full report, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Survey of Hospitals, published by Health Forum on July 18, 2006, found that patient demand is the primary reason for offering CAM services. But the hospitals also cited clinical effectiveness and the hospital’s desire to treat “the whole person—body, mind and spirit” as other compelling reasons. In addition, respondents noted that offering CAM helps hospitals differentiate themselves, attract new patients, and provide additional services to existing patients.
“More and more, patients are requesting care beyond what most consider to be traditional health services,” said study author Sita Ananth of Health Forum. “And hospitals are looking for ways in which to respond to these needs of their communities in ways that are both safe and effective.”
Less than 20% of the responding hospitals offered supplements through the hospital pharmacy, and the biggest challenges cited were budgetary constraints (67%) and physician resistance (46%). However, a high percentage (49%) reported “good” to “excellent” levels of referrals from the medical staff.
Other survey results include the following:
•The East North Central region of the United States (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin) continues to lead the nation in number of hospitals that offer CAM programs;
•Patients pay the majority of CAM services out-of-pocket; and
•Services are typically located in a hospital-based wellness-fitness center (37%) or a hospital-based CAM center (15%).
The full report covers what CAM services hospitals are offering and why, how CAM programs are being financed, the reimbursement strategies used, staffing of clinics, business and strategic planning, and the evaluation criteria. The accompanying database provides details of each institution offering CAM, along with contact information and other hospital demographics. The Report can be purchased by calling 800-242-2626 or through Health Forum at www.healthforumonlinestore.com.
AHMA Names New Management Firm
The American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) has recently named Melby, Cameron & Hull (MCH) as its new management firm to help guide the association into the future.
Founded in 1978, MCH offers full management services to professional societies. Noted for their innovative thinking, MCH has built a reputation as “association builders” over the past two decades, bringing a high level of expertise, professionalism, creativity, energy, and loyalty to the organizations they manage. The firm is guided by Lynn L. Melby, CAE, Chairman of the Board; Donna J. Cameron, CAE, President; and Patricia A. Hull, CAE, Vice President.
“We were very impressed by what the AHMA has accomplished in the past and we completely support their vision and mission for the future,” explains Donna Cameron, when asked why MCH was interested in managing AHMA. “We believe the AHMA has a huge potential to help transform medicine in many areas and we are looking forward to helping them achieve their goals.”
Part of the MCH vision is to ensure that AHMA is serving doctors at every stage of their career—from interns to retirees. “People have different needs at different times,” said Jane Kantor, who will serve as the AHMA executive director. “Sometimes people need clinical training and sometimes people need help promoting their practice and sometimes people need help in finding a way to give back to their community. Developing this continuum will be one of our focuses.”
The new contact information for those wanting to reach the AHMA: American Holistic Medical Association, Jane Kantor, AHMA Executive Director. Telephone: (425) 967-0737. Fax: (425) 771-9588. Email: jkantor@holisticmedicine.org.
Melby, Cameron & Hull can be reached at P.O. Box 2016, Edmonds, WA 98020. E-mail: www.melbycameronhull.com.
Knutson Named Holistic Nurse of the Year
Lori Knutson, RN, director of Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s Institute for Health and Healing, was recently named the 2006 American Holistic Nurse of the Year by the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA).
Founded in 1981, the 3,000 plus members of the AHNA work to transform healthcare through activities such as promoting holistic care on a national level, developing standards for Holistic Nursing Practice and publishing and supporting rigorous and credible research. The Holistic Nurse of the Year award is presented annually to recognize outstanding achievement in the field of holistic nursing.
Knutson, who is a healing touch practitioner and biofeedback therapist as well as a registered nurse, has served as director of the Institute for Health and Healing since 2000. The Institute is the largest holistic nurse-directed integrative healthcare program in the country. Each month, 1,600 patients receive inpatient and outpatient services from holistic nurse clinicians, fulltime massage therapists, acupuncturists, a reflexologist, and a music therapist. Knutson is credited with playing a key role in bringing together physicians, hospital leadership, nurses, staff, and philanthropic partners to make the Institute for Health and Healing a national model for how hospitals can combine the best of both conventional and alternative medicine.
“Lori Knutson is a champion for patients and for holistic nursing,” said Jeanne Crawford, executive director of the AHNA. “Her commitment to treating the total patient is unsurpassed and her contributions to holistic nursing make a positive difference in lives of patients every day.”
More information about the AHNA is available at www.ahna.org. More information about the Institute for Health and Healing can be found at www.abbottnorthwestern.com/ahs/anw.nsf/page/ihh_home.
Quevedo Appointed Medical Director at Duke Center for Integrative Medicine
Sylver Quevedo, MD, MPH, has been appointed as the new Medical Director of the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine (DCIM) and Associate Professor in Medicine and Nephrology at the Duke University School of Medicine.
“Sylver brings a combination of intelligence, medical skill, compassion, professionalism, and vision to this job that is absolutely essential in our field and our work here at Duke,” said Tracy Gaudet, MD, Director of the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine. “He is uniquely qualified to help us at this critical juncture as we move into a significant growth phase with the opening of our new health and healing center. DCIM, the Department of Medicine, and the larger Duke community are thrilled to welcome Sylver and look forward to his contributions as we do our best to serve as a catalyst for change in the transformation of 21st century healthcare.”
Dr. Quevedo earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School and a Master of Public Health degree at Harvard’s School of Public Health. His postdoctoral training includes family and community medicine, internal medicine, studies in law and public policy at the Stanford Law School, and a fellowship in nephrology and medicine at Stanford University Medical Center, where he was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar. As Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Stanford Medical School, he served as Associate Chief of Nephrology and Medical Director of the Artificial Kidney Center at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, a Stanford teaching hospital. He was the founding director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the O’Connor Hospital in San Jose and also served for three years as the Director of Clinical Programs at The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at USCF, where he was Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine and held the Osher Foundation Chair in Integrative Medicine.
In his new capacity as Medical Director for the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine, Quevedo will have overall responsibility for the development of clinical programs.
“Duke University has been a leader in integrative medicine and is renewing its commitment with the launch of a considerably expanded program this year,” said Quevedo. “The Duke University Health System and the medical school are completing a beautiful new 27,000 square foot facility this year and new programs and services are slated for the coming year. I am thrilled to be part of this new effort to carry the vision of integrative medicine forward.”
Academic medical centers across the country are working hard to realize the vision of integrative medicine. “In addition, integrative medicine is very much becoming an important orientation in debates about healthcare reform—and a necessary corrective to narrower formulations exclusively focused on healthcare financing,” Quevedo added. “The reason is that models of care and paradigms of health and healing are also at issue. This is an important contribution of integrative medicine: defining a broader conception of health and healing and the honoring of other healing traditions of the world.”
The Duke Center for Integrative Medicine, located on the Duke University Center for Living campus in Durham, offers individual patient consultation services, both public and professional education, and dedicated research in the field of integrative medicine. The Center utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to healthcare with attention to the interrelationship between mind, body, spirit, and community in healing. Therapeutic interventions address the essential capacities that the human mind and body have for self-repair that can be supported and enhanced. For more information about DCIM, please go to dukehealth1org/health_services/integrative_medicine.asp.
Boggs Named Medical Director at UM Center for Integrative Medicine
William M. Boggs, MD, MBA, MSF, was recently appointed as the new Medical Director at the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Boggs will also serve as Assistant Professor, Medicine and Family Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
A graduate of the University of Florida College of Medicine, Dr. Boggs is board certified in Internal Medicine and Holistic Medicine. His interest in holistic health reaches back more than 30 years, and he has more than 20 years’ experience spanning the spectrum of healthcare. Dr. Boggs has training in medical acupuncture, yoga, Thai yoga, and Ayurvedic medicine—all of which he brings into his daily clinical practice of integrative medicine. In addition to his medical training, he earned master’s degrees in finance and business administration at Loyola College in Maryland, with a view to making the business side of integrative medicine a success.
“My immediate goal is to see that our clinic serves the needs of an even wider circle of patients seeking comprehensive care from genuinely concerned practitioners from many disciplines. Beyond that, I’d like the Center to assume a broader role in disseminating the principles and practice of integrative medicine throughout our system of medical care and education. We’d like to provide a successful real-life model of how integrative medicine can be practiced in any community, in any setting. We deeply believe that integrative medicine offers the best hope for comprehensive healthcare and disease prevention for all sorts of patients, whether they are firmly rooted in the conventional paradigm or actively exploring complementary and alternative approaches to health,” said Boggs.
When he’s not taking care of his patients or spending time with his family, Dr. Boggs enjoys playing violin in a local community orchestra.
“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Boggs join our Center,” says Brian Berman, MD, the Center’s founder and director. “To me, he exemplifies all the qualities of an integrative physician; he is caring, compassionate and has excellent clinical skills. His broad vision for comprehensive healthcare and disease prevention is also grounded by his strong business and managerial skills, which I think is vital to proving the viability of an integrative approach.”
The Center for Integrative Medicine is an interdepartmental center within the University of Maryland School of Medicine. A leading center for research, patient care, education, and training in integrative medicine, the Center is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center of Excellence for research in complementary medicine and a NIH International Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine research. For more information about the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland, please visit: www.compmed.umm.edu.
Abrams Appointed Medical Director of the Osher Clinic
Donald I. Abrams, MD, was recently appointed Medical Director for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Abrams previously served as an Integrative Medicine Physician at the clinic and maintains appointments as Professor of Clinical Medicine, UCSF and Chief of Hematology/Oncology at San Francisco General Hospital.
“I see this as a wonderful opportunity to grow and expand programming and research,” said Abrams. “This center has potential to be the premier integrative medicine center in an educational setting in the country so it’s a very exciting time.”
Dr. Abrams, who is well known for his work with HIV/AIDS patients, is also a member of the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center Executive Committee and is cochairing development of the Cancer Center’s program in Symptom Management, Palliative Care, and Survivorship. He was previously chair of the Community Consortium, a professional association of more than 200 primary care providers who treat Bay Area patients with HIV.
Dr. Abrams received his medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1977. With a long history in evaluating complementary and alternative therapies, including mind-body treatments, botanical therapies, medical use of marijuana, and Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal therapies, Dr. Abrams completed an associate fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona in 2004.
When announcing the appointment, Susan Folkman, PhD, director of the Center said, “Dr. Abrams’ long-standing interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies and his lifelong work as an oncologist and researcher together form a great blend of expertise and knowledge. We know he has plans to do great things here.”
The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, which is located in San Francisco, is dedicated to finding the most effective treatments for patients by combining both conventional and alternative approaches that address all aspects of health and wellness—biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. The Center conducts rigorous research on the medical outcomes of complementary and alternative healing practices with the intent to create new models of clinical care. For more information about the Osher Clinic at UCSF, please visit www.osher.ucsf.edu.
Ingerman Presents at the United Nations
Sandra Ingerman, editorial board member for EXPLORE, founding board member for the Society for Shamanic Practitioners, and author of Soul Retrieval and Medicine for the Earth, recently spoke at the United Nations (UN) about the power of consciousness and spirit.
Her speech was sponsored by the UN Values Caucus in association with the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Committee on the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Founded in 1994, the Values Caucus is a forum based on a commitment to values shared by all of humankind. The Values Caucus affirms that such values exist and believes that choosing to live by these values will lead to a global future of peaceful cooperation in an interdependent and culturally diverse world.
Starting with a reminder of how shamans and other spiritual teachers have offered solutions to the challenges of life for thousands of years, Ingerman spoke about the importance of spiritual work. “Everything manifests on a spiritual level before manifesting on the physical,” she said. “This means that the spiritual work we do does make a difference and it is where we all have power right now to create change.”
Ingerman described the formula for transmutation and creation contained in the Medicine for the Earth materials. “The toxicity we are seeing on all levels today is the reflection of our inner toxic nature. It is who we become that changes the world and not what we do,” she said. She then told UN members about the pilot research study underway in collaboration with the University of Michigan: Healing the Heart: A Randomized Pilot Study of a Spiritual Retreat for Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients. Information on that study can be obtained from Sara Warber, MD, at the University of Michigan Medical School via email: swarber@med.umich.edu. Sandra Ingerman may be contacted via mail at: P.O. Box 4757, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502.
Jacobs Joins Revolution Health
Bradley Jacobs, MD, MPH, was recently appointed Senior Medical Director and Head of Integrative Medicine at the Revolution Health Group.
Jacobs is a graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine. He served as the founding Medical Director for the Osher Center in Integrative Medicine at the University of California (UCSF), and as Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at UCSF. Most recently, he was the Director of the Integrative Medicine Hospital Consultation Service, Osher Center Clinical Practice.
Founded by Steve Case in April 2005, Revolution Health Group’s mission is to create a health company where patients are put at the center of the health system, with more choices, more convenience, and more control over their healthcare. The Revolution Health board of directors is chaired by AOL Co-Founder Steve Case, and its members include former Secretary of State Colin Powell; former Fortune 500 CEOs Frank Raines, Jim Barksdale, Steve Wiggins, and Carly Fiorina; leading venture capitalists/financiers Miles Gilburne, Jeff Zients, John Delaney, and David Golden; and Revolution Health CEO, John Pleasants, among others.
For more information on Revolution Health, visit www.revolution.com/health.
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