October 2003

Survey shows more hospitals using CAM

Healthcare consumers are demanding more access to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the traditional medical community is beginning to listen. According to a the 2003 Complementary and Alternative Medicine Survey of Hospitals just released by the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum, the number of hospitals offering complementary and alternative medicine doubled from 7.9 percent in 1998 to 16.6 percent in 2002. A key reason for the growth of CAM was consumer demand, cited by 83 percent of respondents.

Other reasons for more hospitals offering CAM were organizational mission (69 percent), clinical effectiveness (61 percent) and attracting new patients (58 percent).

Perhaps not surprising to chiropractors, one of the major challenges hospitals face in implementing CAM programs was physician resistance (cited by 44 percent of respondents) as well as a lack of evidence-based research (39 percent). Budgetary constraint was a top challenge (65 percent).

Other findings included:

• The four most commonly offered services in all settings (inpatient, hospital-based and offsite centers) were massage therapy (47 percent), pastoral counseling (62 percent), stress management (61 percent), and yoga (58 percent).

• The most commonly offered services in a hospital-based CAM or wellness center were massage therapy (47 percent), stress management (40 percent), relaxation techniques (32 percent), yoga (37 percent), pastoral counseling (29 percent), acupuncture (21 percent) and biofeedback (20 percent).

• Smoking cessation (51 percent) and nutritional counseling (49 percent) were among the most common traditional wellness services offered.

• Only 13 percent of hospital pharmacies offered herbs or supplements.

The use of chiropractic was included on the survey form. Respondents were asked to check the category that “describes where each service [including chiropractic] s located.” Choices were: inpatient unit, hospital based CAM, wellness or fitness center, offsite CAM center and offsite wellness or fitness center. A spokesperson for AHA said that few hospitals responded that they provided chiropractic.

Health Forum launched its second annual CAM survey in May 2003 to obtain in-depth information about the types of CAM programs and services being offered, costs, revenue, staffing, reimbursement, and other business strategies related to CAM integration efforts at hospitals.

The survey assessed the availability of 16 CAM services: acupressure, acupuncture, aromatherapy, biofeedback, chiropractic, guided imagery, herbal medicine, homeopathy, massage therapy, medical symptom reduction program, naturopathy, pastoral counseling/spiritual care, reflexology, relaxation treatment/training, therapeutic nutrition, and therapeutic touch.

The survey is available for purchase at www.AHAData.com.

Source: American Hospital Association

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