Summary: Two reports this summer have given "alternative treatments" and "CAM" their most significant media attention in years. Consumer Reports surveyed 45,000 and examined use in 11 common conditions. This Integrator culls data relative to which treatments for which conditions "helped a lot" relative to prescription drugs and OTCs. Just after the Consumer Reports wave of coverage, a team linked from Allina Hospitals & Clinics, the Penny George Institute and U Minnesota reported findings of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by healthcare workers. The coverage was more widespread. The authors anticipate what they discovered will have significant, positive implications for the integrative care movement.

Two recent survey reports have produced the most significant media coverage "alternative therapies" and "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM) have received in years. One was of consumers. The other was of healthcare workers. Each were based on huge data sets. Here is a brief look, with links, and some comments, on each.

45,000 report on use of alternative treatments

1.  Consumer Reports: Where alternative therapies "helped a lot" compared to prescriptions

Comment: Three thoughts. First, did the consumers have an option besides "helped a lot," such as "helped some"? If yes, what were the combined positive responses and how did these compare with conventional treatment? I will contact the magazine. Second, it would be curious to have consumers report on whether they experienced any adverse effects of the treatments selected. Third, notably, treatments related to CAM providers and CAM disciplines rather than CAM self-care receive the highest marks. 

System's team leads study

2. Healthcare workers: Will their use of CAM drive the integrative care movement?

The reach of the study of health profession use is apparent when searching for the Consumer Report article, above. A prominent link is a Consumer Reports article on a separate article entitled "Many doctors and nurses embrace alternative therapies."

From the conclusion of the authors, the reach of these findings may go much further, effecting healthcare change. They write: "Personal CAM use by healthcare workers may influence the integration of CAM with conventional healthcare delivery."

Knutson: Study co-author

The "healthcare workers" were described as those "employed in hospitals and ambulatory care settings." The lead author was Pamela Jo Johnson, MPH, PhD, with the Center for Healthcare Innovation at Allina Hospitals & Clinics.

The article was published in the peer-reviewed Health Services. It quickly reached the consumer-reviewed pages of newspapers, TV spots, blogs, and magazines.

"Even with these limitations, our results are suggestive of why CAM therapies are increasingly integrated into healthcare. There is evidence that personal use of CAM by healthcare workers is related to the provision of, referral for, or general openness to the integration of CAM therapies in healthcare practices. For example, Tracy et al. reported a strong correlation between personal use of specific CAM therapies among critical care nurses and the use of those same CAM therapies in practice. Thus, personal use of CAM by healthcare workers may be a principal determinant in the movement toward "integrative care" - the mainstreaming of CAM with allopathic medicine. Additionally, in the context of recent federal health reform changes, in 2014 when the health insurance exchanges begin, states may be more ready to license practitioners of various CAM therapies and thus require insurance coverage for CAM. The possibility of such institutionalized changes of CAM's role in healthcare, as well the need for a healthy healthcare workforce, strongly suggests the need for further research to understand the reasons for healthcare workers' CAM use as well as the possible benefits and risks of such use. CAM use is a significant and growing component of healthcare and health promotion and as such necessitates the same due diligence in education, training, and research as any other healthcare practice."