title: Policies pertaining to complementary and alternative medical therapies in a random sample of 39 academic health centers.
abstract: This research documents policies in 39 randomly selected academic medical centers integrating complementary and alternative medical (CAM) services into conventional care. Twenty-three offered CAM services-most commonly, acupuncture, massage, dietary supplements, mind-body therapies, and music therapy. None had written policies concerning credentialing practices or malpractice liability. Only 10 reported a written policy governing use of dietary supplements, although three sold supplements in inpatient formularies, one in the psychiatry department, and five in outpatient pharmacies. Thus, few academic medical centers have sufficiently integrated CAM services into conventional care by developing consensus-written policies governing credentialing, malpractice liability, and dietary supplement use.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School Osher Institute, Boston, Mass, USA.
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sandler
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hrbek
authors.forename: Roger B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Eisenberg
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008405:Massage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D026441:Mind-Body Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009147:Music Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012107:Research Design; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States