Referring to complementary and alternative medicine--a possible tool for implementation.
BACKGROUND
Patients' extensive use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can affect doctor-patient communication. Substantial numbers of patients expect their primary care physician to be able to refer them to CAM practitioners. However, a simple and practical referral CAM process is lacking.


METHODS
We developed an 11-item questionnaire that addresses issues a physician should consider in determining whether to refer a patient for CAM treatment, including biopsychosocial and communication concerns and the safety and effectiveness of modalities. The tool was administered via questionnaires posted and e-mailed to primary care physicians and CAM practitioners.


RESULTS
Our CAM referral tool was found to be considerably useful in a primary care setting. High reliability and validity of the tool were found among the primary care physicians (Cronbach's alpha score of 0.867, spearman rho correlation 0.2-0.67) and moderate reliability among CAM practitioners (0.745).


CONCLUSIONS
We hope that our CAM referral tool will help advance the integration of CAM and conventional medicine.
Ben-Arye
Eran
E
Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. eranben@netvision.net.il
Frenkel
Moshe
M
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires