WASHINGTON—Almost 70 percent of older Americans using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are doing so without discussing the use with their health care provider, according to a new survey from AARP and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). The national telephone survey of 1,559 people age 50 or older found 63 percent of respondents are using CAM therapies, but 69 percent of those using the therapies don’t talk with their doctors about the use. Women (26 percent) were more likely than men (16 percent) to have discussed CAM use, and types of therapies to use (70 percent versus 51 percent).
“An open dialogue between consumers and their physicians is critical to ensuring safe and appropriate integrated care,” said Margaret A. Chesney, Ph.D., NCCAM’s deputy director.
According to the survey, people most often did not discuss their CAM use with doctors because the physicians never asked (42 percent), they didn’t know they should (30 percent), or there was not enough time during the office visit (19 percent). The topics most often discussed were effectiveness of a CAM therapy (67 percent), what to use (64 percent), how a CAM therapy might interact with other medications or treatments (60 percent), advice on whether to pursue a CAM therapy (60 percent), and safety of a CAM therapy (57 percent).
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