NIH Encouraging Doctors to Ask about CAM

BETHESDA, Md.—Health care providers should be asking their patients about the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched an education campaign to the practitioner community to encourage that discussion. TimesUnion.com reported NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) designed the campaign, “Time To Talk,” with materials to help health care practitioners understand how to inquire about the use of CAM and the rationale. Alyssa Colter, a public health advisor with NIH, said gathering the information is important to avoid possible interactions between prescription drugs and dietary supplements.

Additionally, TimesUnion.com noted more medical schools such as Albany Medical College are taking steps to educate tomorrow’s doctors about CAM therapies and are encouraging them to be more “open minded” about such practices. The college even hosted a conference this summer about alternative therapies and their integrated use in health care.