A recent survey of 714 hospitals across the nation has confirmed that more than 42% offer one or more complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies into their array of treatment practices—a move that indicates hospitals are listening to the treatment wishes of their patients, according to the agencies behind the survey, Health Forum, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association (AHA) of Washington, DC, and Alexandria, VA- based Samueli Institute, a non-profit research organization that investigates healing oriented practices. 

CAM is not based solely on traditional western allopathic medical teachings, and can include acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, diet and lifestyle changes, herbal medicine, massage therapy and more. The agencies said that the uptick in the availability of CAM services also reflects “hospitals’ desire to treat the whole person—body, mind and spirit.”
 
“The rise of complementary and alternative medicine reflects the continued effort on the part of hospitals and caregivers to broaden the vital services they provide to patients and communities,” said Nancy Foster, vice president for quality and patient safety at the AHA. “Hospitals have long known that what they do to treat and heal involves more than just medications and procedures. It is about using all of the art and science of medicine to restore the patient as fully as possible.”
 
According to the survey, 85% of responding hospitals indicated patient demand as the primary rationale in offering CAM services and 70% of survey respondents stated clinical effectiveness as their top reason.
 
The survey found the largest percentage hospital CAM care to be practiced in the East North Central (23%) region of the country, followed by South Atlantic (15%) and Mid- Atlantic at 14%. The East South Central and West South Central continue to be lowest in CAM offerings at 3% and 6%, respectively
 
The majority of hospitals that offered CAM were urban hospitals (72%) and were medium-sized (50–299 beds) or large (over 500 beds). The report attributed the higher volume of urban hospital CAM practices to the greater availability of CAM providers in the community and the fact that most CAM professional schools tend to be located in urban areas.
 
In addition, teaching hospitals accounted for 47% of the respondents with CAM services—a figure supported by data from the Association of American Medical Colleges, which reported 43% of medical schools offered CAM curricula in 2010.
 
Types of Care
 
The CAM survey listed massage therapy as one of the top services provided in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Acupuncture, guided imagery, relaxation training and therapeutic touch were the top modalities in both outpatient and inpatient settings.
 
A large volume of CAM services were offered predominantly on an outpatient basis. “This could be due to the fact that they are generally less invasive and are easily administered in an outpatient setting,” the report stated. “Also, most CAM modalities tend to focus on preventive care and chronic ailments rather than acute conditions.”
 
When it came to the top modalities offered in hospitals, it was clear that hospitals were “playing it safe” by sticking to more conservative and non-invasive therapies, such as pet therapy and massage therapy, which was provided predominantly for pain and stress management and for cancer patients.
 
The agencies that conducted the survey said a majority of the respondents reported offering wellness services for patients and staff that included nutritional counseling, smoking cessation, fitness training and pastoral care.
 
The primary impediment to a hospital offering CAM services were budgetary constraints—a fact confirmed by 75% of survey respondents.
 
Interestingly, herbal supplements were not as heartily embraced as other CAM therapies. Eighty-two percent of responding hospitals stated they do not offer herbal supplements and 55% said they did not sell nutritional supplements in their hospital pharmacies. Additionally, 49% of those who did not sell supplements say that they did not plan to in the future.
 
Thirty-three percent of hospitals reported having formularies for nutritional supplements (only 8% reported having one for herbal supplements); and 67% reported having policies regarding patients’ use of herbal and nutritional supplements during their hospitalization. Forty-three percent of anesthesia departments had policies regarding patients’ use of herbal or nutritional supplements before or after elective surgery.
 
Wayne Jonas, MD, president and CEO of Samueli Institute, concluded that the current approach to providing healthcare isn’t simply a quest for the newest, most modern innovations. “Sometimes it means turning around to find what we have forgotten about human flourishing: those basic skills, behaviors and attitudes that maintained thriving communities before science and technology arrived,” he said. “We need to revisit and reintegrate those into the modern world, using the tools of science, evidence and technology. In this way, we can truly move into a healthier future.”