In fact, a survey earlier this year found 42 percent of hospitals offered some sort of complimentary and alternative medicine services.
Physicians attributed the lack of questions about CAM to several factors including time constraints, lack of inclusion in assessment/screening tools and a concern that conversations about these topics could become the focal point of a time-limited interaction.
In response to the survey results, Elena V. Rios, MD, MSPH, president & CEO, National Hispanic Medical Association, and president, National Hispanic Health Foundation, said, “Every physician needs the appropriate knowledge and tools to address culturally-related beliefs and behaviors, such as traditional diets or use of alternative medicine, when treating their multicultural patients. This fact is highlighted by the 2010 US Census, which showed that minorities compose more than one-third of the U.S. population and have represented between 81 percent and 89 percent of the population growth since 2000.”
Related Articles on Complimentary and Alternative Medicine:
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Services on the Rise at Hospitals
NIH Launches Website Offering Evidence-Based Information on Alternative Medicine
