Survey: Older Americans' Discussion of CAM with Doctors
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Do Americans age 50 or older discuss complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with their physicians? More than two-thirds do not, according to a new survey.
The telephone survey of more than 1,500 participants, which AARP conducted in collaboration with NCCAM, provides a look at the participants' discussion of CAM use with their physicians. It also yields information about their use of CAM and over-the counter and prescription drugs.
Previous surveys have looked at CAM use by American adults of all ages or at CAM use for specific diseases and conditions. However, this survey focused on Americans age 50 or older and their dialogue with their physicians about CAM use.
According to Margaret A. Chesney, Ph.D., Deputy Director of NCCAM, "These results confirm previous research that people 50 or older are frequent users of CAM. However, most people in our survey were not talking to their doctors about their CAM use." She noted, "Each of us, no matter what our age, is the leader of our own health care team. As such, we need to share with all our health care providers all the approaches--CAM and conventional--we are taking to manage our health. This helps ensure that medical care is well managed."
Key Findings
Why don't more people age 50 or older talk about CAM with their doctors? The two major reasons that survey participants gave were
- Doctors do not ask their patients about CAM use.
- Patients do not know that they should tell their doctors about CAM use.
Among other key findings were
- Nearly two-thirds of the respondents (63 percent) reported that they used CAM.
- Less than one-third of those respondents (31 percent) said they had discussed it with their doctors.
- Women were more likely than men to talk to their physicians about CAM use (26 percent of women, compared with 16 percent of men).
- Two-thirds of the people who used CAM did so to treat a specific condition (66 percent) or for overall wellness (65 percent).
- When patients and physicians did talk about CAM, here is what they most often discussed:
- Effectiveness of a CAM therapy (67 percent)
- What CAM therapy to use (64 percent)
- How a CAM therapy might interact with other medications or treatments they were receiving (60 percent)
- Advice on whether to use a CAM therapy (60 percent)
- Safety of a CAM therapy (57 percent).
- Fifty-nine percent of the respondents used one or more over-the-counter medicines.
- Nearly three-quarters of all who were surveyed (74 percent) were taking at least one prescription medicine; 20 percent were taking more than five.
A Need for Dialogue
The report concludes that there is a widespread lack of discussion about CAM between doctors and patients, and that this issue needs to be addressed to ensure safe and coordinated care. However, many patients are reluctant to bring up the topic of CAM use. Physicians need to be aware of this, ask their patients about all therapies they are using or considering, and be open to the dialogue.
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Dr. Chesney said, "There are so many therapies classified as CAM--probably thousands--that physicians and patients need to realize it is difficult to have information about all CAM approaches at one's fingertips. This is why NCCAM, as part of its mission, provides science-based CAM information to help people make informed health care decisions."
The survey report is available through the NCCAM Web site and from AARP.
