Institute of Medicine Releases Report on CAM
On January 12, 2005, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report on a study by an expert committee on many aspects of the use of CAM in the United States. NCCAM and 16 other Federal cosponsors had requested the study, to assist in developing research methods and setting priorities for evaluating CAM therapies. The IOM, part of the National Academies, is a nonprofit, nongovernmental institution created by Congress as an advisory body to the nation on scientific and technological matters. The study examines what patients and health care providers need to know about both conventional treatments and CAM to make the best decisions about their use, including issues of safety, effectiveness, regulatory oversight, and the impact of new therapies. Among the committee's major findings:
- Health care should strive to be both comprehensive and evidence-based.
- Treatments, whether conventional medicine or CAM, should be tested according to the same general research principles and standards. However, innovative methods to test some therapies may need to be devised.
- Dietary supplements, such as herbal products and vitamin pills, are increasingly popular. However, there is a lack of consistency and quality to supplements that hinders both health care providers' abilities to advise patients about their use and researchers' abilities to study them. The committee recommends that Congress work with stakeholders to amend regulation of supplements to better ensure quality and encourage more studies.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States is available free on the Web at www.nap.edu/catalog/11182.html or at a charge by contacting 1-888-624-8373.
