October 12, 2001

WHCCAM Debates Draft Recommendations

The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (WHCCAM) convened a meeting on Oct. 4-6 to discuss the progress of draft recommendations for its final report on federal policy regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The Commission is charged with submitting a final report to the President and Congress by March 7, 2002 and expects to have a near final draft version of the report ready for its next meeting on Dec. 6-7.

The meeting was divided into eight sessions with the following major issues discussed:

• Definition of CAM - There is a changing perception of what is considered CAM. Commissioners agreed that the definition of CAM should reflect both its integration with and differences from conventional/traditional medicine.
• Information Development and Dissemination - Throughout the meeting, Commission members struggled with prioritizing recommendations and developing policies that would enable the recommendations to be effectively implemented and adequately funded.
  
• Coordination of CAM Research - There was an overwhelming consensus that all CAM research should be held to the same standards as other conventional medical therapies and treatments.
  
• Education and Training of Health Care Practitioners - Although all Commissioners agreed that all CAM trainees should have some training of conventional medicine and conventional medicine professionals should have some CAM training, there were distinct differences concerning whether limited government funds should be used to train health professionals in CAM therapies or treatments, especially in locales where conventional medicine training already was not readily available.
  
• Access and Delivery of CAM - Commissioners discussed without resolution whether federal, state, or local governments could establish standards of care for CAM professionals within a modality when the leaders of specific CAM modalities (e.g., acupuncture) has not been able to come to any agreement on such standards.
  
• Coverage and Reimbursement - There was a strong consensus that once research illustrates that CAM therapies are safe, efficacious, and cost effective, sponsors of health care coverage and reimbursement should consider coverage of these CAM interventions.
  
• Coordinating and Centralizing Federal CAM - The Commission believes a recommendation should be made to establish a CAM office within the White House, having purview across all HHS agencies to coordinate and centralize CAM activities.

Information: Andrew Quon, AAMC Division of Biomedical and Health Sciences Research, 202-828-0485.