Public Policy Archives | Page 4 of 5

PCORI Includes ‘CAM’ in First Funding Announcement

PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute) is the independent non-governmental (like Institute of Medicine) entity mandated from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. With over $1 billion dollars in hand to be used exclusively for comparative effectiveness research over the next seven years, the Institute is charged with investigating the “relative health outcomes, clinical effectiveness, and appropriateness” of various medical interventions, products and procedures by assessing existing studies and implementing

UPDATE: Insurance Coverage for Integrative Healthcare Services in 2014

Section 2706 of the Affordable Care Act prevents health insurance plans from capriciously excluding a range of integrative health practitioners from coverage, based solely on licensure. The law empowers patients to obtain care from any licensed provider in a state for a specific benefit covered through an exchange health plan. Specifically, this includes licensed naturopathic doctors, acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners, midwives, chiropractic doctors and massage therapists. Recently Integrator Blog

Self-Insured Employers and Integrative Medicine: The Perfect Marriage

Integrative healthcare providers have been well positioned to provide quality corporate wellness programs and executive physicals for some time. Closely connected to this phenomenon, literally, is the largely overlooked fact that more than 100 million Americans today receive their healthcare benefits through self-insured companies. This article describes how integrative medicine can help employees stay healthier and be more productive while reducing their employers’ healthcare costs. Importantly, the increasing uptake of

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Hospital Systems Ignore Integrative Medicine at their Peril

The majority of hospital systems and cancer centers in major U.S. markets now offer an integrative medicine program of some shape or form. Many regional medical centers and hospital systems also feature such programs, while others are in the research and development stage. Organizations that ignore the growing consumer demand for integrative healthcare—and those shuttering existing programs as an austerity measure—do so at their long-term economic peril. About 38% of

My Story and Healing Journeys

On this blog I write almost entirely about the business of integrative medicine for FON, so you may not know that I am a longtime cancer survivor. In fact, my journey with malignant disease, which began 21 years ago, has shaped my life and career in the field of integrative healthcare. (So … if you are expecting a business-oriented post, then please skip the rest of this piece.)…

Yoga Milestone—First CME-Approved Conference Supports Therapeutic Value

The Mountain Pose Medicine & Yoga Symposium took place in gorgeous Copper Mountain, Colorado August 22—26, 2012. The seminal gathering marked the first CME (continuing medical education) accredited program for yoga in the United States. The annual Mountain Pose Medicine & Yoga Symposium is the brainchild of Satkirin Khalsa, MD, a longtime yoga instructor, integrative medicine physician and scientific program chair of the conference. Khalsa is deeply concerned about the

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Integrative Medicine as Standard of Care

Over 50 U.S. academic medical centers now feature some form of a CAM (complementary or alternative medicine) program. This evolution in academic healthcare delivery is better defined as Integrative Medicine in America. The sheer number of privately owned integrative clinics, centers and solo practices being launched each month is also staggering. These practices are being led by a wide range of providers—i.e., MDs, DOs, naturopaths, acupuncturists, massage therapists, chiropractors. The

Affordable Care Act and Access to Integrative Medicine–What Does it Really Mean?

Well, that depends on who you ask. Those within the integrative healthcare field and the disbelieving skeptics alike, offer quite divergent views. This post focuses on the Affordable Care Act’s impact on health consumers currently using or hoping to incorporate integrative medicine practitioners and services into their care. It does not attempt to decipher the short- or long-term economic impact of the Affordable Care Act on this country. Nor does

The Evolution of Integrative Medicine Law and what the Future Portends

Attorney Michael H. Cohen, a thought leader in healthcare law, has a special affinity for and significant legal expertise in the field of integrative medicine. In his lecture (see video below) at Harvard Medical School 13 years ago, Cohen discussed the historical regulatory evolution of integrative practice, risk management strategies and key issues confronting providers at that time. I recently caught up with Cohen to get a current perspective on

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