| Background: The utilization of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services in the United States has been well described. Recently there has been a growth of “integrative medicine” (IM) centers located at or affiliated with academic medical centers. Various structures and facilities exist for the delivery of such services; and within some of these settings, various CAM providers are reported to be providing care. CAM is subject to multiple interpretations and there may be variation among such centers. The inclusion or exclusion of given CAM services in academic medical centers may have policy consequences. Purpose: To document and describe the CAM services and CAM provider types that are specified on the public websites of a group of IM clinics affiliated with academic medical centers. Methods: The websites of the IM centers of the 44 member institutions of the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine (CAHCIM) were searched. Targeted data from the website review were entered in a spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel) for analysis. Descriptive statistics are reported. Results: The public websites of 29 of the 44 CAHCIM member institutions specify any clinical services provided. Data on provider types were scarce. The most common CAM therapies specified were stress reduction, acupuncture, and biologically-based practices, each included in 72% or more of websites. Conclusion: There is variation in breadth and depth of content provided on public websites of CAHCIM member institutions. These preliminary results can inform further research to understand the variation in services provided, as well as the determinants and consequences of such variation. This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher. Click on the above link for free full text. Link to PDF version.
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