News Briefs
NCCAM encourages patients to talk to providers about CAM
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has launched Time to Talk, an educational campaign to encourage patients particularly those age 50 or older to openly discuss the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with their health care providers.
According to a national consumer survey conducted by NCCAM and AARP and published in January of 2007, almost two-thirds of people age 50 or older are using some form of CAM, but less than one-third of these CAM users talk about it with their providers. The NCCAM/AARP survey revealed some reasons why this doctor-patient dialogue about CAM does not occur. The most common reasons survey respondents cited were:
- The physician never asked
- The patients did not know they should discuss CAM
- There was not enough time during the office visit
More than one-half of respondents who had talked about CAM with their physician said they (not their physician) initiated the CAM discussion. The telephone survey was administered to a nationally representative group of 1,559 people age 50 or older.
The Time to Talk campaign is aimed at addressing the need for this dialogue to help ensure safe, coordinated care among all conventional and CAM therapies. Talking not only allows integrated care, it also minimizes risks of interactions with a patient's conventional treatments, NCCAM says in a statement. When patients tell their providers about their CAM use, they can more effectively manage their health. When providers ask their patients about CAM use, they can ensure that they are fully informed and can help patients make wise health care decisions.
To begin the dialogue, NCCAM suggests that providers include a question about CAM use on medical history forms. Medical providers also can initiate the conversation and ask patients to bring a list of all therapies they use, including prescription, over-the-counter, herbal therapies, and other CAM practices.
Free tools and resources for the NCCAM's Time to Talk campaign, such as wallet cards, posters, and tip sheets, are available on the NCCAM Web site. They can also be ordered from NCCAM's information Clearinghouse at (888) 644-6226. For more information on Time to Talk, or to read the full NCCAM/AARP report on CAM use communication, visit www.nccam.nih.gov/timetotalk.
FDA sends Warning Letter to firms offering cancer "cures"
The US Food and Drug Administration has sent Warning Letters to 23 US companies and two foreign individuals that it says have been marketing a wide range of products fraudulently claiming to prevent and cure cancer. North American consumers should not use or purchase these products, which include tablets, teas, tonics, black salves, and creams, and are sold under various names on the Internet, according to the FDA.
The names of the companies and individuals warned, the complete list of cancer "cure" products, and their manufacturers along with a consumer article on health scams can be found at http://www.fda.gov/cder/news/fakecancercures.htm. The products contain ingredients such as bloodroot, shark cartilage, coral calcium, cesium, ellagic acid, Cat's Claw, an herbal tea called Essiac, and mushroom varieties such as Agaricus blazeii, Shitake, Maitake, and Reishi.
The FDA maintains that because these products claim to cure, treat, mitigate, or prevent disease, and these products have not been shown to be safe and effective for their labeled conditions of use, they are unapproved new drugs marketed in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Examples of fraudulent claims for these products include:
- "Treats all forms of cancer."
- "Causes cancer cells to commit suicide!"
- "80% more effective than the world's number one cancer drug."
- "Skin cancers disappear."
- "Target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone."
- "Shrinks malignant tumors."
- "Avoid painful surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other conventional treatments"
Parties that fail to properly resolve violations cited in Warning Letters are subject to enforcement action up to, and including, seizure of illegal products, injunction, and possible criminal prosecution.
Consumers and health care professionals should notify the FDA of any complaints or problems associated with these products. These reports may be made to MedWatch, the FDA's voluntary reporting program, by calling (800) FDA-1088, or electronically at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has launched Time to Talk, an educational campaign to encourage patients particularly those age 50 or older to openly discuss the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with their health care providers.Subscribe Now for Access
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