More Metro hospitals embrace Alternative Care

Source: Health Section of Detroit News courtesy of Anne Spencer of IMDHA


Providers race to accommodate as more patients accept treatments like acupuncture and hypnosis
After slogging through several rounds of chemotherapy last year, breast cancer survivor Kathy Duke wasn't eager to expose her body to more toxins.

So when the 59-year-old developed arthritis, she opted to forgo heavy-duty pain killers for a more natural approach to soothing her pain and found relief in an unlikely place -- stretched out on a massage table at Beaumont Medical Center in Sterling Heights, part of Troy's Beaumont Hospital. "It definitely has its place for what ails you," Duke, a retired medical worker from Sterling Heights, said of massage therapy. "It gives you satisfaction. Even if it's a placebo effect, so what? It works."

Hospitals, long considered stalwarts of Western medicine, are increasingly embracing treatment options more often associated with the East, such as acupuncture, naturopathy, massage therapy and hypnosis.

Offering holistic therapies is one way hospitals can stand out from their competition as they vie for the health care dollars of a shrinking population, health industry analysts said.

Alternative therapies are meant to complement conventional treatments, providing a gentler, more holistic approach to alleviating pain and stress. Hospital administrators say patients have come to demand the services as their popularity grows outside traditional medical circles.

Few health insurers are willing to pay for these therapies, however, citing insufficient medical evidence to support their value. And skepticism abounds in the medical community.

Some doctors dismiss the growth of hospital-based alternative medicine as nothing more than a marketing tactic to entice well-heeled, well-insured patients who will also come back when they need traditional -- more profitable -- care.

Patients seeking alternative therapies typically pay up front and out of pocket, and hospitals don't make much, if any, profit. Breaking even is often considered success.

" A lot of hospitals view it as a loss leader," said Dr. Rick Kunnes, a health care and hospital industry consultant for Plante & Moran in Columbus, Ohio. "They believe they'll attract a clientele with more disposable incomes, and those people more than likely have private insurance."

Despite the slim profit margins, nonconventional medicine has carved out a niche in national health care spending over the years.

Treatments form niche
A report this year by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that spending on these therapies totaled about $33.9 billion or 1.5 percent of the $2.2 trillion in total expenditures in 2007, the year the data was collected.

The center is a branch of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

Major health systems such as the University of Michigan and Henry Ford are tapping into the movement by embracing holistic medicine in their doctors' offices and bringing it straight to the patient's bedside at their hospitals.

Henry Ford's new hospital in West Bloomfield, for example, offers a range of holistic therapies, including stone massage, hypnotherapy and Chinese medicine at its spalike wellness center on the ground floor of the complex.

St. John Health System opened its first "healing arts" center in 2000 at its flagship Detroit hospital. Since then, monthly visits to the center have tripled, said program manager Mary Natschke. St. John has since opened three more healing arts locations, offering everything from yoga and meditation to reiki -- where practitioners stimulate healing by placing their hands on or near the patient.

Beaumont Hospitals this year hired three naturopathic practitioners. Naturopathy is a branch of alternative medicine that encompasses an eclectic mix of natural remedies.

Beaumont's holistic program evolved from its cancer services about five years ago as doctors found patients seeking natural therapies to soothe the various ailments associated with their illness, said Gail Evo, director of Beaumont's integrated medicine program.

"Some patients came in with huge shopping bags full of supplements and herbs," Evo said, and doctors worried the natural remedies would conflict with their prescribed treatments.

Beaumont's integrated medicine program now has about 4,000 patients in its database and locations at its Troy and Royal Oak medical campuses.

Skeptics doubt effectiveness
Although hospitals have been adopting alternative practices, most insurance plans consider them medically unnecessary.

"The documentation demonstrating a cost-effective return hasn't been there," said Rick Murdock, president of the Michigan Association of Health Plans, an insurance industry trade group.

Some medical doctors also remain doubtful. Dr. David Gorski, a surgical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Center Institute in Detroit, said the medical evidence has largely shown that most of these therapies don't work any better than a placebo, and hospitals should stick to the business of promoting medicine with a solid scientific backing.

"These therapies lean more toward faith than science," he said.

Dr. Michael Seidman, medical director for wellness at Henry Ford's West Bloomfield hospital, is aware of the skepticism. He acknowledges that most people still think of alternative medicine "as quackery and snake oil."

But research continues, and some studies show promise. Holistic remedies are being used to treat symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, chronic headaches and diabetes to good effect, Seidman said, and studies show acupuncture has helped control hot flashes linked to breast cancer.

"Skepticism is important," he said, "but having a closed mind negates the potential of evaluating helpful alternatives."

Christins Rogers / The Detroit News /cvrogers@detnews.com (313) 222-2300

Editors Note:

We have worked diligently since 1980 to see this kind of cooperation in the health care community. The founding and establishment of the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association® was encouraged by physicians from Florida, and Missouri as well as Michigan. This brings joy to my heart!

Anna H. Spencer, PhD / Founder (IMDHA)