'They Don't Ask Me So I Don't Tell Them': Patient-Clinician Communication About Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine

Abstract

PURPOSE Although high rates of traditional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine (TM/CAM) use have been well documented, there has been less attention to the factors infl uencing communication between patients and their primary care clinicians about TM/CAM. Such communication can be important in anticipating possible drug-herb interactions and in assuring agreement about therapeutic plans. METHODSWe used sequential, multistage, qualitative methods, including focus groups, in-depth interviews, and a video vignette, to explore communication about TM/CAM between patients and their primary care clinicians. The study was conducted in RIOS Net (Research Involved in Outpatient Settings Network), a Southwestern US practice-based research network, situated largely in Hispanic and American Indian communities where TM/CAM is an important part of self-care. RESULTSOne hundred fourteen patients, 41 clinic staff members, and 19 primary care clinicians in 8 clinic sites participated. The degree and nature of TM/ CAM communication is based on certain conditions in the clinical encounter. We categorized these fi ndings into 3 themes: acceptance/nonjudgment, initiation of communication, and safety/effi cacy. Perceived clinician receptivity to and initiation of discussion about TM/CAM strongly infl uenced patients' decisions to communicate; perceived clinician expertise in TM/CAM was less important. Clinicians' comfort with patients' self-care approaches and their level of concern about lack of scientifi c evidence of effectiveness and safety of TM/CAM infl uenced their communication about TM/CAM with patients. CONCLUSIONS Specifi c communication barriers limit patient-clinician communication about TM/CAM. Clinicians who wish to communicate more effectively with their patients about these topics and better integrate the types of care their patients use can change the communication dynamic with simple strategies designed to overcome these barriers. INTRODUCTIONT he use of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine is widespread, 1-4 although most users of traditional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine (TM/CAM) 2 also use allopathic care. 3 There are numerous studies, however, documenting a lack of communication in the conventional care setting between patients and their primary care clinicians about patients' use of TM/CAM. [5][6][7] Patient-centered communication is an evolving construct unifi ed by a set of core values defi ned by Epstein et al as a set of strategies (or a "way of being") designed to enhance a sense of partnership in the patient-clinician 8 Applied to TM/CAM use, patient-centered communication can be important because it may (1) result in closer agreement between the clinician and patient about treatment plans, (2) reduce misunderstandings between patients and clinicians, (3) uncover potential herb-drug interactions, (4) strengthen the quality of the patient-clinician relationship, and (5) provide an opportunity to discuss specifi c TM/CAM modalities with high-qu...

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