Conference on integrative medicine business strategies
"Leadership and Business Strategies for Integrative Health Care" will be held May 15-17 at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix, AZ. Conference organizers say the event addresses the issues in developing and sustaining a successful integrative medicine program. Health care leaders from across the country, and from a variety of settings, will share their stories and offer practical strategies and techniques that attendees can apply in their organization or community.
This three-day program has been customized to provide attendees and their teams with educational sessions, strategic discussions, and in-depth case studies, skill-building workshops, a diverse and interactive exhibit forum, poster board presentations, and ample time for networking, organizers say.
Participants also are encouraged to join a pre-conference site visit to either the Virginia Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Health Care or Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, an award-winning healing hospital in Gilbert, AZ. Attendees will learn about how each organization was founded and the services offered to its patients.
This conference is targeted to senior-level health care executives; medical directors; nursing directors; physicians, nurses; clinicians working in integrative practices, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) program managers; and CAM practitioners; and other health care leaders interested in integrating CAM into a hospital or community setting.
A special hotel rate has been set for conference attendees. The cut-off date for this rate is April 16. For more information, see the conference brochure at http://www.hhnmag.com/healthforum/html/conferences/08cam/08PDFs/08CAM_Brochure.pdf.
FDA warns about unapproved drugs marketed to treat STDs
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Warning Letters to six US companies and one foreign individual for marketing unapproved and misbranded drugs over the Internet to US consumers for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Some of these products falsely claim to have "FDA Approval," and some claim to be "more effective" than conventional medicine. The products are sold as Tetrasil, Genisil, Aviralex, OXi-MED, Imulux, Beta-mannan, Micronutrient, Qina, and SlicPlus.
The products claim to prevent or treat a variety of STDs, including herpes, chlamydia, Human Papilloma Virus, cervical dysplasia, and HIV/AIDS. The FDA considers these US and imported products to be unapproved new drugs being marketed in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. They are also misbranded under the law because they lack proper directions for use by consumers.
In addition, some of the products are misbranded because they make false and misleading claims. Examples of claims that these products make include "Treatment Kills all Herpes Viruses WITHOUT having to use conventional drugs or medications," "Greatest STD Protection without Condoms," (SlicPlus) and "The active ingredient in our product is FDA certified to destroy 99.9992% of all pathogenic organisms [i.e.] Chlamydia" (OXi-MED).
The Warning Letters inform the companies that failure to properly resolve violations of the law may cause them to face further enforcement action that can include seizure of illegal products, injunction, and possible criminal prosecution. To view the letters, go to www.fda.gov.
Consumers who are currently using these products should stop their use immediately and consult their health care professional if they have experienced any adverse effects that they suspect are related to the use of any of these products.
Chronic conditions more of a supplement use indicator than cancer, study suggests
Researchers comparing supplement use among cancer survivors to people without cancer, and to those with or without other chronic conditions, had an interesting finding: Having a chronic medical condition was the major factor associated with supplement use. A diagnosis of cancer, by itself, did not have an independent effect on supplement use.
The researchers wanted to compare the population groups, as well as identify correlates of supplement use by cancer status. For this study, they took a cross-sectional, population-based survey of participants in the 2003 complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) supplement to the 2001 California Health Interview Survey. Participants in this study had reported a cancer diagnosis on the 2001 survey or a newly reported diagnosis on the 2003 survey (n = 1,844) plus a random oversampling of racial/ethnic minorities (n = 7,343). They reported their own use of a multivitamin and 27 vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other natural products during the preceding 12 months.
The researchers found that adults with cancer or other chronic conditions had higher prevalence of supplement use than those reporting no illness. The independent effect of cancer was associated with vitamin use, whereas living with other chronic conditions was associated with all types of supplement use, except multivitamins.
The correlates of supplement use were similar between cancer survivors and cancer-free individuals being a woman, advancing age, and greater physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, and other CAM use. Among cancer survivors, non-Hispanic whites had the lowest prevalence of herbal supplement use.
"Leadership and Business Strategies for Integrative Health Care" will be held May 15-17 at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix, AZ.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content