Practice patterns of naturopathic physicians: results from a random survey of licensed practitioners in two US States.
Practice patterns of naturopathic physicians: results from a random survey of licensed practitioners in two US States.
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DOI：
10.1186/1472-6882-4-14
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发表时间：
2004-10-20
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Eisenberg, David M
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Boon, Heather S;Cherkin, Daniel C;Eisenberg, David M
背景：尽管美国消费者越来越多地使用补充和替代医学 (CAM)，但人们对 CAM 提供者的做法知之甚少。本研究的目的是描述和比较华盛顿州和康涅狄格州自然疗法医师的执业模式。方法：对全州范围内有执照的自然疗法医师进行随机抽样电话访谈，并收集 1998 年和 1999 年连续患者就诊的数据。主要结果指标是：自然疗法医师的社会人口、培训和执业特征；结果：对 170 名从业者进行了访谈，共 1817 名患者就诊，并记录了 99 份数据。华盛顿和康涅狄格州的自然疗法医生具有相似的人口和实践特征。从业者和患者主要是白人和女性。几乎 75% 的自然疗法就诊都是因为慢性疾病，最常见的是疲劳、头痛和背部症状。 4% 至 10% 的就诊进行全血细胞计数、血清化学、血脂检测和粪便分析。所有其他诊断测试的订购频率均较低。最常用的自然疗法是：植物药物（康涅狄格州占 51%，华盛顿州占 43%）、维生素（41% 和 43%）、矿物质（35% 和 39%）、顺势疗法（29% 和 19%）以及过敏治疗（11% 和 13%）。平均访问时长约为 40 分钟。大约一半的就诊是由患者直接支付的。结论：这项研究提供的信息将帮助其他医疗保健提供者、患者和政策制定者更好地了解自然疗法的本质。
BACKGROUND: Despite the growing use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by consumers in the U.S., little is known about the practice of CAM providers. The objective of this study was to describe and compare the practice patterns of naturopathic physicians in Washington State and Connecticut.METHODS: Telephone interviews were conducted with state-wide random samples of licensed naturopathic physicians and data were collected on consecutive patient visits in 1998 and 1999. The main outcome measures were: Sociodemographic, training and practice characteristics of naturopathic physicians; and demographics, reasons for visit, types of treatments, payment source and visit duration for patients.RESULT: One hundred and seventy practitioners were interviewed and 99 recorded data on a total of 1817 patient visits. Naturopathic physicians in Washington and Connecticut had similar demographic and practice characteristics. Both the practitioners and their patients were primarily White and female. Almost 75% of all naturopathic visits were for chronic complaints, most frequently fatigue, headache, and back symptoms. Complete blood counts, serum chemistries, lipids panels and stool analyses were ordered for 4% to 10% of visits. All other diagnostic tests were ordered less frequently. The most commonly prescribed naturopathic therapeutics were: botanical medicines (51% of visits in Connecticut, 43% in Washington), vitamins (41% and 43%), minerals (35% and 39%), homeopathy (29% and 19%) and allergy treatments (11% and 13%). The mean visit length was about 40 minutes. Approximately half the visits were paid directly by the patient.CONCLUSION: This study provides information that will help other health care providers, patients and policy makers better understand the nature of naturopathic care.