What role can massage therapy and acupuncture play in changing health care outcomes and reducing expenditures? During the debate about health care that has gripped the country over recent months, mainstream media has kept the focus on insurance coverage, affordability and reimbursement for doctors and drugs. However, there is another concern affecting millions of people that gets less attention from politicians and the press—the growing use of integrative therapies such as massage and acupuncture.

Good news on outcome studies
The Samueli Institute, a U.S. organization devoted to transforming health care through the scientific exploration of healing, has an exciting article on its website entitled, “Better Health, Lower Cost: Strategies for Bending the Cost Curve”, which provides evidence of effectiveness and savings for integrative medicine.

One study it cites, based on 70,274 member-months over a seven-year period, showed that those who used integrative therapies along with conventional health care had a 60.2% reduction in hospital admissions, 59% reduction in hospital days, 62% decrease in outpatient surgeries and procedures, and an 85% reduction in pharmaceutical costs when compared with conventional medicine alone. Good news for individuals using these therapies!

Practitioners as educators
Many practitioners of massage and acupuncture empower an individual by emphasizing the healing power of the body, the importance of honoring inner guidance, and making educated choices. This approach, in which the patient is part of the therapeutic team, can have a great impact on lifestyle changes. Comparative effectiveness research, also on the Samueli website, has shown that lifestyle changes can benefit the progression of five chronic conditions—heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer and metabolic disease—which account for approximately 75% of the $2.1 trillion in health care costs. A shift of 25% of patients with these five conditions to lifestyle treatments would save the health care system over $230 billion in five years.

What the people want
People are already integrating complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices into their lives. Out-of-pocket expenditure of over $33 billion per year in the U.S. is evidence that the public wants these therapies enough to pay for them without reimbursement. The reasons they want integrative care suggests other aspects of health care reform that deserve to be in the debate: a redefinition of health which makes wellness an active process, treatments with positive “side effects”, and an ongoing patient-therapist relationship (instead of the single session mentality) that moves the whole person in a positive direction.

Going local with integrative health care
The Organic Consumers Association, a public interest organization that campaigns for health, justice and sustainability, hopes to see greater access to integrative therapies through the creation of community health centers that will be funded by $14 billion in Congress’s health care plan. This group is looking towards local governments to address the demand for prevention and integrative care by creating centers such as the Coalition of Community Health Clinics in Portland, Oregon.

The power to change the world
Whatever your political persuasion, we now have a President actively seeking health care reform. Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, invited Americans to participate in creating a new health care paradigm. In her words, “Our current system is unacceptable and unsustainable. I’m here to ask you to work with us to make health reform a priority.”

Acupuncturists and massage therapists, who see prevention and healing in unique ways, must become part of the discussion around health care delivery. The time has come to expand current concepts and join like-minded individuals, so we can have a voice as well as a vision. Keep in mind that the emergence of integrative care is a world- wide movement, with research and use increasing in countries around the world.

Are you willing to take on the challenge of not only treating your patients and clients, but also educating people—whether they are patients, other health professionals, or even politicians? Any suggestions for how we can best go forward? Do you have integrative experiences you’re willing to share? Send your comments for publication to sinews@swedishinstitute.edu.

For more information:
Samueli Institute
“Better Health, Lower Cost: Strategies for Bending the Cost Curve”
American Spending on CAM from NCCAM
Organic Consumers Association