CAM

1. Define CAM

CAM is an initial that stands for Complementary and alternative medicine, and it includes medical products and practices that are not part of standard medical care (Huntoon, 2017). The medical products and practices are used alongside conventional medical treatments but are not standard treatments.

2. Describe the patient who uses CAM the most

Typical users of CAM are a group of patients who cite an unmet medical need or delay in getting medical care. These patients feel CAM as being more affordable, patient-centered, holistic, accessible, concerned with patient-provider relationships, and offering more personal autonomy. According to Bishop & Lewith, 2010, patients suffering from chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and depression commonly use CAM. In terms of gender, women are more likely to use CAM than men (Bishop & Lewith, 2010).

3. List some common misconceptions about CAM.

• CAM doesn’t work-This is not true. Some CAM therapies have undergone evaluation and are safe and effective.
• CAM is only alternative-Many CAM practitioners are trained, medical professionals. Patients should, however, inform their doctors about the CAM treatments they receive
• CAM Isn’t Mainstream-This is not true. Most healthcare professionals use studies to determine the effectiveness of alternative medicines.
• CAM Doctors Don’t Use Conventional Medicine-This misconception is not true. Many CAM health professionals consult with the patients’ healthcare providers before doing a prescription.

4. Identify methods of including the use of CAM in patient education.

Considering that CAM is widely used in the United States, healthcare professionals need to integrate its use in patient education. Healthcare professionals’ should encourage patients to exchange ideas, share, and question their healthcare choices. They should allow patients to express their preferences and beliefs, Identify dependable information and sensitize then of making informed decisions and purchases. Nurses should ask patients whether they use herbs, natural health products, or visit the CAM practitioners without being non-judgemental. It should be standard as part of the history of any medical visit. Practitioners should be respectful and acknowledge that the patients use CAM for self-care. They should appreciate the importance of patients’ wishing to take responsibility for their health and collaborate with them to improve their outcomes.

5. Discuss the safe use of CAM.

Although some CAM therapies have undergone evaluation and are considered safe, some have been found to be unsafe, ineffective, and harmful. Before the CAM therapies are used, they should be evaluated with the same process used to assess the standard treatments. Clinical trials should also be done before the therapies are used. Patients should, therefore, discuss with their doctors before making a decision to use CAM therapies due to related drug interactions and product contaminations.

6. List ways in which conventional medicine and CAM can be integrated.

• It can be done by evaluating patients requesting advice on the use of CAM as part of their health care by their primary care physicians.
• Physicians should evaluate the appropriateness of the use, maintain contact, and monitor patients’ outcomes.
• Physicians advise on referrals to be based on the safety of the method in question, familiarity, contraindications, current knowledge on indications, and open dialogue with the therapist.
• Understanding the CAM and the gaps in the use of standardized medicine that it addresses and chemical standardization of the drugs to ensure proper quality.

7. Define ethical theories, ethical principles, and values.

Ethical theories represent the viewpoints from which people seek guidance when making ethical decisions. They form part of the decision-making process when ethics are in play (Klugman, 2016). Ethical principles are a set of goals that ethical decision makes seekers seek to achieve, and they include respect for autonomy, beneficence, least harm, and justice. Values are individual beliefs that guide and motivate actions or attitudes (Klugman, 2016).

8. Provide examples of ethical issues in patient education and compliance, and describe ways in which an effective professional/patient relationship and a poor health professional/patient relationship can impact these issues.

An example of ethical issues in patient education and compliance may include using an evidence-based medicine that appears to provide a clear pathway for a clinical decision but failing to involve the patient in the decision-making process. Developing therapy and attempting to make it acceptable to the patient to achieve compliance is also an ethical issue. Testing interventions to change the patients’ behavior without considering their point of view affects medical adherence, and this is an ethical issue.

An effective physician-patient relationship plays the biggest role in the struggle for improved patient education and compliance with medical therapies. Patients are more likely to adhere to a medical decision that they were involved in. Patients should be engaged to an appropriate level, and physicians should consider all the associated factors. A poor health professional/patient relationship leads to interactions that foster non-compliance.

9. Explain what is meant by “ethical patient education practices.”

Ethical patient education practices refer to proper ways to get the right information and, through their own volition, use the information to make decisions regarding concordance, compliance, and acceptance of the preferred treatment.

10. Explain the purpose of informed consent.

Informed consent is the process where a patient is informed about all the aspects of a certain trial that are important in decision-making. Its purpose is to protect a patient by giving him/her with sufficient information in a language that can be easily understood so that he/she can make a voluntary decision regarding “to” or “not to” participate in the research study (Schouten & Kumer, 2017).

11. Discuss what factors determine the patient’s ability to give informed consent.

The following factors determine the patients’ ability to give informed consent;

• The patient should have the ability or capacity to make a decision.
• The patient should understand the relevant information.
• The patient should have the ability to understand the options.
• The patient should have the ability to understand the consequences of choosing each of the options.
• The patients’ ability to evaluate the personal cost and benefit of each of the consequences and relate them to your own set of values and priorities

12. Compose a sample informed consent form.

Informed Consent Form

The Department of Psychology at Grand Canyon University supports the practice of protection of human participants in research.  The following will provide you with information about the experiment that will help you in deciding whether or not you wish to participate.  If you agree to participate, please be aware that you are free to withdraw at any point throughout the duration of the experiment without any penalty [Note: the penalty statement is only appropriate for students].

In this study we will ask you to __________________*.  If you have any [insert reason why they should not participate if applicable], please inform the experimenter and the study will end now.  All information you provide will remain confidential and will not be associated with your name.  If for any reason during this study you do not feel comfortable, you may leave the laboratory and receive credit for the time you participated and your information will be discarded.  Your participation in this study will require approximately _____ minutes.  When this study is complete you will be provided with the results of the experiment if you request them, and you will be free to ask any questions.  If you have any further questions concerning this study please feel free to contact us through phone or email: JPottinger@my.gcu. Please indicate with your signature on the space below that you understand your rights and agree to participate in the experiment.

Your participation is solicited, yet strictly voluntary.  All information will be kept confidential and your name will not be associated with any research findings.

______________________________                                    _______________________________
Signature of Participant                                                 NAME, Investigator

______________________________
Print Name
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PLEASE NOTE: If your participants cannot legally give consent (those under 18, for example), the form must be addressed to the parent or guardian.

*If you are asking the participant to read something, view something, reveal personal information, eat something, taste/smell something, you must inform them.  You must warn participants if it is possible something you ask them to read or view may be offensive or explicit.  Please describe how long (approximately) the procedure will take.   Potential participants must be able to make an informed consent to participate!

13. Discuss the process of communication to use with the patient and the family when obtaining informed consent.

The healthcare provider should choose a quiet place where patients are not likely to get distracted during the process. Descriptive and simple language should be used to ensure that patients understand complicated medical procedures. Key repetitive phrases should also be used.  Present relevant information accurately and sensitively, in keeping with the patient’s preferences for receiving medical information. Document the informed consent conversation and the patient’s (or surrogate’s) decision in the medical record in some manner. The consent form should be included in the record when the patient/surrogate has provided specific written consent.

References

Bishop, F. L., & Lewith, G. T. (2010). Who uses CAM? A narrative review of demographic characteristics and health factors associated with CAM use. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 7(1), 11-28. https://doi.org/10.1093/ecam/nen023

Huntoon, E. (2017). Complementary and alternative medicine. Oxford Medicine Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780190217518.003.0014

Klugman, C. M. (2016). Recognizing ethical terms, theories, and principles. Ethical Competence in Nursing Practice. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826126382.0001

Schouten, R., & Kumer, K. D. (2017). Informed consent. Oxford Medicine Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780199387106.003.0005