The Reporter: February 1996, Vol.7, No.1
Complementary, Not Alternative

On the first and third Wednesday of every month, 45 or 50 people gather in the Milstein Hospital Building to talk about their interest and progress in the use of complementary medicine therapy. Like many medical research groups, the group associated with the Complementary Care Center has joined to improve patient outcomes and to discuss ideas about caring for their charges.

But what's different about this collective, which has been meeting for the past year, is that it is formed entirely of volunteers and does not advocate the modalities it discusses, but rather sets out to evaluate such treatments in an acute care setting. And Jery Whitworth wants people to understand the difference.

	Mr. Whitworth, a registered nurse and certified clinical perfusionist, co-founded the Complementary Care Center in March 1995 with Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Irving Assistant Pro fessor of Surgery. The center recognizes that "alternative" therapies seem to offer relief and healing to many people, although, says Mr. Whitworth, to date most evidence of their success is non-scientific.
Patient Jane Ski nner listens to a relaxation tape as researchers measure her heart rate variability and cutaneous blood flow to determine whether listening to the tape alters her readings.

"Anecdotal evidence is everywhere, but hard evidence is almost non-existent," he says. That is why he and others found it important to study such modalities in a clinical atmosphere over a period of five years.

Complementary medicine includes therapies that traditionally are not mentioned in the same breath as surgery or drug therapy-that is, allopathic medicine. Mr. Whitworth points out that complementary therapies are administered by certified practitioners i n agreement with each patient's physician. Modalities are offered to "complement" already proven medical treatment. Two examples of complementary treatments are hypnosis to control pain and therapeutic touch to activate innate healing potentials.

But again, Mr. Whitworth stresses, the center in no way advocates complementary practices but researches and explores those treatments to come up with scientific evidence that either substantiates or refutes their effectiveness.

With that goal in mind, the Complementary Care Center has established a research program with IRB approval. "We want to create iron-clad research study designs that hold up to the hardest of scrutiny," says Mr. Whitworth.

The center conducts research by developing study designs at its volunteer meetings. Then, certified practitioners give complementary treatments to one of three groups of patients in the cardiothoracic surgery department in collaboration with each patient 's allopathic care plan. (Other departments are being added to the program little by little.) The first group receives complementary modalities in conjunction with allopathic care. A second group of patients receives what Mr. Whitworth calls "mock therapy " or "placebo control," which essentially involves a practitioner showing compassion to the patient. Finally, a control group receives allopathic treatment alone.

Such a study design will determine whether complementary procedures have an effect on patient health. "My goal for the research study designs," says Mr. Whitworth, "is to determine whether the modality itself works or is it the compassionate connection b etween two people that has the effect."

So far, the program has been well-received, says Mr. Whitworth, by patients and physicians alike. "Patients are calling us from outside the hospital asking for help and the attending physicians we've approached to take part in the study have been, for th e most part, totally on board." Mr. Whitworth estimates 95 percent of recruited physicians have shown approval, which is important to the program because patients cannot receive complementary modalities without an attending physician's consent.

The program has attracted media attention from the likes of the New York Times, CNN, and World News Tonight. "Any press coverage we get is helpful," says Mr. Whitworth. "It helps us know how to do things better and how to substantiate our work."

Because the Complementary Care Center is run exclusively by volunteers and with no funding, Mr. Whitworth relies heavily on participatory support. "I would like to encourage physicians, Ph.D.s, and any others interested in becoming involved in answering our questions to join us," he says.

The center may soon contract with an HMO or insurance company interested in complementary medicine and its effect on health care costs. The contracted organization will gain from the center's research and in turn give an element of financial support.

Although it's too early to present formal data on the effects of complementary medicine, Mr. Whitworth sees a preliminary positive aspect to the program. "It allows patients to be more open with their physicians," he says. "The patient has the ability to choose in their health and wellness process thus opening the lines of communication with the physician." In the end, says Mr. Whitworth, the physician can learn more about what affects the patient.

The Complementary Care Center can be reached at 305-9628 (ext. 69628).