Press Room

Do Americans discuss the use of complementary health practices with their health care providers? In fall 2010, AARP and NCCAM partnered on a survey to help answer this question. The consumer survey found that among the 1,013 adults surveyed age 50+, about half reported using some type of complementary health practice. According to the survey, 58 percent of those who had ever used complementary health practices said they have discussed them with a health care provider.

NCCAM Press Releases

• NIH Launches Consumer-Friendly Tips Series on Complementary Health Practices (2012)
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine Dialogue Lacking Between Patients, Providers (2011)
• Time To Talk About CAM: Health Care Providers and Patients Need To Ask and Tell (2008)
• Older Americans Not Discussing Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use with Doctors (2007)

Reports

• Complementary and Alternative Medicine: What People Aged 50 and Older Discuss With Their Health Care Providers (2010)
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine: What People 50 and Over Are Using and Discussing with Their Physicians (2006) (AARP)

Time to Talk Video

NCCAM Program Officer Kristen Huntley, Ph.D„ talks about the importance of patient-provider communication and highlights the Time to Talk campaign. (Flash required)

• Time to Talk Video [3min 50sec]

B-Roll Videos

Videos featuring older Americans (RealPlayer required)

• Traditional Chinese Medicine [7min 42sec]
• Qi Gong [6min 48sec]

Audio Files

• NIH Audio File Dr. Briggs Speaks About Time to Talk
• NIH Radio Interview with Dr. Chesney about the AARP Report
  2:08 | 2.0 MB | Transcript | Right-Click to Download MP3 File

Free Images

Download images related to the Time to Talk campaign and patient-provider interaction. Each image has a high-resolution version at 300dpi and a low-resolution version at 72dpi available for download. View images »

Other Resources

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

• Information about CAM
• Contact the Clearinghouse

National Institute on Aging

• Talking With Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People (NIA)
• Dietary Supplements (NIA)

Office of Dietary Supplements

• Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know (ODS) [227KB PDF]

AARP