A Descriptive Analysis of an Integrative Medicine Clinic

Objective: To evaluate and describe an integrative medicine clinic including its patients; their presenting problems, medical objectives, treatment recommendations; whether recommendations were recalled and adhered to; and patients' self-reported health outcomes. Design: A prospective cohort study of 160 new clinic patients were treated using a wide range of integrative medicine therapies. Patients were interviewed at intervals of 1, 3, and 6 months after their initial visit. Setting: The study was conducted at the Institute for Health and Healing clinic, at California Pacific Medical Center located in San Francisco, CA. Subjects: The subjects were new clinic patients seeking care for a variety of symptoms and diagnoses. Intervention: Patients presented with an average of 4.0 symptoms and 2.9 diagnoses; physicians recommended 9.5 "treatments" per patient. Results: At 6-month follow-up, symptom intensity decreased from 6.5 to 4.2 (on a 10-point scale; p < 0.005); and 57% of the patients had made "substanti...