November 9, 1999 – A memorandum of understanding signed last August between the Association of American Hospitals (AHA) and the University Hospital and Medical Center at Stony Brook / State University in New York will help hospitals and other institutions to better understand alternative and complementary health approaches (AACS) and to implement medical programs integrating them. The AHA justifies its decision by the growing interest of patients and caregivers in integrating approaches such as acupuncture and the use of medicinal plants into standard medical treatment.
According to an internal AHA study, approximately 9% of US community hospitals offered AACS services in 1998. When the memorandum of understanding was announced, Dr. Jonathan T. Lord, senior executive of the AHA AHA said he believed that “the new millennium will see a major shift in favor of complementary health approaches because patients demand them. It is up to physicians and hospitals to respond responsibly to this patient demand. ”
The MOU provides that Stony Brook and the AHA, through its subsidiary Health Forum, will develop information, educational programs, publications and new media regarding the responsible use of medical services in AACS.
The University Hospital and Medical Center at Stony Brook has 504 tertiary care beds and is attached to the Stony Brook School of Medicine. This hospital and the School of Medicine, in conjunction with Stony Brook’s other health departments, created the first interdisciplinary academic program in complementary medicine in the United States.
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