142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

312482
Integration of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Colombian Healthcare System; a pilot project in Bogota D.C

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 8:50 AM - 9:10 AM

Daniel Gallego-Perez, MD, DrPh(c) , DrPH Program, Boston University School of Public Health, Medford, MA
Gloria Rosa Useche, MD , Hospital Suba II Nivel ESE, Colombia
Oscar Javier Rodríguez, MD , Hospital Usaquén I Nivel ESE, Bogota, Colombia
Liliana Espinosa, MD, MA , Hospital Tunjuelito II Nivel ESE, Bogota, Colombia
Álvaro Rodríguez, MD , Hospital Tunjuelito II Nivel ESE, Bogota, Colombia
Mary Angel Duque, MD , Hospital Pablo VI Bosa I Nivel ESE, Bogota
Helmer Ortiz, MD , Hospital del Sur ESE, Bogota, Colombia
Myriam Peraza, MD , Hospital Pablo VI Bosa I Nivel ESE, Bogota, Colombia
Diana Rodríguez, MD , Dirección de Desarrollo de Servicios, Secretaría Distrital de Salud de Bogotá, Bogota, Colombia
Cristian Angelo Cortés, RN , Hospital Pablo VI Bosa I Nivel ESE, Bogota, Colombia
Blanca Díaz, MD , Hospital Usaquén I Nivel ESE, Bogota, Colombia
Yolanda Rodríguez, RN , Hospital Usaquén I Nivel ESE, Bogota, Colombia
Tatiana Gonzalez, MD , Hospital ESE San Cristóbal, Bogota
Juan Manuel Duque, MD , Hospital Pablo VI Bosa I Nivel ESE, Bogota, Colombia
Guillermo Elias Alvarez Henao, MD , Salud Pública, Secretaría Distrital de Salud de Bogotá, Bogota, DC, Colombia
In 2009 the Health Department of Bogota, Colombia, sought to bridge the gap between its dominantly allopathic healthcare system and other Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) systems. It launched a pilot project entitled “Promotion of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Primary Healthcare Framework in Bogota”. The overall goal of the pilot project was to integrate CAM practices into the service portfolio of public hospitals in the city, as well as to generate experience, evidence and a knowledge base that could support the construction of public policies on CAM, within the national healthcare system.  The project also aimed to increase the public´s access to CAM treatment modalities, irrespective of individual´s purchasing power. The pilot project started through the signing of an agreement between five of the twenty two public hospitals (later expanded to others) in the city and the Health Department. Under the agreement, the hospitals committed to establishing a core working group, whose mission was to collaboratively developing and overseeing the project. The project was developed in three phases: 1. creating CAM task forces within hospitals; reviewing experiences of CAM integration; analyzing the legal context; sensitizing all levels of stakeholders. 2. Launch of CAM Services; development and implementation of a research project in each hospital. 3. Building the financial sustainability and quality improvement systems of the newly created CAM services. This was the first systematic initiative to integrate CAM services in the healthcare system, which until then were solely offered by private practitioners. Towards the end of the project, the government included CAM services into the healthcare system´s coverage.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Other professions or practice related to public health
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Describe a pilot project, sponsored by the Health Department in Bogota, Colombia, to integrate Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) into the service portfolio of public hospitals, in the healthcare system framework Discuss project design and implementation phases, lessons learned and opportunities to scale-up

Keyword(s): Alternative and Complementary Health, Medical Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a physician with post-graduate training in complementary and alternative medicine and have experience in public health programs design and implementation. I worked on a pilot project to integrate complementary and alternative medicine in the healthcare system in Colombia. I am currently enroled in a DrPH program at Boston University School of Public Health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.