Medical utilization among wellness consumers

Med Care Res Rev. 2010 Dec;67(6):722-36. doi: 10.1177/1077558710370706. Epub 2010 Jun 2.

Abstract

This study investigates conventional medicine utilization by wellness-motivated, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) consumers. While CAM consumers are typically characterized as high health care utilizers, negative correlations have been found between CAM-based wellness programs and the consumption of conventional medical care. We use a nationally representative sample to analyze both illness- and wellness-motivated CAM users, with an interest in whether CAM therapies used for wellness replace conventional medicine, thus potentially offering cost offsets. Results indicate that motivation for CAM use is neither associated with a lower probability nor a lower rate of conventional medicine utilization. Increasingly, individuals, workplaces, and governments incorporate wellness programs involving CAM modalities into health care and policy; as the conventional and unconventional medical spheres begin to integrate and influence one another, understanding our pluralistic medical environment and its consumers will better enable policy makers to balance health and wellness initiatives with economic imperatives.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Complementary Therapies / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Health Promotion / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Preventive Health Services / statistics & numerical data*
  • Regression Analysis
  • United States