Respondents’ Attitudes to the Question, How Do You Perceive Conjoint Physician–Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practitioner Teamwork?
| Team Director | Participants* (n [%]) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Care Physicians (n = 283; responses = 298) | CAM Practitioners (n = 198; responses = 227) | ||
| Physician† | 127 (42.6) | 43 (18.9) | .0007 |
| CAM practitioner† | 8 (2.7) | 12 (5.3) | NS |
| Codirected‡ | 62 (20.8) | 83 (36.6) | .0001 |
| Directed by either physician or CAM practitioner§ | 86 (28.9) | 60 (26.4) | NS |
Data analysis was performed by Pearson's χ2 test. NS, not significant; CAM, complementary and alternative medicine.
* Two hundred eighty-three of 333 primary care physicians and 198 of 241 CAM practitioners responded this question. Respondents were asked to focus on merely one option but were able to choose several options. Thus, number of responses is higher than the number of respondents. The data in the table refer to number of responses.
† The head of the team is a physician (or CAM practitioner) that directs and coordinates the treatment.
‡ The physician and CAM practitioner have equal standing, with neither of them heading the team.
§ The head of the team is determined by the unique characteristics of the patient and his/her illness.