MATTERS OF NOTE

American Botanical Council Celebrates25 Years of Herbal Medicine Education

In November 2013, the AmericanBotanical Council (ABC) celebrated aquarter century of promoting theresponsible, science-based use of herbalmedicine.The nonprofit’s 25th anniversary is a

major milestone for the Austin, Texas-based organization. “I’ve been affiliatedwith and have supported ABC since itsinception, because I believe in its mis-sion,” said Andrew Weil, MD, founderand director of the Arizona Center forIntegrative Medicine at the University ofArizona College of Medicine. “As morehealth professionals are trained to usemedicinal plants and other natural thera-pies, healthcare costs will decrease andhealth outcomes will improve. Educa-tion is required for this to happen, edu-cation of the sort that ABC has providedover the past 25 years and I’m sure willcontinue to provide.”In the 1980s, when the modern herbal

medicine movement was experiencing arevival and consumer awareness andexposure to natural medicine was slowlyincreasing, ABC Founder and ExecutiveDirector Mark Blumenthal saw the needfor an authoritative, science-based source

Mark Blumenthal

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of information on botanical medicine toact as a touchstone for herbal educationand quality for all aspects of the herbalindustry including consumers. Blumen-thal, whose passion for herbal medicineearned him the nickname “Herbal Cow-boy,” together with two internationallyrespected medicinal plant experts—eth-nobotanist James A. Duke, PhD, and thelate pharmacognosist Norman R. Farns-worth, PhD—established the educationalnonprofit American Botanical Council in1988.As ABC celebrated its 25th anniver-

sary, the organization’s flagship publica-tion—the quarterly, peer-reviewed jour-nal HerbalGram—commemorated 30years of herbal education with its 100thissue. Part scientific journal, part con-sumer magazine, HerbalGram has fur-thered ABC’s unique nonprofit educa-tional mission by disseminating exten-sively researched, literature-supported,and expertly peer-reviewed informationon botanical medicine. “From history tonew clinical studies, reporting onnew regulatory and market develop-ments to comprehensive reviews andcovering the world’s herbs and the worldof herbs, no publication has providedmore to all interested stakeholders inevery aspect of herbal medicine,” saidauthor and medicinal plant expertSteven Foster.In addition to HerbalGram, ABC pub-

lishes numerous other publications thatprovide dependable herbal medicineinformation for consumers, health carepractitioners, researchers, educators, in-dustry, the media, and more. The non-profit’s most recent new publication, theweekly online newsletter, “Herbal News& Events,” keeps ABC members andsupporters abreast of events, conferen-ces, and news items relevant to theherbal community. Members of ABCcan also access HerbMedPro™, a profes-sional, continuously updated databaseof medicinal plant research articlessearchable by herb name, condition,

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indication, and more. ABC provides freeonline access to HerbMeds, a “sister”database featuring 20–30 herbs fromHerbMedPro that are rotated on a regu-lar basis. Making this unique resourcefree to the public increases the numberof people who benefit from updatedinformation on herbs, in accordancewith ABC’s nonprofit educational mis-sion. These services and many others areall available online through www.herbalgram.org.ABC’s headquarters at the 160-year-

old Case Mill Homestead in the heartof East Austin serves as an extension ofthe organization’s commitment toherbal education. Purchased in 1997,the property was renovated with medic-inal plant gardens, a greenhouse, and anannex that functions as home for ABC’slibrary and a community meeting space.The gardens are used as a tool fordietetic and pharmacy interns from localuniversities, who apply their research inhands-on medicine-making labs andpresentations using herbs from thegrounds.In 2011, ABC joined forces with the

nonprofit American Herbal Pharmaco-poeia (AHP) and the University of Mis-sissippi’s National Center for NaturalProducts Research (NCNPR) to bringto light the accidental and intentionaladulteration of botanical materials. Todate, the ABC–AHP–NCNPR BotanicalAdulterants Program is underwrittenand/or endorsed by more than 100natural product industry companies, in-dependent analytical laboratories, non-profit and professional organizations,trade associations, and accredited natu-ral medicine institutions.The American Botanical Council’s

dedication and passion for providingreliable information on herbal medicinefor the past 25 years has impacted thou-sands of individuals around the world.“Mark Blumenthal and the AmericanBotanical Council have played a tremen-dous and important role in opening the

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ABIHM and AHMA Leaders come together to discuss future of Academy of Health and Medicine

eyes and minds of countless healthcareprofessionals to the importance of her-bal medicines in healing, eco-conserva-tion, traditional use, and even econom-ics,” said Aviva Romm, MD.“We are deeply grateful to all of our

members, donors, and other supporterswho have made this milestone possible,”said Blumenthal. “From medicinal plantresearchers, healthcare professionals, co-nsumers, industry members, and manyothers, in the United States and 80countries around the world, ABC’s suc-cess is a result of the strong ongoingsupport of people who value reliable,science-based information on the manypositive health effects of herbs, spices,teas, phytomedicines, and other benefi-cial plants and fungi.”For more information, please contact

ABC at P.O. Box 144345, Austin,TX 78714-4345, Phone: 512-926-4900.Website: http://www.herbalgram.org.

ABIHM Announces ExpansionThe American Board of Integrative HolisticMedicine (ABIHM) recently announcedthat it will expand its focus to become aninternational academy. The mission of thenew global academy will be “to implementthe science of health and healing intopractice by bringing leaders of medicine

Matters of Note

and the healing arts together into an aca-demic and clinically focused community.”Major funding for the ABIHM expan-

sion was made possible by the TaylorFamily Foundation. Founders and princi-pals of the Foundation, Don and RuthTaylor of Calgary, Alberta, are committedto projects to transform medicine froman institution-based service that reacts tosickness with mechanical fixes and phar-maceutical intervention, to a system ofearly intervention, social support, andprevention that promotes optimal health.In plotting its expansion, the ABIHM

identified six major shifts in healthcarethat are creating the need for anexpanded education and certificationprogram to a wider array of healthcareprofessionals moving forward.

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Patient Demand: Increased patient de-mand for integrative health care services.

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Efficacy: Proven cost efficacy of inte-grative medicine in wellness programsin employment settings, universities,and pilot programs has been summar-ized by the Bravewell Collaborative.

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ACA: The Affordable Care Act stip-ulates that all licensed health careprofessionals (including licensed acu-puncturists, naturopathic physicians,and others) must be included forreimbursement by insurance.

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Recognition: The increased recognitionof integrative medicine as affordable

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and effective. A recent senate resolu-tion declared naturopathic medicineto be affordable, effective, and safe,and encouraged more Americans toconsider naturopathic medicine as anoption for their health care.

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Assurances: Both patient and thehealth care industry’s need for assur-ance that integrative medicine practi-tioners are highly qualified. Patientsrely on their physicians for advice andquality referrals regarding safe andeffective integrative approaches, whichnow have a significant place on thehealth care map.

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Doctor Demand: Increased demand forcertification in recent years has esca-lated considerably for primary carephysicians and specialists. This is basedon continual increased growth ofdemand for certification during the past14 years by MD and DO physicians.

In one of its first actions, the academyis planning to support professionalslicensed as ND, DC, MD, DO, LAc,RN, NP, PA, DDS, and RPH, as well aspsychologists, nutritionists, and dieticians.Programs in support of this goal will beprovided over the next several years.Mimi Guarneri, MD, and other

ABIHM board members are providingleadership for the expansion. The publicannouncement, which was made by Dr.Guarneri in November 2013, can be

arch/April 2014, Vol. 10, No. 2 75

Mary Jo Kreitzer, RN, PhD

viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovmdbXhoXDE.Recently, a stakeholders group for the

emerging Academy was launched in SanDiego. The group of 13 individuals hadrepresentation from The American Holis-tic Medical Association (AHMA), Ameri-can Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine(ABIHM), Academic Consortium forComplementary and Alternative HealthCare (ACCHAC), American HolisticNurses Association (AHNA), IntegratedHealthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC),and the Consortium of Academic HealthCenters for Integrative Medicine (CAH-CIM). A road map for the development ofthe new Academy will be revealed in 2014.

About the American Board ofIntegrative Holistic MedicineThe American Board of Holistic Medicinewas founded in 1996 and officiallychanged its name to the American Boardof Integrative Holistic Medicine in 2008.The Vision of the ABIHM is to establishand maintain the highest standards ofmedical care, ignite and sustain the joyand passion of physicians in their work,establish the role of unconditional love asthe basis of healing and support, and torecognize the importance of the health ofthe planet as integral to human health. Theintention of this process is the transforma-tion of medical systems towards holism, bycombining science and compassion.More information will be available in

the spring of 2014. Please visit http://www.abihm.org at that time.

Dr. Kreitzer Receives theConsortium’s DistinguishedService AwardAt a recent meeting of the Consortiumof Academic Health Centers for Integra-tive Medicine, Mary Jo Kreitzer, RN,PhD, was named the 2013 BravewellDistinguished Service Award recipient.The Consortium created the Bravewell

Distinguished Service Award as a venuefor honoring one of its members for theircontribution to the Consortium’s workand the field of integrative medicine.Dr. Kreitzer founded The Center for

Spirituality and Healing at the Univer-sity of Minnesota in 1995. In 1999, shehelped to organize the inaugural meet-ing of the group that would become the

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Consortium of Academic Health Cen-ters for Integrative Medicine. Dr. Kreit-zer has since remained an active memberof the Consortium for 15 years.In her acceptance speech, Dr. Kreitzer

noted that small changes can have largeeffects; that while turbulent systems aresensitive to change, stable systems arehighly resistant; and that there is greatpower in small, collaborative, and highlycoordinated actions.“It is my hope and aspiration that in-

creasingly we harness the power of inte-grative health and medicine to createhealth and wellbeing in people, families,organizations, communities and ulti-mately, the nation,” she said. “In thisnext phase of our work together, I be-lieve that we need to move beyond thewalls of the healthcare system systems,work within interdisciplinary teams andengage in novel partnerships—many ofwhich we could not have even imagineda few years ago.

Bravewell Lecture UrgesIntegrative Leaders to Speak UpMaryjane Wurth, President and CEO ofthe Illinois Hospital Association deliv-ered the Bravewell Lecture at the recentConsortium of Academic Health Cen-ters for Integrative Medicine meeting inChicago, IL.In her lecture, Wurth addressed the

need for transformation of the healthcaresystem. She pointed out that every state

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around the country is asking: How do wechange our states’ healthcare system tokeep it affordable and push towards meet-ing the Triple Aim of better care, betterhealth, and lower costs?“The government’s demand for con-

taining the growing cost of healthcare isechoed by employers, commercialpayers and the public,” she said. “How-ever, identification of real solutions is amere whisper.”“Very simply, our national and state

governments are searching for a systemof care that offers access to a highquality, efficient and coordinated carewith sustainable payment models thatsupport the delivery system,” she said.“This is a revolutionary time.”Wurth pointed out that the search is for

“value”—the best outcome, for the bestprice, in the best location. She also saidwhile the short-term, episodic lens still hasrelevance, people are finally recognizingthe urgent need to promote health and getupstream on chronic conditions. “Theblend of traditional and integrative med-icine is a natural,” she said.Wurth urged integrative medicine

leaders to consider the following fouraction steps:

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Aggressively pursue, publish, and commu-nicate evidence-based research on integra-tive medicine.“The physician, patient compact ischanging and as patients have accessto more publicly available informa-tion, we will need the clear evidenceof the right customized, targeted careand treatment approaches to take.We need your research to understandhow integrative services improve out-comes and lower costs. Help trans-late the value of your services andshare your best practices on team-based care and how to best target careapproaches to the specific needs andconditions.”

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Develop and present the business case.“The story is there but it needs to bemore visible. Demonstrate how inte-grative medicine can be part of thesolution for the challenges facing ourAcademic Medical Centers (AMC).Build the confidence of policymakersand payers in your science and as abasis for action in our hospitals andhealth systems. Present the data onshorter lengths of stay and resulting

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cost reductions, how integrative med-icine can be bundled in new anddifferent ways to receive optimal out-comes at a better cost. Demonstratehow integrative medicine can help tocreate capacity for new business linesand overall market growth.”

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Help AMC’s to be innovative with newbusiness opportunities.“Help them position for care coordi-nation and at risk models of care, suchas accountable care organizations, howintegrative medicine can forge newrelationships with other providers byoffering training, services and support

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to other hospitals and providers. Bethe hub for achieving the best resultsin integrative medicine and encourageyour medical schools to build curric-ulums in integrative medicine, patientengagement and population health.”

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Communicate, communicate, communi-cate.“Don’t be one of the best kept secretsin your institutions and in health care.Share what is working and why, whatwe need to study more. Get your CEOstalking about you. I spend too muchtime with legislators and policymakersin this state and in the nation’s capital

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and we are simply not talking aboutintegrative care as part of the solution.We need to raise the prominence of thegood work you are conducting.”

For a complete transcript of the lec-ture, please contact the Consortium atmcahcim@umn.edu.

Matters of Note is compiled and writtenby Bonnie J. Horrigan, editorial directorfor EXPLORE and author of Voices inIntegrative Medicine: Conversations andEncounters.

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