White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy Town Hall Meeting: Practitioners and Patients Speak Up

Abstract

T he White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy (WHCCAMP) held its third Town Hall meeting, in New York City, on January 23, 2001, to continue gathering testimony on the concerns and recommendations of all the stakeholders in the practice, administration, and consumption of complementa ry and a l t e rna t ive medi c in e (CAM) services and products in the United States. The first Town Hall meeting was held on September 8, 2000, in San Francisco, California, and the second convened in Seattle, Washington, on October 30–31, 2000. The Commission’s mandate is to prepare, first , an interim report, due this July, that will focus on a relatively small number of recommendations to the President and Congress about legislation related to alternative and complementary medical practice. A final advisory report is due to the White House by the t ime th e Commiss ion di sbands , on March 7, 2002. The Commission has been conducting formal meetings in Washington, D.C., where invited speakers provide testimony and address questions raised by the Commission, and has been gathering testimony from the full range of interested participants, outside of Washington, D.C. Although the meetings in Washington do provide opportunities for public comment, the programs are not structured primarily according to the public’s concerns. The agendas of the Town Hall meetings are set by the preregistered participants and reflect, first and foremost, the issues that they want the Commission to consider and factor into its ultimate recommendations.