Background/Purpose: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is increasingly prevalent among patients with rheumatic diseases, yet alignment between patient practices and clinician perspectives remains poorly defined. This study assesses CAM attitudes, usage patterns, and familiarity amongst both rheumatology clinicians and patients.

Methods: An online patient-facing survey and a separate clinician-facing survey evaluated use and perception of CAM in rheumatic diseases. Eligible patients were ≥ 18 years old and actively going to rheumatology clinic. Clinicians included rheumatology MDs, DOs and advanced practice providers. Dissemination of the survey was done virtually through patient advocacy groups, provider organizations, social media, and messaging via electronic medical records. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics (Chi-square).

Results: 1221 patients with rheumatic disease across the United States completed the patient survey. For patients, if no familiarity with CAM (163 patients or 13% of respondents) was endorsed, the survey was ended. Patient participants were primarily female (88%), and predominantly Caucasian non-Hispanic (64%). The most common rheumatic disease reported was rheumatoid arthritis (58%) followed by Sjogren’s disease (19%). A high proportion of patients reported CAM usage but many were not familiar with CAM and 76% of patients did not find CAM very accessible. Most patients used the internet or social media as their primary source of information on CAM (40%). Half of the patients had Medicare insurance; of these patients, 26% reported daily CAM usage. There was no difference in CAM usage when comparing Medicare vs. non-Medicare patients (p >0.05). Asian respondents reported high daily usage of CAM while Black respondents had a lower daily usage compared to other groups (p=0.02). While patients with higher level education were more likely to use CAM (doctorate or higher with daily: 37.5% and monthly: 12.5% CAM use, master’s and college degrees: 35% daily and 7% monthly use), individuals with high school or less education were more likely to never use CAM (35%). A total of 128 rheumatologists across the United States completed the clinician survey. The majority of respondents were community rheumatologists (47%) and academic rheumatologists (40%). Most were female (66%) and the most common racial background was Asian (42%) and Caucasian-Non Hispanic (38%). Notably, 95.2% of respondents expressed support for integrating CAM therapies into standard rheumatology practice, indicating strong professional interest across practice settings.

Conclusion: CAM usage is prevalent amongst the rheumatic patient population but many patients do not find CAM very accessible and usage varies with different races/ethnicities and education levels. Future implementation needs to focus on more accessible CAM programs. As these patients follow regularly with their rheumatologists, the strong clinician interest for CAM integration into standard rheumatologic care is an opportunity to develop structured education and provide evidence-based resources for patients.

Table 1: Patient Demographics

Figure 1: Clinician Belief in Integrating CAM into Rheumatic Disease Care

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/patient-and-clinician-perception-and-use-of-complementary-and-alternative-cam-medicine-for-rheumatic-disease/