Acknowledgements
Many individuals and organizations assisted the Commission. The Commission is most grateful to the hundreds of individuals who devoted personal time and traveled great distance to participate in the ten meetings of the Commission and the four Town Hall meetings held in San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, New York City, NY and Minneapolis, MN. They included patients, their families, health care practitioners, research investigators, representatives of health insurers and managed care organizations, benefit experts, manufacturers and suppliers of CAM products, voluntary organizations, private foundations, and the Federal agency representatives associated with CAM activities. Their enthusiasm and willingness to assist the Commission deserve special thanks.
Many individuals in the Federal government assisted the Commission. We are unable to mention all who assisted, but there are many persons who deserve special mention including: Dr. Stephen Straus, Director, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine for providing administrative support and facilitating the Commission's activities; Dr. William Harlan, Acting Director, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine for his support and attention at the time of the formation of the Commission; Dr. Paul Coates, Director, Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health for his thoughtful comments and consideration of the serious issues before the Commission; and Christine Taylor, Ph.D., Director, Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA for her assistance and guidance during the reviews of information related to dietary supplements.
The Commission gratefully acknowledges the efforts and contributions of the Commission's staff including Ms. Michele Chang, M.P.H., C.M.T., Executive Secretary to the Commission, Commander Corinne Axelrod, M.P.H., L.Ac., Dipl.Ac., Captain Joseph Kaczmarczyk, D.O., M.P.H., Ms. Geraldine Pollen, M.A., Ms. Doris Kingsbury and Ms. Joan Albrecht. Several individuals assisted the Commission and the staff in important consultant roles. The conscientious efforts of Kenneth Fisher, Ph.D., Ms. Maureen Miller, R.N., M.P.H., Mr. James P. Swyers, M.A., and Max Heirich, Ph.D. are recognized. Considerable effort was required to develop agenda issues and fully explore appropriate speakers and background information on issues prior to the discussion at the meetings. The assistance and dedication of the staff and the consultants involved in developing the Interim Progress Report, managing the numerous Commission work groups, and preparing the Final Report are particularly noteworthy.
The consideration of the issues under discussion by the Commission provided by John Whyte, M.D. and Carlos Zarabozo of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Lisa Vincler, J.D., of the Attorney General's Office in the State of Washington, Alan Dumoff, J.D., M.S.W. in private practice in Rockville, MD and Ms. Michele Rusk of the Federal Trade Commission are recognized and appreciated. A special mention of thanks is extended to Ms. Jean Kazares and Ms. Anita Allen of Palladian Partners, Inc. who provided logistical support services to the Commission. Likewise, Mr. Craig Powers of MemberWare Technologies, Inc. provided webmaster services to maintain and update the Commission's website and deserves a special thanks for keeping the site accessible to the public from the first meeting through the completion of the Final Report. Finally, sincere appreciation is extended to the copy editor, Ms. Blair Burns Potter for her talents and assistance in editing the Final Report of the Commission.
In this report, the Commission presents the Administration and Congress with recommendations and implementation actions to guide the nation's policies regarding CAM into the new century. It has been an honor to listen to the oral testimony and receive written testimony from supporters and critics alike on the issues before the Commission. It is a privilege to present these identified needs and suggested recommendations and actions to the President, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Congress, and the public. The Commission looks forward to the implementation of the recommendations and actions in this report.
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Stephen C. Groft, Pharm.D. Executive Director White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy |