Many national networks claim they credential people in complementary alternative medicine (CAM); how and why is AMI different?

Carve-out CAM networks have emerged over the past few years to respond to the demands of the American healthcare consumer. Although well intended, these organizations by their very nature as stand alone products—used minimally credentialed and narrowly trained practitioners; (they have not been able to stand the tests of quality and cost savings by which traditional healthcare plans are measured.

Alternative Medicine Integration (AMI), however, differs significantly from these early pioneers. Designed as an "integrative medical model", AMI has demonstrated the tangible return on investment of spending healthcare benefit dollars appropriately on preventing disease and its root causes before conventional medical interventions and their associated risks and expenses are necessary. Combining "The Best Medicine of Both Worlds"sm, AMI’s MD-directed, patient oriented, integrative medical delivery system is responsible for many "firsts". They include:

• Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) physicians credentialed equal to NCQA criteria for medical doctors (MD) / Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)

• NCQA credentialing criterion for chiropractic is woefully inadequate. In essence it requires only:

• 1. baseline data specifics of the practice
  2. a contractual agreement to accept a specified fee schedule,
  3. a copy of current malpractice (which does not meet the same level as allopathic, primary care physicians).

AMI’s credentialing, by contrast, requires all the same NCQA criterion that is required of primary care physicians, with the obvious exceptions of those requirements which pertain to pharmaceutical usage or hospital/admitting privileges.

• AMI’s Doctors of Chiropractic have been credentialed as PCPs by the MD peer review committee of Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO Illinois product line (HMOI). AMI’s HMOI program has had open enrollment since January 1, 1999. These current outcome statistics have been widely publicized in the literature.

• • Compared to normative values in the greater Chicago area for all other allopathic IPAs, our network has reduced hospitalizations by approximately 60% over a 7 years consecutively.

• • We have reduced outpatient surgery and procedures by approximately 50% over 7 years consecutively.

• • We have reduced pharmaceutical usage by approximately 75% over 7 years consecutively.

• AMI’s proprietary credentialing program serves as the nationally delegated authority for the American Academy of Chiropractic Physicians (AACP)

• Experience and therapeutic depth with various CAM modalities.

• Competent ability to make correct differential diagnoses according to Western evidence-based scientific consensus.

• Human quality/bedside manner.

1. Submit application to AMI
2. Administrative evaluation for completeness
3. Peer Interview (HMO only)
4. Primary source verification of submitted data
5. Evaluation by AMI Medical Director
   1. Receives and reviews application and test results.
   2. Telephone interviews regarding practice experience and skills, as required
6. Application acceptance/denial determination
   1. Accepted - Initiate onsite office visit and office staff education (HMO only)
   2. Final acceptance - Staff orientation and training
   3. Declined - Additional training recommended
   4. Appealed - Independent physician reviews the application
   5. Recredentialing every three years.