c. 1997 Religion News Service

BOSTON _ More than 90 percent of HMO executives personally believe that personal prayer, meditation or other spiritual or religious practices can aid medical treatment or accelerate the healing process, a new study reports.

The study, which surveyed 300 health maintenance organization executives who belong to the American Association of Health Plans, was released Monday (Dec. 15) at a press conference here led by Dr. Herbert Benson, a leading mind/body medicine researcher at Harvard Medical School.

The survey, conducted by Yankelovich Partners, a national polling agency, reported findings similar to that of a 1996 survey of family physicians. That survey reported that 99 percent of physicians believe that personal prayer or other spiritual activities can speed or help the medical treatment of ill patients.

The apparent key is holding strong beliefs. Benson said health benefits are not limited to traditional faith in religious truth. Belief in the medical system can be equally powerful, he said.

Almost three-quarters of the HMO executives also agreed that scientific data and research support a relationship between spirituality and health _ although 89 percent said their health plans’ do not take this data and research into account in their coverage policies.

The survey did not ask why the HMOs do not take this information into account.”What’s striking here is the contrast between the beliefs of the physicians, the beliefs of the HMO professionals and the fact that there are very few programs in place to this end,”Benson said.

He urged health plans to implement further studies of the connection between spirituality and health, and also to analyze potential reductions in cost that might result from his findings.”This is a form of self-care that is relatively non-expensive,”said Benson.

The executives’ survey was released in conjunction with the fourth in a semi-annual series of”Spirituality and Healing in Medicine”courses offered by Harvard Medical School’s Department of Continuing Medical Education and the Mind/Body Institute, of which Benson is the president. The John Templeton Foundation sponsored the survey.

The survey of executives also reported that two-thirds of the HMO professionals have either read books or articles, or attended lectures on spirituality and medicine. In the 1996 survey of family physicians, more than half of those polled reported pursuing information on the subject through reading or attending lectures or courses.

But further research is necessary, according to 76 percent of the surveyed HMO executives, if health plans are to consider the health benefits of belief.

Medical training is another area where the survey recommended further education on the issue of spirituality and health. More than 80 percent of the HMO executives said relaxation and meditation techniques should be incorporated into standard medical training.

But only 20 percent of the respondents reported that spiritual practices were addressed in their own medical education and training. An equal number of the family physicians surveyed in 1996 reported being trained in spirituality issues during their medical education.

The HMO executives’ survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percent.

MJP END LEBOWITZ