Integration of complementary and alternative medicine therapies (CAM) with conventional medicine is occurring in hospitals and physicians offices, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are covering CAM therapies, insurance coverage for CAM is increasing, and integrative medicine centers and clinics are being established, many with close ties to medical schools and teaching hospitals. In determining what care to provide, the goal should be comprehensive care that uses the best scientific evidence available regarding benefits and harm, encourages a focus on healing, recognizes the importance of compassion and caring, emphasizes the centrality of relationship-based care, encourages patients to share in decision making about therapeutic options, and promotes choices in care that can include complementary therapies where appropriate. Numerous approaches to delivering integrative medicine have evolved. Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States identifies an urgent need for health systems research that focuses on identifying the elements of these models, the outcomes of care delivered in these models, and whether these models are cost-effective when compared to conventional practice settings. It outlines areas of research in convention and CAM therapies, ways of integrating these therapies, development of curriculum that provides further education to health professionals, and an amendment of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act to improve quality, accurate labeling, research into use of supplements, incentives for privately funded research into their efficacy, and consumer protection against all potential hazards.

Comprehensive and in-depth guide provides the expertise of more than 100 of the nation's top professionals.

Based on careful analysis of burden of disease and the costs ofinterventions, this second edition of 'Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition' highlights achievable priorities; measures progresstoward providing efficient, equitable care; promotes cost-effectiveinterventions to targeted populations; and encourages integrated effortsto optimize health. Nearly 500 experts - scientists, epidemiologists, health economists,academicians, and public health practitioners - from around the worldcontributed to the data sources and methodologies, and identifiedchallenges and priorities, resulting in this integrated, comprehensivereference volume on the state of health in developing countries.

The last century witnessed dramatic changes in the practice of health care, and coming decades promise advances that were not imaginable even in the relatively recent past. Science and technology continue to offer new insights into disease pathways and treatments, as well as mechanisms of protecting health and preventing disease. Genomics and proteomics are bringing personalized risk assessment, prevention, and treatment options within reach; health information technology is expediting the collection and analysis of large amounts of data that can lead to improved care; and many disciplines are contributing to a broadening understanding of the complex interplay among biology, environment, behavior, and socioeconomic factors that shape health and wellness. On February 25 - 27, 2009, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened the Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public in Washington, DC. The summit brought together more than 600 scientists, academic leaders, policy experts, health practitioners, advocates, and other participants from many disciplines to examine the practice of integrative medicine, its scientific basis, and its potential for improving health. This publication summarizes the background, presentations, and discussions that occurred during the summit.

Integrating complementary treatment options with traditional veterinary practice is a growing trend in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians and clients alike have an interest in expanding treatment options to include alternative approaches such as Western and Chinese Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, Nano-Pharmacology, Homotoxicology, and Therapeutic Nutrition along with conventional medicine. Integrating Complementary Medicine into Veterinary Practice introduces and familiarizes veterinarians with the terminology and procedures of these complementary treatment modalities in a traditional clinical format that facilitates the easy integration of these methods into established veterinary practices.

Modern medicine has reached a point where the patient is not treated as a biopsychosocial-spiritual being but rather is seen as a virtual identity consisting of laboratory findings and images. More focus is placed on relieving the symptoms instead of curing the disease. Mostly, patients are turned into lifetime medication-dependent individuals. New medicines are needed to overcome the side effects, complications, resistance, and intolerance caused by pharmacological and interventional therapies. In hopes of drug-free and painless alternative treatments with fewer complications, there has been a trend to revisit traditional methods that have been dismissed by modern medicine. Traditional medicine has to be reevaluated with modern scientific methods to complement and integrate with evidence-based modern medicine.