Complementary and alternative medicine encompasses a wide range of modalities, including acupuncture, herbs and supplements, naturopathy, and body and mind therapies. The use of these healing methods is increasing rapidly, and more and more patients are approaching primary care physicians with questions about them. The purpose of this issue is to help doctors understand the evidence supporting and refuting complementary and alternative medicine techniques so they can provide patients with answers. This is the second of a two-part series, and it focuses on application of complementary and alternative medicine techniques to disease states and body systems.

This issue of Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, guest edited by Drs. Deborah Clements and Melinda Ring, is devoted to Integrative Medicine. Articles in this issue include: Introduction to Integrative Medicine; Phytotherapy; Lifestyle Medicine; Chronic Pain; GI Disorders; Mental Health; Endocrine Disorders; Oncology and Survivorship; Pediatrics; Cardiovascular Disorders; Women’s Health; Men's Health; and Ethical and Legal Considerations.

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.

Complementary and alternative medicine encompasses a wide range of modalities, including acupuncture, herbs and supplements, naturopathy, and body and mind therapies. The use of these healing methods is increasing rapidly, and more and more patients are approaching primary care physicians with questions about them. The purpose of this issue is to help doctors understand the evidence supporting and refuting complementary and alternative medicine techniques so they can provide patients with answers. This is the first of a two-part series, and it focuses on the various modalities.

By integrating complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with traditional medical treatment, this volume represents the next generation in the evolving field of integrative medicine. Features a unique approach and case studies immediately applicable to clinical practice. Far more than a review of CAM modalities, this is an evidence-based and clinically authoritative guide for family medicine and primary care providers.

Written by physicians who are experts in both traditional and complementary medicine, Integrative Medicine, 5th Edition, uses a clinical, disease-oriented approach to safely and effectively incorporate alternative therapies into primary care practice. Drawing on available scientific evidence and the authors’ first-hand experiences, it covers therapies such as botanicals, supplements, mind-body, lifestyle choices, nutrition, exercise, spirituality, and other integrative medicine modalities. This highly regarded reference offers practical guidance for reducing costs and improving patient care while focusing on prevention and wellness for a better quality of life. Explains how to make the best use of integrative medicine and the mechanisms by which these therapeutic modalities work, keeping you at the forefront of the trend toward integrative health care. Templated chapters make it quick and easy to find key information such as dosing, pearls, the Prevention Prescription, and Therapeutic Reviews that incorporates the Evidence vs Harm Icon. Uses the reliable SORT method (Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy) to provide evidence-based ratings, grading both the evidence and the relative potential harm. Thoroughly updated, ensuring that you remain well informed regarding the latest evidence. Contains 10 new chapters covering clinician resilience, supporting immunity, NASH/fatty liver, hair loss, rethinking the movement prescription, compassion practices, prescribing low-dose naltrexone, psychedelics, tapering off PPIs and opioids, as well as an expanded osteopathy chapter. Covers timely topics aimed at reducing the epidemics of polypharmacy and opioid overuse, as well as supporting immunity in the face of infectious diseases. Provides online access to multiple-choice questions for every chapter—perfect for board exam review.

Since the first suffering supplicant offered a prayer to his god or the first mother cradled an ailing child in her caring arms, we have witnessed how human health and healing goes beyond any inventory of parts and infusion of chemicals. We humans are a complex melding of thought, emotion, spirit, and energy and each of those components is as critical to our well-being as our physiological status. Even if we are just beginning to quantify and document these seemingly intangible aspects, to ignore them in the practice of medicine is neglect and an invitation to do harm. Now in its second edition, The Scientific Basis of Integrative Medicine continues to provide doctors and other health practitioners with information on complementary and alternative approaches to health, that is authoritative, scientifically based, and epidemiologically substantiated. Written for doctors and healthcare professionals by pioneering practitioners and updated with the newest research across an increasing range of possibilities, the new edition of this bestselling work – Establishes the scientific basis for the mind–body connection and then documents the puissant interactions of the endocrine, immune, nervous, and stress systems that so profoundly influence our lives Examines that healing dimension of spirituality, which informs but transcends the five senses Investigates how hope, faith, and love aid healing Discusses how the emotional presence of a practitioner affects patient outcome Considers the incorporation of a unified theory that can account for the existence of health enhancing energy fields within — as well as outside — the human body Integral physiology serves as a bridge between Western medical knowledge and the equally valuable, but less well-recognized, Eastern systems of medicine. The authors refer to it as integrative because it combines important Western biological knowledge with forms of healing that incorporate the mental and emotional, and spiritual aspects that are essential to health, because those aspects are what make us essentially human.