Integrative Medicine: Doctors Combine Conventional and Alternative Strategies when Patients Turn to Non-Traditional Therapy

Alternative medicine is becoming more accepted by conventional medical practitioners as beneficial for patients because 62% of adult patients try some form of alternative treatment. 1 In recent years, many medical professionals have begun implementing integrative strategies to treat their patients: such strategies employ both traditional and alternative treatment methods. 1 Studies conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a component of the National Institute of Health, provide some evidence that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) strategies positively affect the wellbeing of patients undergoing conventional treatment. 1 However, it remains unclear whether the benefit is physiological or psychological in basis. 2