Complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM) covers a broad range of healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies. Generally ,
it is defined as those treatments and healthcare practices not taught widely in medical
schools, not generally used in hospitals, and not usually reimbursed by medical insurance
companies.
Many therapies are termed "holistic," which
generally means that the healthcare practitioner considers the whole person, including
physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects. Many therapies are also known as
"preventive," which means that the practitioner educates and treats the person
to prevent health problems from arising, rather than treating symptoms after problems have
occurred.
People use these treatments and therapies in a variety of
ways. Therapies are used alone (often referred to as alternative), in combination with
other alternative therapies, or in addition to conventional therapies (sometimes referred
to as complementary).
Some approaches are consistent with physiological
principles of Western medicine, while others constitute healing systems with a different
origin. While some therapies are far outside the realm of accepted Western medical theory
and practice, others are becoming established in mainstream medicine.
Ask your healthcare provider about complementary and
alternative medical treatments and practices in general, and about those particular
practices used for your specific health problems.
Increasingly, healthcare providers are becoming familiar
with alternative treatments or are able to refer you to someone who is. For scientific
information about the safety and effectiveness of a particular treatment, ask your
healthcare provider to obtain valid information for you.
If your healthcare provider cannot provide information,
medical libraries, public libraries, and popular bookstores are good places to find
information about particular complementary and alternative medical practices.
Other resources for information are the 25 Institutes and Centers (ICs) at the NIH. For
information on a wide range of specific diseases or medical conditions, call (301)
496-4000 and ask the operator to direct you to the appropriate NIH office.
Also, you may want to ask practitioners of complementary
and alternative healthcare about their practices. Many practitioners belong to a growing
number of professional associations, educational organizations, and research institutions
that provide information about complementary and alternative medical practices. Many
organizations are developing Internet Web sites. Most internet browser programs will have
a mechanism for searching the World Wide Web by keyword or concept.
Remember that these organizations may advocate a specific
therapy or treatment and may be unable to provide complete and objective health
information.
If you have access to a computer with an Internet
connection, you may be able to search medical libraries and databases for specific
conditions and alternative medical treatments. The NCCAM's online database, the Complementary and
Alternative Medicine (CAM) Citation Index (CCI), is comprised of approximately 180,000
bibliographic records describing much of the CAM research that has been published over the
last 35 years. The CCI's user-friendly, menu-driven interface allows for searches by
various diseases or conditions, alternative medicine techniques or systems, and types of
literature.
You may also try accessing and searching MEDLINE, one of
the many computer databases available at the National
Library of Medicine. Also, you may want to contact the NCCAM Clearinghouse to obtain
the fact sheet, "Alternative
Medicine Research Using MEDLINE."
To find a qualified complementary and alternative medical
healthcare practitioner, you may want to contact medical regulatory and licensing agencies
in your state.
These agencies may be able to provide information about a
specific practitioner’s credentials and background. Many states license practitioners
who provide alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic services, naturopathy,
herbal medicine, homeopathy, and massage therapy.
You may also locate practitioners by asking your
healthcare provider, or by contacting a professional association or organization. These
organizations can provide names of local practitioners, and provide information about how
to determine the quality of a specific practitioner’s services. Contact the NCCAM Clearinghouse to obtain the fact sheet,
"Considering Complementary and Alternative Therapies,"
which provides helpful hints and questions to consider when choosing an alternative
healthcare practitioner.
Also, you may find complementary and alternative
healthcare practitioners by asking people you trust, like friends and family members, who
may have experience with practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine.
The NCCAM is not a treatment facility and cannot answer
specific medical questions. The NCCAM cannot make referrals to individual practitioners or
recommend particular therapies for patients.
Many people write to the NCCAM with their own testimony
about a successful treatment or a particular healer or healthcare practitioner. To have
this information reviewed, people may ask their practitioners whether he/she is collecting
information on the success of their treatments. A practitioner can collect and organize
the information and present it to the NCCAM once there is sufficient data to make a case
for the effectiveness of a particular treatment.
Many people contact the NCCAM with ideas for alternative
medical cures. To have a method or cure tested, one must formulate a research protocol.
This entails collaborating with individuals who have expertise in research and evaluation,
if one does not possess this expertise.
The NCCAM supports rigorous research into a range of
alternative medical treatments either by awarding grants or by setting up studies. For
further information, please contact the NCCAM
Clearinghouse to obtain the "Research Information Package."
People sometimes ask whether the NCCAM uses
the same standard of science as conventional medicine. Complementary
and alternative medicine needs to be investigated using the same scientific
methods used in conventional medicine. The NCCAM encourages valid
information about complementary and alternative medicine, applying
at least as rigorous, and, in some cases, even more rigorous research
methods than the current standard in conventional medicine. This is
because the research often involves novel concepts and claims, and
uses complex systems of practice that need systematic, explicit, and
comprehensive knowledge and skills to investigate.
