Integrative Medicine Research
The Osher Collaborative for Integrative Medicine comprises an international group of seven academic Centers funded by The Bernard Osher Foundation to study, teach, and practice integrative medicine. In many cases, B vitamins are first line therapy for conditions such as elevated homocysteine, which has become an established marker for an elevated risk of cholesterol plaques or cardiovascular the years I have often used supplements such as magnesium for my patients who have certain problems with heart rhythm, high blood pressure, high cholesterol as well as a number of other aspects of health.
Evidence on the potential impact of various treatment options and modalities offered in the health center were presented to patients, and individuals were supported in making informed decisions regarding which types of practitioners would be participating in their care team.
Integrative Medicine reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, health care professionals and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.
Integrative medicine, as defined by the American Board of Integrative MedicineŽ (ABOIM) and the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, is the practice of medicine that reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals, and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.
The NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (formerly called the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) is the federal government's lead agency for scientific research on medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.
This method is often necessary for acute illness; however, we will be more effective if we offer treatment plans that better match patients' belief systems for chronic conditions that have no easy” answer (see Chapter 4). In this way, we can activate the internal healing response, a process that we know as the placebo effect.
According to IOM, The first priority for any health care system using an integrative approach is to ensure that the full spectrums of Natural Therapy preventive opportunities -clinical, behavioral, social, spiritual and environmental- are included in the care and delivery process”.
Generally, manufacturers of dietary supplements can claim, without having to provide evidence for safety or efficacy to the FDA, benefit to the body's structure or function (eg, improves cardiovascular health) but cannot claim benefit for treating disease (eg, treats hypertension).
This meeting is convened by the European Society of Integrative Medicine (ESIM) and serves as the 10th European Congress for Integrative Medicine and the 12th International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research sponsored by the International Society for Complementary Medicine Research (ISCMR).
Medical intuition complements modern techniques by providing a broader knowledge base for the patient to determine their total treatment, and integrates the best of all worlds to create their health care regime using the total mind and body connection.
There is no single medical system that is perfect and each has its own merits and weaknesses; it is wrong to assume that any specific medical system, be it conventional or complementary therapies such as, Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine is correct with the exception of conventional emergency medicine.
Any therapy that is typically excluded by conventional medicine, and that patients use instead of conventional medicine, is known as alternative medicine.” It's a catch-all term that includes hundreds of old and new practices ranging from acupuncture to homeopathy to iridology.