Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States

Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2005-04-13
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309133424

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.

Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine - E-Book

Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine - E-Book
Author: Marc S. Micozzi
Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences
Total Pages: 625
Release: 2010-04-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1437727050

Focusing on emerging therapies and those best supported by clinical trials and scientific evidence, Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine describes some of the most prevalent and the fastest-growing CAM therapies in use today. Prominent author Dr. Marc Micozzi provides a complete overview of CAM, creating a solid foundation and context for therapies in current practice. Coverage of systems and therapies includes mind, body, and spirit; traditional Western healing; and traditional ethnomedical systems from around the world. Discussions include homeopathy, massage and manual therapies, chiropractic, a revised chapter on osteopathy, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, naturopathic medicine, and nutrition and hydration. With its wide range of topics, this is the ideal CAM reference for both students and practitioners! An evidence-based approach focuses on treatments best supported by clinical trials and scientific evidence. Coverage of CAM therapies and systems includes those most commonly encountered or growing in popularity, so you carefully evaluate each treatment. Global coverage includes discussions of traditional healing arts from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Longevity in the market makes this a classic, trusted text. Expert contributors include well-known writers such as Kevin Ergil, Patch Adams, Joseph Pizzorno, Victor Sierpina, and Marc Micozzi himself. Suggested readings and references in each chapter list the best resources for further research and study. New, expanded organization covers the foundations of CAM, traditional Western healing, and traditional ethnomedical systems from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, putting CAM in perspective and making it easier to understand CAM origins and contexts. NEW content includes legal and operational issues in integrative medicine, creative and expressive arts therapies, ecological pharmacology, hydration, mind-body thought and practice in America, osteopathy, reflexology, South American healing, traditional medicines of India, and Unani medicine. Revised and updated chapters include aromatherapy, classical acupuncture, energy medicine, biophysical devices (electricity, light, and magnetism), massage and touch therapies, traditional osteopathy, reflexology, vitalism, and yoga. New research studies explain how and why CAM therapies work, and also demonstrate that they do work, in areas such as acupuncture, energy healing, and mind-body therapies. Expanded content on basic sciences includes biophysics, ecology, ethnomedicine, neurobiology, and pschoneuroimmunology, providing the scientific background needed to learn and practice CAM and integrative medicine. Expanded coverage of nutrition and hydration includes practical information on Vitamin D and healthy hydration with fluid and electrolytes.

Alternative Medicine Resource Guide

Alternative Medicine Resource Guide
Author: Francine Feuerman
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 354
Release: 1997
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9780810832848

Contains information on resources and publications in the general field of alternative medicine and thirty-two specific modalities.

The Complementary Therapist's Guide to Red Flags and Referrals

The Complementary Therapist's Guide to Red Flags and Referrals
Author: Clare Stephenson
Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2011-10-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 070205433X

Unique ready reference for all complementary medicine, massage therapy and manual therapy practitioners and students alerting them to 'red flag' symptoms which should be referred for Western medical investigation or emergency medical treatment. When can a patient be safely reassured and when do they need further investigation or treatment? 'Red flags' are clinical signs that suggest a patient needs prompt investigation and treatment for a potentially dangerous situation. Therapists increasingly find themselves working alongside conventionally trained doctors and nurses and it is vital for them to understand conventional medical diagnoses, symptoms and treatments and, crucially, to recognise warning signs of serious disease. This is essential in order to be a safe practitioner. Clare Stephenson's The Complementary Therapist's Guide to Red Flags and Referrals meets this need by providing an easily accessible reference to 'red flag' symptoms, designed especially for therapists. It offers guidance on how best to respond to those symptoms and signs of disease which can be readily discerned through routine history taking and basic examination of the body. The guidance is in language which is accessible to therapists, and clear advice is offered on when to refer patients to conventional medicine practitioners and how to communicate with doctors when making a referral. Clinical syndromes which merit rapid response are summarised for ease of reference.

Alternative Medicine

Alternative Medicine
Author: Edzard Ernst
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2019-06-29
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3030126013

Alternative medicine (AM) is hugely popular; about 40% of the US general population have used at least one type of alternative treatment in the past year, and in Germany this figure is around 70%. The money spent on AM is considerable: the global market is expected to reach nearly US $ 200 billion by 2025, with most of these funds coming directly out of consumers’ pockets. The reasons for this popularity are complex, but misinformation is certainly a prominent factor. The media seem to have an insatiable appetite for the subject and often report uncritically on it. Misinformation about AM on the Internet (currently about 50 million websites are focused on AM) is much more the rule than the exception. Consumers are thus being bombarded with misinformation on AM, and they are ill-protected from such misinformation and therefore prone to making wrong, unwise or dangerous therapeutic decisions, endangering their health and wasting their money. This book is a reference text aimed at guiding consumers through the maze of AM. The concept of the book is straightforward. It has two main parts. The first, short section provides essential background on AM, explaining in simple terms what is (and what is not) good, reliable evidence, and addressing other relevant issues like, for instance, the placebo response, informed consent, integrative medicine, etc. The second and main part consists of 150 short chapters, topically grouped and each dedicated to one single alternative therapeutic or diagnostic method. In each of them, seven critical points are raised. These points relate to issues that are important for consumers’ decisions whether it is worth trying the method in question. Restricting the discussion to just seven points means that issues must be prioritized to those themes which are most relevant in the context of each given modality.

Alternative Medicine

Alternative Medicine
Author:
Publisher: Health and Human Services Department
Total Pages: 428
Release: 1995
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN:

Herbal Medicine

Herbal Medicine
Author: Iris F. F. Benzie
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2011-03-28
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1439807167

The global popularity of herbal supplements and the promise they hold in treating various disease states has caused an unprecedented interest in understanding the molecular basis of the biological activity of traditional remedies. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects focuses on presenting current scientific evidence of biomolecular ef

Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust

Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2011-06-16
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 030921646X

Advances in medical, biomedical and health services research have reduced the level of uncertainty in clinical practice. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) complement this progress by establishing standards of care backed by strong scientific evidence. CPGs are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care. These statements are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and costs of alternative care options. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust examines the current state of clinical practice guidelines and how they can be improved to enhance healthcare quality and patient outcomes. Clinical practice guidelines now are ubiquitous in our healthcare system. The Guidelines International Network (GIN) database currently lists more than 3,700 guidelines from 39 countries. Developing guidelines presents a number of challenges including lack of transparent methodological practices, difficulty reconciling conflicting guidelines, and conflicts of interest. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust explores questions surrounding the quality of CPG development processes and the establishment of standards. It proposes eight standards for developing trustworthy clinical practice guidelines emphasizing transparency; management of conflict of interest ; systematic review-guideline development intersection; establishing evidence foundations for and rating strength of guideline recommendations; articulation of recommendations; external review; and updating. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust shows how clinical practice guidelines can enhance clinician and patient decision-making by translating complex scientific research findings into recommendations for clinical practice that are relevant to the individual patient encounter, instead of implementing a one size fits all approach to patient care. This book contains information directly related to the work of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as well as various Congressional staff and policymakers. It is a vital resource for medical specialty societies, disease advocacy groups, health professionals, private and international organizations that develop or use clinical practice guidelines, consumers, clinicians, and payers.

Your Natural Medicine Cabinet

Your Natural Medicine Cabinet
Author: Burke Lennihan
Publisher: SCB Distributors
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2012-07-31
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0983443033

CNS, New York Times bestselling author of The Fat Flush Plan Your Natural Medicine Cabinet features the most important and up-to-date information for healing nearly 200 common ailments using the most effective, fastest-acting, and affordable natural remedies available today. Its concise, user-friendly format is ideal for overworked moms, stressed-out dads, and anyone interested in simple, natural, drug-free alternatives for themselves and their children. This hip, easy-to-understand A-to-Z guide provides “best practices” for the speedy and effective treatment of key health problems. You will learn how to save money on health care, safely treat yourself and your family, and enhance your overall health and energy with supplements, superfoods, homeopathics, cell salts and flower essences. The author also recommends related books and web-based resources, carefully researched for your further, in-depth study. She outlines healthy foods to eat and those to avoid, shares effective energy-based exercises, and shows when craniosacral and chiropractic techniques are an effective adjunct to her recommended treatments. Your Natural Medicine Cabinet is an indispensable health resource that you can refer to time and time again.