2009 SIMUS Survey

The 2009 SIMUS Survey1 is currently being conducted by CIMEx Health. Preliminary results are expected to be published by December 1, 2009.

Over 200 hospitals and healthcare systems are expected to participate in the survey. Their  responses will play a role in assessing the current value of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies in healthcare systems and identify opportunities for growth and improvement.  

The Definition of Integrative Medicine used by the SIMUS Survey:

Integrative medicine makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative (CAM). Integrative medicine is a healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the individual as a unique and whole person (body, mind, and spirit). The principles of integrative medicine used in the survey are from the University of Arizona’s integrative medicine program and include: 

  1. Patient and practitioner are partners in the healing process.
  2. All factors that influence health, wellness, and disease are taken into consideration, including mind, spirit, and community, as well as the body.
  3. Appropriate use of both conventional and alternative methods facilitates the body's innate healing response.
  4. Effective interventions that are natural and less invasive should be used whenever possible.
  5. Integrative medicine neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts alternative therapies uncritically.
  6. Good medicine is based in good science. It is inquiry-driven and open to new paradigms.
  7. Alongside the concept of treatment, the broader concepts of health promotion and the prevention of illness are paramount. (http://integrativemedicine.arizona.edu/about/definition.html)

For more information on Integrative Medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) see the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Web site: http://nccam.nih.gov/

1 The State of Integrative Medicine in U.S. Hospitals and Healthcare Systems: A Survey to Determine the Use of Complementary and Alternative (CAM) Therapies by Healthcare Organizations

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