Definitions (3 choices: CAM, IM, and IMSP)

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered conventional medicine. Conventional (or traditional) medicine is medicine as practiced by holders of MD or DO degrees and by their allied health professionals, such as physical therapists and registered nurses. Complementary medicine blends conventional and alternative treatment methods. For example, acupuncture can be used to decrease a patient’s preoperative anxiety. Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. As new approaches to healthcare emerge, the list of CAM therapies changes as well. Some examples of current conventional medicine that began as CAM include using fish oil as an adjunctive treatment for heart disease, depression, bipolar disorder, and arthritis; glucosamine to treat arthritis; probiotics to treat irritable bowel syndrome, and acupuncture for certain types of headaches.

Integrative Medicine (IM)
Integrative medicine (IM) is the term that is used by most hospitals and healthcare systems to identify their use of complementary and alternative therapies within the structure of traditional medical care. The first program in integrative medicine was created by Dr. Andrew Weil, one of the pioneers in the field. The definition used by Dr. Weil for The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona is the gold standard, so we use that definition here and in our work.

Integrative medicine makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative. 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 include:

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

Integrative Medicine Services Program (IMSP)
An integrative medicine services program (IMSP) is a program created and managed by a hospital or healthcare system that integrates safe, effective complementary and alternative medicine services with existing conventional medicine. The IMSP’s CAM services may be delivered by physicians, nurses, and other clinicians within the hospital or healthcare system, if they are qualified to deliver the services. Or, the services may be delivered by licensed or certified CAM clinicians and professionals employed by the healthcare system. An IMSP may be offered to inpatients or outpatients, depending on the organization’s plan. The IMSP may be centralized (housed in one department) or decentralized (housed within each service or care area). Some organizations begin the IMSP in the department of pain management and then branch out from there. Others for example, may house the IMSP in the rehabilitation hospital. In the rehabilitation hospital setting, CAM practitioners can integrate easily with the many other practitioners who serve on the patient’s care team. Once the model has worked well in one area, it can be introduced to other care settings in the healthcare system. In addition, an IMSP may focus on the delivery of two or three specialized services, or may provide a comprehensive set of therapeutic choices to patients. Determining which CAM services to offer and how they are delivered, should be driven by the system’s patient population as well as its values, vision, and mission statement.