BMJ 2001;322:168 ( 20 January )

Letters

Integrated medicine: orthodox meets alternative

    Bringing complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) into mainstream is not integration
    Challenge of making holism work
    Integrated medicine is not new

Bringing complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) into mainstream is not integration

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Vickers's review is another example of how complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is being brought into the mainstream rather than integrated.1 Times are indeed changing, but what to?

The dictionary defines integration as "the incorporation of equals into society."2 Let's be honest: there is no equality in medicine; there never was and probably never will be. The recent approval of acupuncture by the BMA is by no means an overarching endorsement of Chinese medicine as a legitimate alternative system.3 It is simply an acknowledgement of the accumulation over time of good enough evidence that shows the effectiveness of acupuncture in some conditions. This is, to borrow a metaphor from the word processing world, a cut and paste approach. It results in the assimilation, and not creation, of a new emergent property. Combination medicine is not integrated medicine.

Two other important aspects related to the future of CAM deserve . . . [Full text of this article]
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Relevant Article

Recent advances: Complementary medicine
Andrew Vickers
BMJ 2000 321: 683-686. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Ernst, E., Caspi, O. (2001). Possible Danger of Integrating CAM in Medical Education. Arch Intern Med 161: 1680-1681 [Full text]  

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