Complementary and Alternative Medicine

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/complementaryandalternativemedicine.html

Also called: CAM

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the term for medical products and practices that are not part of standard care. Standard care is what medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy and allied health professionals, such as registered nurses and physical therapists, practice. Alternative medicine means treatments that you use instead of standard ones. Complementary medicine means nonstandard treatments that you use along with standard ones. Examples of CAM therapies are acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal medicines.
The claims that CAM treatment providers make about their benefits can sound promising. However, researchers do not know how safe many CAM treatments are or how well they work. Studies are underway to determine the safety and usefulness of many CAM practices.

NIH: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine is the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine