ABSTRACT
Americans are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments in various ways: as an alternative to conventional/traditional therapies or as additions to such treatments (complementary or integrative approaches). More than half of US physicians reported using for themselves (or recommending for their patients) some CAM therapies. Most medical schools and hospitals are establishing centers for integrative medicine and adding CAM courses to the medical school curriculum. Hospitals offer massages, yoga, Feldenkrais, tai chi, and pain control instruction to employees, patients, and the general public. Americans have embraced CAM in growing numbers. In 1993 a report in the New England Journal of Medicine1 revealed startling statistics: in the United States more visits were made to alternative medicine practitioners than to family doctors.
