الفهرس 
Introduction and RationaleOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
CAM, or complementary and alternative medicine, has been defined as “diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine” although “other terms ... include unconventional, nonconventional, unproven, and irregular medicine or health care”.
CAM use is growing, although point estimates of use vary widely across studies. Point estimate variation reflects different ways of defining alternative health care practices and sampling protocols (i.e., excluding non-English–speaking respondents or other restrictions).
CAM is categorized into five domains: (1) Alternative Medical Systems such as homeopathy and acupuncture; (2) Mind-Body Interaction techniques such as biofeedback and hypnosis; (3) Biologically-Based treatments such as vitamins and diets; (4) Manipulative and Body-Based methods such as chiropractic and massage therapy; and (5) Energy Therapies such as energy healing and spiritual healing by others.
CAM is highly valued by many FPs and is already making a substantial contribution to first-contact primary. Considering the popularity CAM has in the public, integration of CAM is a chance for family medicine. However, FPs should be aware that patients expect not only to combine CAM and conventional medicine but to integrate CAM within a whole-system approach as “integrative medicine”. “Integrative medicine” stands for a healing approach, allowing for the bio-psycho-sociospiritual context of the individual patient, drawing on both, conventional medicine and CAM, on the basis of a trustful physician-patient relationship.
The useof CAM, in addition to conventional medical treatments, for treating chronic diseases requests careful consideration. The well-designed clinical studies of many CAM therapies are often lacking, therefore the safety and effectiveness of many CAM therapies are uncertain. Within the context of chronic diseases management, some therapies may possibly be helpful, and some of them are poorly studied, potentially maleficent or inefficient. Patients often use many therapeutic methods and supplements from the domain of CAM. However, their knowledge about the efficacy and side effects of those therapies is insufficient. So, it is important that family physicians and other conventional health professionals have sufficient knowledge of the CAM topic, so they could have a positive participating role in the care and treatment of chronic diseases patients by differentiating CAM therapies that may have reasonable efficacy-safety profiles from those that are unstudied, ineffective and dangerous.