Accessibility Statement
There is no universal definition of what Complimentary and Alternative medicine means.
The NHS defines it as 'treatments that fall outside of mainstream healthcare'. This definition is very broad and covers a wide range of treatments from acupunture to chiropractice.
The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) uses this distinction:
In this definition whether a treatment is complimentary or alternative depends on what other treatments are being used with it - rather than on what the treatment actually is.
Another term you may come across is Integrative medicine - this combines mainstream treatments with complimentary medicine and advocates a holistic approach to patient care whcih also considers lifestyle and spiritual matters.
Statutory professional regulation ensures that conventional medicine is conducted by properly qualified practitioners who adhere to a set of standards or a code of practice.
Only 2 complementary and alternative treatments – osteopathy and chiropractic – are regulated in the same way.
There's no statutory professional regulation of any other CAM practitioners.
This means:
Many CAMs have voluntary registers or professional associations that practitioners can join if they choose.
Usually, these associations or registers demand that practitioners hold certain qualifications and agree to practise to a certain standard.
Some organisations have registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). This means they have met the standards for accredited registers outlined by the PSA.
Organisations with PSA-accredited voluntary registers include:
It's also important to consider how complimentary medicines might interact with treatments that a patient is already taking. Certain herbal supplements can make conventional drug treatments less effective.
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Stockley's Herbal Medicines Interactions by