Woodson C. Merrell
The Debate Within Integrative Medicine
JCAM, 2006, 12 (7), 601-602
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Integrative medicine is an evolving discipline. The progress that has been made today would have been unimaginable 15 years ago. More than 20 years ago when I first started incorporating complementary approaches into my own practice there were few quality research studies and evidence-based learning opportunities. In contrast, over the past 6 years at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing (CCHH), where I am Executive Director, we have been sponsors and participants in CME conferences on nutritional and mindbody therapies, as well as Tibetan, Asian, African, and Native American medicine.1 Access to nonmedical education and practitioners was limited even a decade ago. And now nearly all medical schools have integrative medicine courses and CME programs, most including instruction by nonphysician practitioners. Largely as a result of these advances, access to care by nonmedical practitioners within mainstream medicine has dramatically increased and even includes dozens of hospital-based programs.