Integrative Medicine

The use of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) is increasing in all settings, low, middle and high-income countries alike, yet there are certain concerns about the safety and effectiveness of these therapeutic modalities.

Conventional medicine is not accessible all over the world, and is not affordable for a significant proportion of global citizens, while T&CM might be available even in remote villages, and according to available evidences, some of T&CM methods are safe, effective and have lower side effects, compared to alternatives.

To ensure an equitable access to good quality health care, creating a functioning network might be necessary to share wisdom and evidence on healthcare improvements, for instance through integrating safe and effective T&CM into conventional medicine, with the specific aim of sustaining and promoting access to the best possible health care.

Rising inequalities is among top global health concerns, which has been exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating consequences. To ensure that all citizens in need of any safe, effective, and advanced treatment method will not be overlooked, and that the therapist will not miss any emergencies or red flags, it seems crucial that all physicians become familiar with T&CM indications and contraindications, so that they not only have insight about their patients’ choices, but also they can recommend and refer the patients to the correct T&CM modality, if necessary.

Therefore, the purpose of integrative medicine is to advocate the important need for training experienced therapists to work as a team and use all potentially available and effective therapeutic interventions, aiming to bridge the inequality gap, as well as contribute to the past two decades global attempts to identify suitable education, research, standardization, and legislation in this field.