Terms and concepts in alternative medicine

CAM

CAM is an acronym for complementary and alternative medicine. It also includes the recent addition of integrative medicine. CAM is about alternative positions on health, healing, and illness. Complementary and alternative medicine covers a very broad range of areas from self-help to professional care and from the sensible and worthwhile to the ridiculous.

Complementary and alternative medicine, as defined by NCCAM, is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. While some scientific evidence exists regarding some CAM therapies, for most there are key questions that are yet to be answered through well-designed scientific studies--questions such as whether these therapies are safe and whether they work for the diseases or medical conditions for which they are used. Many CAM therapies are considered to be pseudoscience, based on magical thinking rather than evidence.

• List of branches of alternative medicine
• List of famous people in alternative medicine
• History of alternative medicine

The list of what is considered to be CAM changes continually, as those therapies that are proven to be safe and effective become adopted into conventional health care and as new approaches to health care emerge.

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