BEST PRACTICE FOR INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE IN AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL PRACTICE: January 2014

The ‘Best Practice for Integrative Medicine in Australian Medical Practice’ is an Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA) endorsed document as principles to assist medical practitioners for the safe and appropriate integration of evidence-based complementary medicine into medical practice. In Australia, the use of Integrative Medicine (IM) by medical practitioners, particularly general practitioners (GPs) as a part of routine clinical practice is increasing. A National Prescribing Survey (NPS) survey indicated that approximately 30% of GPs in Australia describe themselves as practising IM. About two thirds of Australian consumers have used one or at least one CM in the previous 12 months, with 28% on a regular basis. The document is designed to assist the understanding of IM by the medical profession and for authorities to refer to when seeking guidelines in this field of medicine. The authors undertook an extensive consultation process to develop these principles.