Interacting with complementary/alternative medical providers

Complementary/alternative medical (CAM) providers continue to have a strong presence in the health care of United States citizens. The osteopathic physician may be in the position of having to interpret unfamiliar interventions and unfamiliar terminology as applied to her patient, and runs the risk of being seen as adversarial if she shows resistance or confusion in the presence of CAM influences. This article will describe several common forms of complementary/alternative health interventions, discuss related scientific evidence, if any, and provide information which may be helpful to physicians and patients when considering or integrating different health care paradigms.