The federal government has responded to the American public’s accelerating interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Learn what’s being done now to ensure the quality of CAM and to increase the public’s access to it …
- White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
White House Commission on CAM Policy
In March 2002, the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy (WHCCAMP) presented to President George W. Bush its recommended blue print for increasing public access to safe and effective CAM health care services.
Representing hundreds of hours of research and deliberation by some of the nation’s leading health care professionals, the commission’s report is a significant milestone in the advancement of natural medicine.
Full implementation of the report’s recommendations and action steps would fundamentally change the face of CAM legislation and would expedite the integration of CAM within the US health care system.
The report includes 104 action steps and 29 recommendations, among them:
- Improve public access to CAM providers by removing inappropriate barriers to insurance coverage.
- Incorporate CAM concepts and practices into federal and corporate health promotion.
- Increase financial support for CAM research.
- Provide education on CAM practices and professions to conventional practitioners.
- Provide CAM education grants, including curriculum and faculty development.
- Provide assistance to states to develop more consistent regulatory standards.
National Center for CAM
In response to the accelerating interest in CAM, the US Congress created the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) within the National Institutes of Health. The NCCAM is dedicated to exploring CAM practices in the context of rigorous science. To this end, it partners with and provides grants to research centers and academic institutions, including some AANMC member schools.