Bastyr University(May 10, 2006) - Author Megan Aemmer takes a look at the growing adaptation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by patients in her article published on Encarta.com: "What's Up, Doc? Complementary Medicine Demand Up at Home, in Schools."
“Rather than considering naturopathic treatment as a mutually exclusive alternative to traditional Western health care, many patients and health-care providers are now incorporating naturopathic therapies in their treatments--hence the term complementary medicine.”
Today’s typical patient seeks and utilizes multiple forms of health care, and from different types of health care providers. Aemmer references a study by the Centers for Disease Control:
“... about 62 percent of adults said they had used some form of CAM therapy in 2002, including prayer specifically for health reasons, natural products, deep breathing exercises, meditation, chiropractic care, yoga, massage, and diet-based therapies.”
Naturopathic doctors provide several of these CAM therapies themselves, and in other cases may serve as gateways to refer patients to the proper CAM therapy providers, based on a patient’s diagnosis.