Defining Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Medicine

Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine are terms often used interchangeably, but their meanings are different.

• Complementary medicine refers to non-mainstream practices used together with conventional medicine.

• Alternative medicine refers to non-mainstream practices used instead of conventional medicine.

• Integrative medicine is health care that uses all appropriate therapeutic approaches—conventional and non-mainstream—within a framework that focuses on health, the therapeutic relationship, and the whole person.