Also called: CAM
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Complementary and Integrative Medicine
Many Americans use medical treatments that are not part of mainstream medicine. When you are using these types of care, it may be called complementary, integrative, or alternative medicine.
Complementary medicine is used together with mainstream medical care. An example is using acupuncture to help with side effects of cancer treatment. When health care providers and facilities offer both types of care, it is called integrative medicine. Alternative medicine is used instead of mainstream medical care.
The claims that non-mainstream practitioners make can sound promising. However, researchers do not know how safe many of these treatments are or how well they work. Studies are underway to determine the safety and usefulness of many of these practices.
To minimize the health risks of a non-mainstream treatment:
- Discuss it with your doctor. It might have side effects or interact with other medicines.
- Find out what the research says about it
- Choose practitioners carefully
- Tell all of your doctors and practitioners about all of the different types of treatments you use
It sits within Wellness and Lifestyle and Complementary and Alternative Therapies.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Complementary and Integrative Medicine
31 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Pilot Observational Study of an Integrative Cure Stay ProgramUniversity Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
- Effects of the Clinical Application of Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) Procedures During Inpatient Stays in GermanyCharite University, Berlin, Germany
- Shiatsu for Chronic Non-Inflammatory Pain in Children and AdolescentsTel Aviv University
- Ozone Therapy in Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy: RCT (O3NPIQ)Bernardino Clavo, MD, PhD
- Effect of Combined Probiotics and Vitamin D on Symptoms of Allergic RhinitisTanta University
- Integrative Therapies in Multiple MyelomaBnai Zion Medical Center
Research already completed
- Assessing Pain, Patient Reported Outcomes and Complementary and Integrative HealthVA Office of Research and Development
- Long Term Follow-up of Vertebral Compression Fracture In-patients Treated: A Retrospective Chart Review and SurveyJaseng Medical Foundation
- Safety and Efficacy of Integrative Korean Medicine Treatment for Elderly After Traffic AccidentJaseng Medical Foundation
- A Study of Vitamin C in the Treatment of Liver Cancer to Determine if it is Safe and EffectiveThomas Jefferson University
- Poised for Parkinson's - an Intervention to Increase Embodied Agency in People With Parkinson's Disease and Their CarersUniversity of Idaho
- Feasibility and Safety of Fasting in Fertility TreatmentCharite University, Berlin, Germany
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Are You Considering a Complementary Health Approach?National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Complementary, Alternative, or Integrative Health: What's In a Name?National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Integrative MedicineMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Related Issues
- 4 Tips: Start Talking with Your Health Care Providers about Complementary Health ApproachesNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- 6 Commonly Misunderstood Words About Complementary Health ApproachesNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- 6 Things to Know When Selecting a Complementary Health PractitionerNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Credentialing, Licensing, and EducationNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Herbs at a GlanceNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Know the Science: The Facts about Health News StoriesNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Safe Use of Complementary Health Products and PracticesNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Complementary TherapiesNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: HomeopathyNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Complementary Therapies. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.