Research Review

NIH Launched Evidence-Based Web Resource on Complementary, Alternative Medicine

A new online resource, designed to give healthcare providers easy access to evidence-based information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), was unveiled by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).

With this new resource, providers will have the tools necessary to learn about the various CAM practices and products and be better able to discuss the safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine with their patients.

The portal on the NCCAM website is tailored to fit the needs of all healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and CAM providers. It includes information on the safety and efficacy of a range of common health practices that lie outside of mainstream medicine, including natural products, such as dietary supplements, herbs, and probiotics, as well as mind-body practices such as meditation, chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage.

This resource was developed based on a series of NCCAM-sponsored focus groups where healthcare providers identified the need for an evidence-based, one-stop place to help answer their patients' questions on CAM. With this need in mind, NCCAM developed a resource that provides reliable, objective, and evidenced-based information on CAM, including links to relevant clinical practice guidelines; safety and effectiveness information; links to systematic reviews; summaries of research studies; scientific literature searches; programs for continuing education credit; patient fact sheets; and NCCAM's Time to Talk tool kit on communicating about CAM.

To use this resource, visit http://nccam.nih.gov/health/providers.

— Source: National Institutes of Health