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Table 2 Suggested definitions

From: A qualitative study on the term CAM: is there a need to reinvent the wheel?

CAM: A broad range of therapeutic interventions developed and practiced by trained healthcare professionals and disciplines who have created bodies of knowledge that are used for education and training. These interventions are based on three important principles: (1) to treat the whole person; (2) to see the individual as a facilitator of health; (3) to see the body as having the inherent ability to heal itself.

Integrative healthcare: A system of healthcare that is patient-centered and collaborative, encompassing a diversity of therapeutic options [including CAM] that have been found to be safe, effective and informed by available evidence to achieve optimal health and healing.