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	Institution: STANFORD Univ Med Center  | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In Vol. 6 No. 2, March 1997   Archives  •  Online Features ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION  This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal Clinical Practice Guidelines in Complementary and Alternative Medicine An Analysis of Opportunities and Obstacles Practice and Policy Guidelines Panel, National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine Arch Fam Med. 1997;6(2):149-154. Abstract An estimated 1 of 3 Americans uses some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), such as acupuncture, homeopathy, or herbal medicine. In 1995, the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine convened an expert panel to examine the role of clinical practice guidelines in CAM. The panel concluded that CAM practices currently are unsuitable for the development of evidence-based practice guidelines, in part because of the lack of relevant outcomes data from well-designed clinical trials. Moreover, the notions of standardization and appropriateness, inherent in guideline development, face challenging methodologic problems when applied to CAM, which considers many different treatment practices appropriate and encourages highly individualized care. Due to different belief systems and divergent theories about the nature of health and illness, CAM disciplines have fundamental differences in how they define target conditions, causes of disease, interventions, and outcome measures of effectiveness. These differences are even more striking when compared with those used by Western medicine. The panel made a series of recommendations on strategies to strengthen the evidence base for future guideline development in CAM and to meet better the current information needs of clinicians, patients, and guideline developers who seek information about CAM treatments. Author Affiliations From the Practice and Policy Guidelines Panel convened at the Second National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine Methodology Conference, Bethesda, Md. Members of the Practice and Policy Guidelines Panel are listed on page 150. THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES A Review of Dietary Supplement-Induced Renal Dysfunction Gabardi et al. CJASN 2007;2:757-765. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Association Between Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use, Preventive Care Practices, and Use of Conventional Medical Services Among Adults With Diabetes Garrow and Egede Diabetes Care 2006;29:15-19. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Disclosure of Natural Product Use to Primary Care Physicians: A Cross-sectional Survey of Naturopathic Clinic Attendees Busse et al. Mayo Clin Proc. 2005;80:616-623. ABSTRACT   Characteristics of Pediatric and Adolescent Patients Attending a Naturopathic College Clinic in Canada Wilson et al. Pediatrics 2005;115:e338-e343. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Usefulness of Herbal and Dietary Supplement References Sweet et al. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2003;37:494-499. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Role of S-adenosyl-L-methionine in the treatment of depression: a review of the evidence Mischoulon and Fava Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2002;76 :1158S-1161S. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   The Prevalence and Pattern of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Individuals With Diabetes Egede et al. Diabetes Care 2002;25:324-329. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Dietary Supplement Use: Consumer Characteristics and Interests Greger J. Nutr. 2001;131:1339S-1343. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Counseling Families Who Choose Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Their Child With Chronic Illness or Disability Committee on Children With Disabilities Pediatrics 2001;107:598-601. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   The Past and Future of Medical Malpractice Litigation Kakaiya et al. JAMA 2000;284:827-829. FULL TEXT   An Overview of Herbal Medications With implications for the School Nurse Dockrell and Leever The Journal of School Nursing 2000;16:53-58. ABSTRACT   The Use of Herbal Alternative Medicines in Neuropsychiatry: A Report of the ANPA Committee on Research LaFrance et al. J. Neuropsychiatry Clin. Neurosi. 2000;12:177-192. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Holistic Pediatrics: A Research Agenda Kemper et al. Pediatrics 1999;103:902-909. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Alternative Medicine Meets Science Fontanarosa and Lundberg JAMA 1998;280:1618-1619. FULL TEXT   Investigating Alternative Medicine Therapies in Randomized Controlled Trials Margolin et al. JAMA 1998;280:1626-1628. FULL TEXT   Alternative and Complementary Therapies: An Agenda for Otolaryngology Krouse Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1998;124:1199-1200. FULL TEXT   Pediatricians' Experience With and Attitudes Toward Complementary/Alternative Medicine Sikand and Laken Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1998;152:1059-1064. ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT   Complementary, Alternative, Unconventional, and Integrative Medicine: Call for Papers for the Annual Coordinated Theme Issues of the AMA Journals Fontanarosa and Lundberg Arch Intern Med 1998;158:9-10. FULL TEXT   Complementary, Alternative, Unconventional, and Integrative Medicine: Call for Papers for the Annual Coordinated Theme Issues of the AMA Journals Fontanarosa and Lundberg Arch Fam Med 1998;7:18-19. FULL TEXT   Complementary, Alternative, Unconventional, and Integrative Medicine: Call for Papers for the Annual Coordinated Theme Issues of the AMA Journals Fontanarosa and Lundberg Arch Gen Psychiatry 1998;55:82-83. FULL TEXT   Complementary, Alternative, Unconventional, and Integrative Medicine: Call for Papers for the Annual Coordinated Theme Issues of the AMA Journals Fontanarosa and Lundberg Arch Dermatol 1998;134:91-92. FULL TEXT   Complementary, Alternative, Unconventional, and Integrative Medicine: Call for Papers for the Annual Coordinated Theme Issues of the AMA Journals Fontanarosa and Lundberg Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1998;124:15-16. FULL TEXT   And Now, Alternative Medicine... Spencer and Jonas Arch Fam Med 1997;6:155-156. ABSTRACT   HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | CME | PHYSICIAN JOBS | HELP CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP   © 1997 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.