Integrative Medicine Research (IMR) is the official journal of the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine. On the other hand, there are still many TCM doctors using herbs to treat many TCM diseases or Western diseases according to the TCM theory called ‘Bian Zheng Lun Zhi' (symptomatic and dialectical therapy), a special pure traditional Chinese medicine theory which has been used for more than one thousand years 9 Sometimes, TCM doctors seem not to need modern techniques and medical methods to adjust or modify their treatment regimen.
For example, if you are already a practicing physician and would like to focus on natural healthcare disciplines like homeopathy, you will find that there are several continuing professional development courses in integrative medicine tailored to meet your career goals.



Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine : Integrative medicine is the practice of medicine that reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.
This movement is well on its way in Canada: the Association of Complementary and Integrative Physicians of British Columbia and similar provincial organizations, as well as the Canadian Complementary Medical Association, offer an education- and action-based forum for medical doctors interested in learning more and in practising and promoting these other healing modalities; the Canadian Interdisciplinary Network for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research is an interdisciplinary, collaborative research network created to foster excellence in CAM research; and the Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Undergraduate Medical Education curriculum project is working with all 17 Canadian medical schools to organize an appropriate curriculum in CAM.

The fact that a group of respected American medical scientists has come to an agreement on a broader scope of treatments once considered "alternative" could change the healthcare industry, and have important implications for the health insurance industry.
The Shealy Institute was recognized for several years as the most successful and most cost effective pain clinic in the U.S. Over a 30 year period, Dr. Shealy's clinic has treated over 30,000 chronically ill patients with a remarkable 85% success rate.
According to IOM, The first priority for any health care system using an integrative approach is to ensure that the full spectrums of Natural Therapy preventive opportunities -clinical, behavioral, social, spiritual and environmental- are included in the care and delivery process”.

Therefore, clinically, these interventions seem to be included in the offerings of integrative centers as adjunctive therapies when resources are available, based on a philosophy of garnish”—an added service that is not imperative but nice to offer because patients like them and they appear to present little risk.
In recognition of the growing body of evidence, in February of 2009, Institute of Medicine (IOM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA organized a Summit on Integrative Medicine and Health of the Public 7 More than 600 Health Partners, Scientists, Policy Makers, Academic Leaders and Patient Advocates presented their views on the subject.

Integrated medicine (or integrative medicine as it is referred to in the United States) is practising medicine in a way that selectively incorporates elements of complementary and alternative medicine into comprehensive treatment plans alongside solidly orthodox methods of diagnosis and treatment.
There is no single medical system that is perfect and each has its own merits and weaknesses; it is wrong to assume that any specific medical system, be it conventional or complementary therapies such as, Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine is correct with the exception of conventional emergency medicine.

Brian Berman, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, for instance, led the longest and largest randomized, controlled Phase III clinical trial of acupuncture's effect on osteoarthritis of the knee.