Integrative Medizin

Integrative Medizin beschreibt eine medizinische Richtung, „die die Bedeutung der Beziehung zwischen Arzt und Patient betont, sich auf die ganze Person fokussiert, auf Evidenz stützt und alle relevanten therapeutischen Möglichkeiten, Gesundheitsberufe und -disziplinen nutzt, um optimale Gesundheit und Heilung zu erreichen.“ wie es das Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine 2004 formuliert hat.

Ein Grundmotiv ist die Zusammenführung ("Integration") unterschiedlicher medizinischer Fachrichtungen, Heilmethoden und Maßnahmen als Komponenten eines Behandlungs-Gesamtkonzeptes. Es werden hierbei komplementär- und alternativmedizinische Praktiken mit konventioneller Medizin (Schulmedizin) kombiniert, insbesondere solche, für die es Wirksamkeitsnachweise gibt. Kennzeichnend ist ein Dialog zwischen unterschiedlichen Paradigmen, die Bemühung um Wissenschaftlichkeit und Forschung, sowie eine Offenheit des Wissenschaftsbegriffes.

Es gibt verschiedene Interpretationen des Begriffes der integrativen Medizin. Im unteren Bereich finden sich einige englische Beschreibungen.

Forschung

Im 7. Rahmenprogramm der EU (FP7: 7th Framework Programme) fand ein Koordinationsprojekt zur Darstellung der Angebots- und Nachfrageseite der Komplementärmedizin unter dem Namen Cambrella statt. Das Kürzel "CAMbrella" steht dabei für ein Dachprojekt der Komplementär- und Alternativmedizin (engl.: umbrella of Complementary and Alternative Medicine).

Definitionen (englisch)

Einige englische Definitionen von integrativer Medizin:

NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms:

A type of medical care that combines conventional (standard) medical treatment with complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies that have been shown to be safe and to work. CAM therapies treat the mind, body, and spirit.

Mayo Clinic:

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the popular name for health care practices that traditionally have not been part of conventional medicine. In many cases, as evidence of efficacy and safety grows, these therapies are being combined with conventional medicine.

Thus, the term alternative has been dropped and replaced with newer terms, such as complementary and integrative medicine, integrative medicine and health, or just integrative medicine.

BMJ Editorial 2001:

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.

Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health:

The practice of medicine that reaffirms the importance of the practitioner-patient relationship. It focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, health care professionals, and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.[1]

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH):

There are many definitions of “integrative” health care, but all involve bringing conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. ... NCCIH generally uses the term “complementary health approaches” when we discuss practices and products of non-mainstream origin. We use “integrative health” when we talk about incorporating complementary approaches into mainstream health care.

World health organization (WHO):

Traditional, complementary and integrative medicine - Definitions

Traditional medicine - Traditional medicine has a long history. It is the sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.

Complementary medicine - The terms “complementary medicine” or “alternative medicine” refer to a broad set of health care practices that are not part of that country’s own tradition or conventional medicine and are not fully integrated into the dominant health-care system. They are used interchangeably with traditional medicine in some countries.

Herbal medicines - Herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations and finished herbal products, that contain as active ingredients parts of plants, or other plant materials, or combinations.

Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine:

What is IM/IH?

Integrative Medicine (IM) is healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person, including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between practitioner and patient, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapies.

The Defining Principles of Integrative Medicine

• Patient and practitioner are partners in the healing process.
• All factors that influence health, wellness, and disease are taken into consideration, including mind, spirit, and community, as well as the body.
• Appropriate use of both conventional and alternative methods facilitates the body's innate healing response.
• Effective interventions that are natural and less invasive should be used whenever possible.
• Integrative medicine neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts alternative therapies uncritically.
• Good medicine is based in good science. It is inquiry-driven and open to new paradigms.
• Alongside the concept of treatment, the broader concepts of health promotion and the prevention of illness are paramount.
• Practitioners of integrative medicine should exemplify its principles and commit themselves to self-exploration and self-development.

Literatur

• "From Complementary to Integrative Medicine and Health: Do We Need a Change in Nomenclature?" Melchart D Complement Med Res 2018;25:76-78 doi:10.1159/000488623
• Michael Frass, Lothar Krenner (Hrsg.): Integrative Medizin. Evidenzbasierte komplementärmedizinische Methoden. Springer, Berlin 2018, ISBN  978-3-662-48878-2.