Do you go to a chiropractor? Or get a massage? Do you take vitamins? If you do, you are one of a large group of Americans who use complementary and alternative medicine. According to a nationwide government survey conducted in 2007, approximately 38 % of U.S. adults use complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM. Do you tell your medical doctor about these visits? Probably so. But things were vastly different in the 1990s. But first, let's define terms. Complementary and alternative medicine is group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices and products that are not considered to be a part of conventional medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degrees. In addition to what has already been mentioned, CAM can include aromatherapy, biofeedback, energy healing or homeopathy.

In the 1990s, if you used CAM, there was a good chance that you did not tell your physician. Not only did M.D.s did not understand CAM or believe that these practices were of benefit, the medical community did not realize how popular CAM was to the general public. The first study conducted to the understand the extent of CAM usage was conducted in 1990, by David M. Eisenberg, M.D. now the Director of the Harvard Medical School Osher Research Center. The study consisted of 1539 telephone surveys and showed that 34% of those who responded used at least one "unconventional" therapy in the past year. In addition, the study showed that less than 3 out of 10 people using these therapies told their doctors of their use. This research was written up in the New England Journal of Medicine on January 28, 1993, in an article entitled, "Unconventional Medicine in the United States." It was then that the medical community realized that unconventional medicine has an "enormous presence in the U.S. health care system."

The results of Dr. Eisenberg's study, even before it was officially published, helped to create some profound changes in how we understand and use CAM. In October, 1991, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that provided funding to establish an office within the National Institutes of Health to investigate and evaluate unconventional medical practices, then called the Office of Alternative Medicine. Then, in 1999, this office changed its name to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Even though systems such as herbal medicine, chiropractic and biofeedback are still considered complementary and alternative, they are being widely accepted by the medical community. If you go to the National Cancer Institute website, there is an entire section entitled, "Thinking About Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Guide for People With Cancer". Many large medical facilities are using CAM. Just one example would be the Abott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, where staff provides a wide range of CAM therapies for both in- and out-patients. I even had the opportunity to experience this growing acceptance of CAM several weeks ago. I spoke to a room full of staff and community members at Renown Medical Center, Reno, NV, about the benefits of energy medicine.

As the trend of health care continues to focus on prevention and wellness, I believe that complementary and alternative medicine will continue to be a significant presence in our nation's health care system.