Using the framework of corporate culture in "mergers" to support the development of a cultural basis for integrative medicine - guidance for building an integrative medicine department or service.

Background: An increasing number of clinics offer complementary or integrative medicine services; however, clear guidance about how complementary medicine could be successfully and efficiently integrated into conventional health care settings is still lacking. Combining conventional and complementary medicine into integrative medicine can be regarded as a kind of merger. In a merger, two or more organizations - usually companies - are combined into one in order to strengthen the companies financially and strategically.

Development of a hospital-based integrative healthcare program.

Public demand for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, often referred to as integrative health (IH), continues to grow. Health systems are now pursing the integration of these therapies with conventional medical care. This article describes the development and evolution of 1 nursing-led model for the integration of CAM services in an inpatient setting and to provide lessons learned for nursing administrators or others interested in developing hospital-based IH programs.

Personal use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by U.S. health care workers.

Objective: To examine personal use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among U.S. health care workers.

The impact of integrative medicine on pain management in a tertiary care hospital.

Background: Optimal inpatient pain management remains a major institutional and therapeutic challenge. Nontoxic, nonpharmacological approaches to treating pain show promise but have not been widely implemented, nor has their effectiveness been evaluated.

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of an inpatient integrative medicine consult service for pain management in 6 settings across an entire tertiary care hospital.