The famous Canadian physician William Osler once said that “the good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.” Integrative health holds the same philosophy by bringing together conventional and complementary approaches in a coordinated care for the whole person (body, mind, spirit) rather than giving a specializing care to a particular organ system. Integrative health can be contrasted with alternative medicine in which a person takes nonconventional treatment instead of conventional medicine. According to the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine and Health, integrative medicine is defined as “the practice of medicine that reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is supported by evidence, utilized all appropriate therapeutic and lifestyle approaches, healthcare professionals and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.

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