Online Degrees in Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine is included under the general umbrella of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), a diverse group of health care practices and products that are not considered part of mainstream medicine. Complementary medicine generally refers to treatments and approaches that are used in conjunction with conventional medicine while alternative medicine is used in place of it. A 2007 National Health Institute Survey reported that approximately 38 percent of American adults used some form of CAM, up from 26.5 percent in 2005, to a tune of nearly $34 billion.
CAM, a noninvasive, holistic approach that aims to treat the underlying causes of health problems rather than just the symptoms, is gaining ground in the U.S. A 2008 survey by the American Hospital Association reported that 37 percent of responding hospitals offered one or more CAM therapies, up from 26.5 in 2005; 84 percent of the hospitals indicated that patient demand was the primary reason for offering alternative medicine therapies.
