Earlier this week, the National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine unveiled its third strategic plan, titled “Exploring the Science of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.” The council advises the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.
The plan had been in process for 15 months; three long-range goals emerged from the planning process, according to an NCCAM press release:
• The science and practice of symptom management
• To develop effective personalized strategies for promoting health and well-being
• To enable better evidence-based decision-making regarding the use of complementary health practices and their integration into health care
Details about the plan are available at http://nccam.nih.gov/about/olans2011/.
The mission of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions and their roles in improving health and health care.