Why CAM is Important to Healthcare

What Are the Important Contributions that CAM Makes to Healthcare?

• Many breakthroughs in medicine were initially considered “alternative”
• The field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) provides innovative ideas that have the potential to be the source of effective
  treatments for a wide variety of illnesses
• CAM therapies typically focus on a holistic approach to healthcare
• CAM practitioners highlight wellness rather than sickness, underlining the importance of
  prevention
• CAM focuses on the patient and their innate healing abilities instead of focusing on the disease

CAM is Important Because:

People use it – a lot – and their use of it is on the rise.

A 2007 study on trends in the use of CAM in Canada reports 54 per cent of Canadians surveyed had used CAM in the year prior to the study and 74 per cent had tried it at least once in their lifetimes. (This report was updated in 2016 – Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Use and Public Attitudes 1997, 2006, and 2016.)

In 2006, Canadians spent more than $5.6 billion on providers of alternative therapy, and another $2.2 billion on herbs, vitamins, special diet programs, books, classes and equipment.