Resources & Links
Resources
Most Useful Resources for Students to Find Reliable Information
About
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
The site where all NCCAM (National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine) research present and historical can be found.
Large resource databases: mini-reviews of CAM therapies
This table
(1) is used with permission from both Barak Gaster M.D. et al
who wrote, "What Should Students
Learn about Complementary and Alternative Medicine?" published
in Academic Journal, Volume 82, No. 10, October, 2007 pages 934-938.
One of their answers to that question is that physicians should be
able to determine which CAM treatments are beneficial and safe by
reviewing the literature. These resources were determined to be reliable
by the authors.
Medline Plus—Herbs and
Supplements
National Library of Medicine offers excerpts
of National Standards’ monographs on herbs and supplements,
including the most clinically useful core content and summary paragraphs
on evidence
base. Does not include access
to their modality-related monographs. (Free access)
Micromedex—Alternative Medicine
Evidence-based reviews of herbal medicines
and other dietary supplements. Particularly useful for checking drug
interactions given integration with the DRUGDEX system. (Subscription-based
access)
NCCAM (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
Includes general information about CAM and
concise summaries of the efficacy and safety of various CAM therapies.
A clearinghouse for CAM-related materials prepared by any of the
institutes of the National Institutes of Health. (Free access)
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database
More than 1000 detailed monographs provide
evidencebased information on herbs and supplements. Especially useful
for information on less common supplements or for identifying the
ingredients of a specific supplement product. (Subscription-based
access)
Natural
Standard
Evidence-based
reviews of herbs and supplements in addition to various CAM modalities.
Content is also grouped by condition. Not as exhaustive as Natural
Medicines Comprehensive Database, but covers nonherb modalities also.
(Subscription-based access)
Citation databases: searching the literature
CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied
Health Literature)
Indexes nursing and allied health literature,
including some full text of selected alternative therapies, herbal
medicines, and dietary supplements. (Subscription-based access)
EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Database)
Indexes a wide range of non-English language
journals, which may not be indexed in Medline. (Subscription-based
access)
IBIDS (International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements)
Includes articles
on dietary supplements from a wide group of nutrition and agricultural
journals, which may not be indexed in Medline. Maintained by the
National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
(Free access)
Medline (PubMed)
The
world’s premier biomedical database, indexing more than
4,800 journals. Search can be limited to CAM subset. (Free access)
Bastyr University also offers a useful guide
to finding CAM citations in Medline.
Databases of systematic reviews with significant CAM coverage
BMJ Clinical Evidence
Organized
by condition. If available, concise summaries of the data for many
CAM therapies are integrated. (Subscription-based access)
Cochrane Library
More
than 200 high-quality meta-analytic systematic reviews of CAM therapies.
(Free access to abstracts; subscription for full text)
Quality and safety of dietary supplements
ConsumerLab.com
Independent
testing lab that evaluates the quality of dietary supplement products.
Focuses on truth in labeling and potential contaminants. (Free access
to manufacturersponsored content; subscription for full access)
FDA Center for Food Safety
List of FDA safety warnings
on dietary supplements and information on the status of government
regulations. (Free access)
US Pharmacopeia—Dietary
Supplements
Independent testing of supplements.
Includes only manufacturers who voluntarily participate in the USP
verification program. (Free access)
Learning resources for students funded by NCCAM
AMSA (American Medical Student Association)
Online learning materials designed
for medical students. Also includes a module on personal health assessment
/self-care and a nationwide directory of CAM electives.
Children’s Hospital,
Boston
Detailed sections on 24 common pediatric conditions.
Also includes free access to chapters from Kathi Kemper’s The Holistic
Pediatrician as well as built-in “smart” Medline
searches by topic.
Tufts University
Descriptions of
common CAM modalities as well as evidence-based reviews of common
indications for CAM in practice. Also includes insights on interpreting
literature on CAM modalities.
University of
Minnesota
Web-based CAM modules created by instructional designers using adult
learning and interface design principles to facilitate learning,
motivation, and ease of use.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Series of well-designed
20- to 30-page monographs on general CAM topics, such as models of
healing, safety issues in CAM, and assessing CAM research.
University of Washington
Concise, evidence-based reviews of CAM modalities
as well as of 30 of the most important herbs and supplements health
care providers should know about.
Books
The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative
Medicine
Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, ed, 2006 (2nd ed) A balanced, clear evaluation
of a wide range of modalities based on existing evidence. Organized
by modality and by medical problem for efficient reference.
Integrative Medicine: Principles for Practice
Benjamin Kligler, MD, and Roberta Lee, MD, eds,2004.
Comprehensive textbook with more than 900 pages, organized by body
system with case reviews as well.
Integrative Medicine David Rakel, MD, ed, 2007 (2nd ed)
Organized by condition, this exhaustive, evidence-based textbook
also includes software for use on handheld device.
Other Links
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