BY Samuel Mathis MD
Recently, my healthcare system announced a partnership with the Blue Zone, a project aimed at improving the quality of life in our region with the goal of increasing the number of centenarians in the area. The initiative works to improve the health of locals, healthcare workers, and tourists to the region through healthy eating, improving green spaces, encouraging regular physical activity, and other initiatives that help to reduce chronic disease and boost both the quantity and quality of life. While there is great evidence surrounding how integrative medicine can improve an individual’s health, I instead wanted to highlight how incorporating integrative medicine into our practices can improve the health of the healthcare system.
Complementary and Integrative Medicine use continues to increase in its popularity and use among Americans. The NIH estimates that integrative medicine use per month increased from 19% in 2002 to over 36% in 2022. Despite the increase in its use, there exists some underlying tension between conventional and integrative medicine (1). One of the primary reasons individuals seek integrative treatments is because those treatments “correspond with their values and views about health and life…[yet]…Patient seldom ever consult their doctors … or even share information about their usage of CAM since they strongly believe that their clinicians have the power to forbid CAM use.” (1). Recognizing these concerns, most integrative research is focused on establishing a foundation of evidence-based care regarding the impact and effects of integrative medicine use in healthcare. This is also why physicians need to be open to having nonjudgemental communication with their patients regarding integrative medicine use.
One study looked at the potential cost savings of incorporating integrative pain management options in a pediatric population. The study compared the potential cost of Emergency Department visits and Hospitalizations compared to the cost of the integrative therapies and hourly salary of the practitioner providing the therapy. They found that cost savings ranged from $1,300 to $6,000 per patient per year depending on the payer types and therapy type (2). While small, this study shows the relative potential that integrative therapies have in helping to treat pain and reduce unnecessary hospitalizations in pediatric patients with chronic pain when used along conventional therapies.
Many large health care organizations are now offering integrative therapies for their patients. A recent New England Journal of Medicine survey found that globally, 60% of health care organizations report that Integrative care is prevalent within the organization. This percentage of integrative care is also mirrored in US healthcare organizations (3). The same study found that patients receiving integrative care reported similar (24%) or even better (74%) outcomes when compared to the general patient population. The survey also noted the biggest challenges to providing these options for all patients is the cost and affordability of the therapies and the reimbursement for services provided (3).
The survey results and potential cost savings should push us to work harder to incorporate integrative medicine into all aspects of the healthcare system. Integrative medicine use will continue to rise, especially in the age of social media and information technology. Healthcare needs to better engage and utilize these modalities to connect with our patients and provide improved care. To do so, three things need to happen. The first is that reimbursement for integrative therapies should be improved and broadened to include supplements, manual therapies, and other modalities that have strong evidence behind their use. The second action needed is improved investment into evidence-based research surrounding integrative therapies. Healthcare and government research funding needs to be increased to allow better quality studies surrounding these therapies. Finally, there needs to be increased oversight and regulation into these therapies, including ensuring ingredient regulation by the FDA for supplements and a requirement for third party testing of all integrative and herbal remedies sold to patients. These are guardrails that will help to protect patients and improve the confidence in the research and recommendation of these therapies by physicians.
References:
- Mortada, E. M.. (2024). Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Current Medical Practice. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.52041
- Gong CL, Okoro CC, Wan R, Lopez C, Ngo NH, Gold JI. Budget Impact Analysis of Integrative Medicine Practices for Pediatric Patients With Chronic Pain. Clin J Pain. 2025;41(3):e1271. Published 2025 Mar 1. doi:10.1097/AJP.0000000000001271
- Jonas, W., & Mehta, D.. (2025). Integrative Care Grows in Popularity, Despite Payment and Workforce Challenges. NEJM Catalyst, 6(10). https://doi.org/10.1056/cat.25.0331