Small News/Politics Graphic Proposed Federal Legislation Creates National Center for Integral Medicine
by Michael Evers
From Natural Healthline

Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced legislation on March 13 that will elevate the Office of Alternative Medicine to a fully functional National Center for Integral Medicine within the National Institutes of Health structure. The legislation calls for nearly $200 million to be appropriated for the Center to carry out its broad mandate to research and validate alternative therapies and identify methods by which effective therapies can be integrated into conventional medicine.

The purpose of the Center, as outlined in the legislation, is to conduct and support basic and applied research (including clinical research), to train researchers, to disseminate health information, to conduct prevention programs, and to identify and evaluate alternative medical treatment systems, diagnostic systems and disciplines.

H.R.1055, the National Center for Integral Medicine Establishment Act, contains the following proposed findings of Congress:

  1. From 60 to 90 percent of chronic diseases may be largely prevented or treated by addressing lifestyle-related issues and using medical interventions that stimulate and support natural healing processes.
  2. Behavioral, nutritional, preventive, and alternative medical approaches to disease prevention and treatment that emphasize these processes offer a possible solution to the successful management of many of our most devastating and costly chronic diseases.
  3. Interventions to address chronic diseases must involve the integration of these behavioral, nutritional, preventive, and alternative medical practices into conventional medical practices, including the integration into health care delivery systems in the United States.
  4. Over 1/3 of the American public and 80 percent of the world's population make regular use of such practices.
  5. These practices are not usually available in the current conventional health care system nor evaluated in most research institutions, yet are vital for the provision of optimal health care.
  6. A center is needed for the support and integration of knowledge across all of the agencies of the National Institutes of Health and across all medical research activities pertaining to wellness and health research, rather than further specialization of knowledge based on the division of disease treatment categories.

H.R. 1055 also provides for an Advisory Council which is to include "one or more practitioners from each of the disciplines and systems with which the Center is concerned, including each discipline and system in which accreditation, national certification, or a State license is available."

The new Center will also preside three offices currently located elsewhere at NIH, the Office of Disease Prevention, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and the Office of Dietary Supplements. The Office of Alternative Medicine was recently reorganized and placed under the direction of the Office of Disease Prevention with the Office of the NIH Director.

The practical effect of the legislation will be to provide the Center independent grantmaking authority to conduct research into all aspects of complementary and alternative medical practices and systems. The OAM currently has no such authority and must convince other NIH Institutes and Centers to cosponsor its research projects in order to secure funding. Lack of grantmaking authority has been cited by a number of OAM critics as one of the major reasons the office has not been successful in investigating claims about alternative therapies. Created in 1991, OAM has lots of activities underway, but little to show in the way of definitive results despite six years of increased funding.

Joining DeFazio in introducing H.R.1055 are 12 other Democrats, Bob Andrews (NJ), Lane Evans (IL), Eni Faleomavaega (Am. Somoa), Bob Filner (CA), Tom Foglietta (PA), Maurice Hinchey (NY), Jim McDermott (WA), Patsy Mink (HI), Jim Moran (VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), and Lynn Woolsey (CA), along with Republican Bill Archer (TX) and Independent Bernie Sanders (VT). The bill was referred to the House Commerce Committee for consideration.

The text of the National Center for Integral Medicine Establishment Act is available on the Natural Health Village Web site.

You can contact your elected representatives in Washington via our free Congressional email service:

The United States House of Representatives

The United States Senate

You can also email Rep. DeFazio


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