'Open Source' Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) Systems

Integrative medicine, as defined by National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), combines mainstream medical therapies and Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness. NCCAM reported that out-of-pocket costs for CAM by adults in the U.S. in 2009 exceeded $33 billion.

Integrative Medicine, or CAM, is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally accepted within the realm of modern medicine. CAM includes acupuncture, chiropractic medicine, osteopathic medicine, homeotherapy, use of natural herbal remedies and other practices to augment conventional medical treatments. Consumers are increasingly turning to CAM therapies in order to enhance their health and well-being.

Most modern EHR and PHR systems to date have been developed to meet the requirements of conventional Western medical practitioners. As work groups continue to formulate the standards and functional requirements for certified EHR and PHR systems of the future, one of the areas that must be addressed is the domain of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

At present, there appear to be a number of companies marketing CAM software modules. There are also a number of 'open source' CAM solutions now available. However, none of the companies appear to have taken any major steps forward to integrate these products and data with PHR or EHR systems as yet.
 
Several key sources of information on CAM and open source software solutions to check out include:

• Zentrum Publishing CAM Software – http://www.software-alternative-medicine.com/
• MyDataBank - http://www.software-alternative-medicine.com/personal_databank_MDB.htm
• NIH/NLM -  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/complementaryandalternativemedicine.html

For more detail on CAM software solutions visit Virtual Medical Worlds

Do you think CAM modules should be a part of future EHR/PHR systems?
Do you know of other open source CAM software products worth investigating?