Our School of Medicine recently joined the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health (ACIMH), becoming part of more than 70 highly esteemed academic medical centers and health systems across the U.S. Founded in 1999, the Consortium is committed to sharing information and ideas and supporting member institutions to help affect the direction and outcomes of healthcare and provide a national voice for the advancement of integrative principles.
What is integrated medicine and health? Highly adopted over the last decade, integrative medicine holistically approaches how to achieve optimal health and healing by focusing on the whole person and reaffirming the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient. Key to this concept is an emphasis on evidence-based, clinical research and making use of all appropriate therapeutic and lifestyle approaches, healthcare professionals and disciplines.
“Becoming a member of the Consortium reinforces our support of integrative medicine as an essential component of our school’s curriculum and how we engage in research,” said Richard Lee, Associate Professor of Medicine and Helen Moss Foundation-Schoff Family Professor of Integrative Oncology. “It also provides the cohesion necessary to maximize our integrative efforts and move our field in a way that no single organization would be capable of doing.
“With critical healthcare challenges such as the opioid crisis, membership in the Consortium will help us consider all therapeutic modalities and provide strength in numbers to find a solution,” Lee continued. Stephanie Harris, PhD, RDN, LD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Faculty Co-Lead of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Wellness and Preventive Care Pathway for the School of Medicine, and Dr. Lee co-authored the application to become a member of the ACIMH.
“The integration of conventional medical approaches with other forms of evidence-based complementary therapeutic approaches to enhance clinical care is important in the education of our future clinicians,” said Stephanie Harris. Additionally, research contributing to the evidence base of integrative medicine/health can help guide future clinical practice. “Becoming a member of the Consortium – an academic network committed to networking, information/resource exchange, and advancing healthcare – offers yet another opportunity for our school to remain a leader and innovator in medical education and research.”
Joining the Consortium will enable faculty to participate in educational opportunities such as webinars and the upcoming 2020 International Congress and Academic Consortium Members Meeting held at the Hilton Cleveland from April 28 – May 1, 2020. Attendees will receive a special registration discount by reserving before February 21. There will also be opportunities to network with other institutions in the areas of medical school education, research, and clinical care.