Advancing integrative medicine through interprofessional education.

Interprofessional Education (IPE) has the potential to create and sustain the type of vibrant environments needed for Integrative Medicine (IM) to thrive. IPE strategies and initiatives are conducive to the goals of integrative medicine in that both seek to bring together diverse professionals. This makes the application of IPE towards advancing integrative medicine timely. Bringing together varied disciplines which represent biomedicine and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), while maintaining each of their unique attributes, is what IPE can accomplish. Their synergy has the potential to improve holistic and patient-centered care, as well as bolster chronic disease management. That biomedical and CAM driven practice domains could work more collaboratively, by implementing IPE, for their own enhanced legitimisation as well as for the benefit of the people they serve, speaks of the importance of this emerging topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]