If you're considering supplementing your conventional medical care with a complementary or alternative therapy, or if you're already practicing a nonconventional therapy, you should speak with your doctor. First, he or she may be able to recommend a qualified practitioner. Second, if your doctor is kept informed of your CAM therapies, he or she can provide medical oversight and consider those therapies when moving forward with your overall healthcare strategy.

Because integrative medicine practitioners include physicians of every specialty as well as doctors of osteopathic medicine, mental health professionals, mind-body specialists, and practitioners such as massage therapists and acupuncturists, their educational and accreditation requirements vary widely, as does the regulation of their fields.

Don't hesitate to ask about a practitioner's training and experience. Those worth their salt will have nothing to hide and should be happy to refer you to the professional bodies that trained, licensed, or certified them if you have additional questions about their qualifications.

Experts recommend that prospective patients look for practitioners who fundamentally believe in integrative medicine's mind-body-spirit-community philosophy. A useful litmus test for screening CAM practitioners is to ask about their willingness to collaborate with conventional healthcare professionals.

Patients should avoid practitioners who automatically advocate all CAM therapies or discount all conventional medicine practices. Likewise, use caution with conventional medicine practitioners who instantly write off integrative medicine or automatically advocate all mainstream medicine therapies.

Experts also suggest that prospective patients take a cue from what many of us do when choosing a conventional practitioner: Talk with people whose opinions you respect. Ask friends, family members, and coworkers to share their experiences and make recommendations.

Additional recommendations about choosing integrative medicine practitioners are available at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine or in The Duke Encyclopedia of New Medicine: Conventional and Alternative Medicine for All Ages (2006).