The use of alternative and complementary medicine in radiology today

There is a quiet revolution challenging our Western philosophy of reactive, high-tech allopathic medicine, which cures disease by treatments. This trend to a proactive, preventive, Eastern style of medicine is referred to as holistic or alternative and complementary medicine (ACM). ACM is based on the belief that human beings are living energy systems rather than an arrangement of parts. Any disturbance in the body, mind or spirit will result in a disturbance in the whole system. In January 1993, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that documented the rise of ACM in the United States. Expenditures associated with the use of unconventional therapies in 1990 amounted to approximately $13.7 billion, three quarters of which ($10.3 billion) was paid for out of pocket. ACM techniques that are currently used in diagnostic imaging departments include guided imagery, anodyne imagery, aromatherapy and hydrotherapy. Radiology can play a crucial role in moving beyond allopathic and complementary medicine to a combination approach.