MINNEAPOLIS – Sixty-two percent of Americans used complementary and alternative medicine for health conditions in 2002, according to a study conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health and the Division of Health Interview Statistics, which was released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in their May 2004 Advance Data publication. Twenty-seven percent of the individuals who sought out alternative treatment did so because they believed that conventional medicine would not help their health care problem. More and more consumers are asking their physicians questions about vitamins, supplements, special diets and natural treatments for chronic conditions – which can leave the conventional physician in a conundrum. The Integrative Medicine Consortium (IMC), which is an association of well-respected national medical organizations sharing the common mission of advancing the field of integrative medicine, is pleased to announce their first ever-collaborative CME integrative medical conference in Minneapolis, MN on April 6-10, 2011.
The IMC conference represents a quantum shift in medicine with four national medical organizations working in partnership for the common goal of meeting the educational needs of physicians and health care practitioners. Physicians and health care providers looking to become educated on integrative medicine will receive CME credit, be able to get their questions answered and have the opportunity to interact with highly researched and educated integrative physicians.
The conference name, iMosaic, is an acronym, which stands for Integrative Medicine Offering Science-based Alternatives in Collaboration. More than 1,000 persons are expected to attend the iMosaic Conference, which would make it the largest collaborative CME integrative medicine conference ever. The conference includes lead-in workshops and training on April 6-7, with the main conference April 8-10. The event includes plenary/keynote sessions, break-out workshops, an exhibit hall, healthy food, and social activities. The conference website, www.iMosaicConference.com, is the place where physicians and health care practitioners can sign up for conference updates as well as register.
“The Integrative Medicine Consortium (IMC) has had the dream of a large collaborative integrative medicine conference for years. Thanks to the vision, cooperative spirit, and hard work of ACAM, AAEM, AHMA, and ICIM, the iMosaic is the realization of that dream,” said Kenneth A. Bock, M.D., co-chair of the IMC and author of Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies. “Healthcare freedom for the integrative medical practitioner requires unprecedented cooperation and collaboration among the various organizations. This iMosaic conference represents a significant step in that direction,” shared Gerald Natzke, D.O., Chair of the IMC.
This year the medical organizations participating in the iMosaic conference include the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), www.aaemonline.org; American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), www.acamnet.org; American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA), www.holisticmedicine.org; and the International College of Integrative Medicine (ICIM), www.icimed.com.
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iMosaic (noun)… a medical conference of unique design, made possible by the overlapping missions of four nonprofits helping transform healthcare to an integrative model. The first-ever iMosaic joint conference, to be held April 6-10, 2011 in Minneapolis, is a project of the Integrative Medicine Consortium. The participating medical organizations include the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) and the International College of Integrative Medicine (ICIM). Combined, these organizations have 137 years of dedicated service in increasing awareness of the importance of the physical, mental, emotional, environmental, social and spiritual aspects of health and wellness.
