1. Enact legislation prohibiting discrimination against CAM providers, schools, and educational programs in all federal programs and initiatives, especially in the removal of barriers to integrated health care in rural and underserved communities. Passage of such legislation will be seen as comparable in national significance to legislation guaranteeing civil rights. It will dramatically expand patients' options while significantly reducing healthcare costs and federal expenditures on health care.
2. Create a federal office on integrated healthcare. A federal office will help foster the creation of an integrated system of care that should become the new model for healthcare delivery. The office will help strengthen the CAM professions and allow them to become an integral part of this new system. It will also facilitate consumer access to integrated health care.
3. Increase appropriations for health services research to foster health promotion and disease prevention. With resources adequately directed to primary prevention and health promotion, consumers, practitioners, and purchasers will gain a more expansive understanding of the role of self-care and prevention-oriented strategies in controlling and reducing costs and improving lifelong health.
4. Secure federal support for education and training programs, for both conventional and CAM schools, to produce a core, integrated curriculum. Patients will be able to work with a variety of health professionals who have a deep understanding of the different systems of health care, and an appreciation of the benefits derived from various approaches. A properly integrated system will also yield improved professional competency, resulting in more effective and more respectful collaboration among practitioners.