Business Management, Organizational Behaviour, Quality and Safety in the Integrative Medicine Healthcare Model

Abstract

Integrative medicine (IM) has the potential to reshape health care delivery in a more patient-centered direction. Those programs must prove themselves from financial and clinical operational perspectives in order to achieve this potential. The active clinical infrastructure of expertise in alternative therapies and well-done organizational behaviors (OB) are critical success factors. As with any health care project, there are no substitutes for clinical excellence or sound management. Implementation of integrative oncology programs should be based on the best evidence and should be continually under evaluation to ensure quality, optimization of techniques, collection of new data, and cost-effectiveness. Symptom control, adherence to treatment protocols, quality of life, individual outcomes, prevention, rehabilitation, potential advantages of a whole-systems health approach, and economics of health services are important clues in this field. .Applications and implications for the millennium addressed in this article.