The European Congress for Integrative Medicine (ECIM) 2015 Global Summit on Integrative Medicine and Healthcare was held on September 26–27, 2015 in Greater Copenhagen. Participants from all around the world explored the prominent issues that included global healthcare and integrative medicine models, integrated healthcare workforce, education and patient care. The Summit drew world's attention and successfully promoted the Integrative Medicine to the public eye once again.
According to the definition by the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health, “integrative medicine and health reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic and lifestyle approaches, healthcare professionals and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing” (https://www.imconsortium.org/about/about-us.cfm). Integrative medicine is described as the art and science of healthcare by Nordic Integrative Medicine. In the United States, Australasia and Europe, the primary medical doctors have treated integrative medicine as another important choice when they deliver healthcare to patients (http://www.nordicintegrativemedicine.com/what-is-integrative-medicine).
To introduce the development and current status of integrative medicine, in terms of clinical usage, education and research, in Europe and other Western countries, we will publish articles on this topic presented by the Summit speakers as a series in this and the coming editions of the Journal of Integrative Medicine. I hope our readers will find these articles interesting and useful in the field of integrative medicine.