Borders between integrative medicine and EBM: significance, potential for use and legal issues in European Union member states. Narrative review

Abstract Aim. The aim of the study is to present the meaning, potential of use and legal issues related to the use of complementary, alternative and integrative medicine in the European Union member states. Material and methods. Non-systematic review. Analysis of the literature on the subject covering the issues related to using and legal issues of complementary and alternative medicine methods in the context of the integration of Evidence Based Medicine methods into conventional medicine. Results. Despite attempts to introduce restrictions and introduce legal regulations regarding the use of unconventional medicine, it is still common to use unconfirmed methods, based on information searched on the Internet or using the services of people without any education in a given field. Lack of or insufficient regulations to manage the quality, safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine methods, and the lack of integration between the health care system and CAM pose the greatest risk. Conclusions. Due to the ever-increasing public demand for the use of complementary medicine methods, it is necessary to take steps to introduce integrative medicine that will ensure safe and effective patient-centered care, taking into account the comparability and availability of CAM practices in European Union member states.