lede first paragraph exact quotes of cma nyas nccam and bmj added per above discussion i trimmed redundancies from gregbard's first two sentences in the lede and added exact quotes from canadian medical association annals of the new york academny of science nccam and british medical journal as per te above discussion the canadian medical association journal published the definition alternative therapies are those lacking scientific validation the annals of the new york academy of science published a definition that alternative medicine therapies are anomalous practices for which claims of efficacy are either unproved or disproved nccam defines alternative medicine as that which is not medicine as practiced by holders of m d medical doctor and d o doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees and by allied health professionals such as physical therapists psychologists and registered nurses the british medical journal published a definition complementary and alternative medicine cam is a broad domain of healing resources that encompasses all health systems modalities and practices and their accompanying theories and beliefs other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period