Scoring Points for Holistic Medicine: Anisio León, MD, MS and Pedro Carmona, BS, Natural & Traditional Medicine Unit, Sports Medicine Institute, Havana

MEDICC Review » Spring 2009, Vol 11, No 2 » Interview

Gloria Giraldo, MPH

Since 1995, the Cuban Sports Medicine Institute has integrated natural and traditional medicine (NTM, also known in the United States as Complementary and Alternative Medicine or CAM) into its array of prevention techniques and rehabilitation therapies for Cuban athletes. Incorporating NTM into conventional medical practice—both for the Institute and the public health system as a whole—has been a sometimes prickly process, confronting prejudice among some in the medical profession and among patients themselves.

The Sports Medicine Institute’s NTM Unit is headed by medical director Anisio Len and technical director Pedro Carmona, who spoke with MEDICC Review about the history, philosophy, results and challenges of their work