What role do general practitioners play in integrative medicine?
26 Sep 2025
With more Australians using complementary medicines and therapies, general practitioners (GPs) are increasingly guiding patients with evidence-based advice to support their health.
According to a 2024 snapshot by the Complementary Medicines Association (CMA), around 75 per cent of Australian households use some form of complementary medicine. This includes natural therapies such as acupuncture and naturopathy, herbal remedies, vitamin and mineral supplements, and other over-the-counter or practitioner-dispensed products.
However, patients do not always have access to objective, evidence-based advice tailored to their health needs—something a GP can provide. Rather than seeing integrative medicine as a challenge to conventional practice, many GPs are embracing patients’ health-seeking behaviours and learning more about complementary approaches.
What is integrative medicine?
Integrative medicine combines all appropriate therapeutic and lifestyle approaches, healthcare professionals, and disciplines to achieve optimal health. It integrates complementary medicine into conventional healthcare using an evidence-based approach.
Dr Tamara Nation, Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Integrative Medicine, explains that the field covers a wide range of approaches, including:
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Mind-body medicine such as meditation, relaxation, hypnosis, and stress management
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Nutritional therapies, including dietary approaches like the Mediterranean, FODMAP, low-carb, and DASH diets
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Nutritional supplements, herbal and plant-based medicines, and medical cannabis
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Physical therapies such as kinesiology, chiropractic, exercise physiology, and massage therapy
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Lifestyle medicine, focusing on sleep, diet, exercise, and stress management
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Cultural medicine, including traditional Chinese, Ayurvedic, and Aboriginal medicine
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Environmental medicine, covering air pollution, toxin exposure, and mould-related illnesses
GPs with expertise in integrative medicine can apply for recognition of extended skills through the RACGP.
Career pathways and patient care
For Dr Nation, personal experience led her to integrative medicine. As a mother, she sought approaches beyond the traditional medical model, including nutrition, mindfulness, music therapy, and exercise, to support her children’s health and immune systems. Professionally, patient demand encouraged her to learn more about complementary approaches and integrate them into her practice.
“Meeting patients where they’re at is central to incorporating integrative medicine into clinical practice,” Dr Nation said. “Over 60 per cent of Australians use complementary medicine in some way, so this impacts more than half of the patients we serve.”
The RACGP Specific Interests Integrative Medicine group has over 2,000 members, including GPs who practice integrative medicine extensively, as well as those who incorporate elements alongside conventional care. The group provides collaboration, peer support, evidence-based resources, registrar training pathways, and continuing professional development opportunities, including case discussions, webinars, and invited speakers.
Benefits for patients and doctors
Integrative medicine allows GPs to deliver whole-person care, addressing multiple health conditions with a combination of conventional and complementary approaches. It also supports doctors’ own health by promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours such as diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management.
Dr Nation highlighted the recent 2024 Natural Therapies Review for the Federal Government, which recommended re-including seven complementary therapies—Alexander Technique, naturopathy, Pilates, shiatsu, tai chi, western herbal medicine, and yoga—as eligible for private health insurance benefits.
For GPs interested in integrative medicine, Dr Nation recommends joining the RACGP Specific Interests Integrative Medicine group to access mentorship, resources, and support from like-minded practitioners.
Source: RACGP Specific Interests Integrative Medicine, reported by newsGP
