Integrating Alternative & Conventional Medicine to offer you a unique & flexible approach to today's health care delivery.

You already have access to your network of conventional medical doctors…Let AMI integrate your local hospitals, conventionally trained specialists and alternative medicine primary care physicians into a unified team focused to address your individual needs.

Network of Providers

Through an expansive delivery network of physicians, hospitals, and other providers, we can assure you that you are in good hands. All AMI providers are carefully selected and credentialed to assure quality care. Our provider credentialing process encompasses guidelines set by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), as well as new credentialing for alternative medicine.

AMI’s outcomes have been so extraordinary that our credentialing program has been adopted by the American Academy of Chiropractic Physicians (AACP) as their National Credentialling policy. This marks the first time that national standards for credentialing complementary/alternative medical(CAM) physicians have been adopted by an academy of physicians.

AMI Complementary/Alternative Medical (CAM ) Physicians

All AMI CAM physicians, be they licensed as MD’s/DO’s or DC’s, are chosen and credentialed according to the same criterion. All of AMI’s physicians utilize a non-pharmacologic and non-surgical approach regardless of licensure. As your "trusted guide" to the expansive and often confusing world of alternative therapies, our CAM physicians will help direct you to the treatment plan most appropriate for your individual needs.

We believe this refocus of resources towards wellness and prevention will reap the same outstanding outcomes already documented by AMI.

Primary Care Physicians (PCP)

Commonly known as the "Gatekeeper," you select one of our highly qualified Holistic Physicians (MD, DC and DO) to coordinate all of your health care needs.

Referral Services

When needed, your primary care physician will work with you to coordinate a referral to the appropriate specialist.

Availability

24-hours a day — 365 days a year.
Our physicians are there for you.

Your primary care physician can now guide you to these beneficial health care services. Not only will they offer you peace of mind - they are a 100% covered benefit.*

HMO Services

• Manipulation	• Ayurvedic Medicine*
• Acupuncture	• Traditional Chinese Medicine*
• Homeopathy*	• Stress Management
• Herbal Medicines*	• Nutrition*
• Massage Therapy	• Cranio Sacral Therapy*

*Your PCP may recommend the use of nutritional supplements, homeopathy, cranio sacral therapy or herbal medicine. However, the cost of these items may not be covered under your program.

AMI Proprietary Formulary

The AMI Proprietary Formulary is being researched and constructed by a scientific advisory board comprised of Nationally prominent nutraceutical experts. Their recommendations together with accepted practice patterns utilized by our CAM physician network dictate the continual evolution of our formulary. Individual self-insured corporations can choose to adopt the AMI Proprietary Formulary as an option for their enrollees.

Conventional Medicine

Your primary care physician will also be responsible for referring you to conventional physicians such as an internist, cardiologist, pediatrician, general surgeon or orthopedic surgeon. Referrals are required from your primary care physician for these services unless the circumstances are a life-threatening emergency. Routine female wellness exams for pap and pelvic do not require a referral. AMI’s Holistically oriented Family Practice Physicians as well as network contracted OB/Gyn’s are available to coordinate female care issues. Let AMI integrate your local hospitals, conventional specialists and alternative medicine primary care physicians into a unified team focused to address your individual needs.

HMO INDEX

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AMI WORLDS

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Acupuncture involves stimulating specific anatomic points in the body for therapeutic purposes. Puncturing the skin with a needle is the usual method, but practitioners also use heat, pressure, friction, suction, or impulses of electromagnetic energy to stimulate the points.

Homeopathic medicine is practiced worldwide, especially in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Based on "like cures like", it uses natural remedies that stimulates the body’s own healing processes. Homeopaths view the individual as a whole and prescribe a remedy to cure the emotional, physical and spiritual imbalances that underlie physical symptoms.. Homeopathy is used to treat acute and chronic health problems as well as for disease prevention and health promotion. Recent clinical trials suggest that homeopathic medicines have a positive effect on several disease states.

Massage Therapy is a general term for several disciplines that utilize many forms of body work techniques to promote healing and health, including neuromuscular therapy, sports massage, Shiatsu, Swedish massage, Thai massage and visceral manipulation.

Ayurveda- is India’s traditional, natural system that has been practiced for more than 5,000 years. Ayurveda provides an integrated approach to preventing and treating illness through lifestyle interventions and natural therapies. Ayurvedic theory states that all disease begins with an imbalance or stress in the individual’s consciousness. Lifestyle interventions are a major ayurvedic preventive and therapeutic approach.

Traditional Chinese Medicine - is a sophisticated set of many systematic techniques and methods, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, acupressure, qi gong, and oriental massage. The most striking characteristic of Oriental medicine is its emphasis on diagnosing disturbances of qi, or vital energy, in health and disease. Diagnosing in oriental medicine involves the classical procedures of observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, including feeling pulse quality and sensitivity of body parts.

Manipulation is a passive manual maneuver during which the three-joint complex is suddenly carried beyond the normal physiological range of movement without exceeding the boundaries of anatomical integrity. The usual characteristic is a thrust-a brief, sudden and carefully administered "impulsion" that is given at the end of the normal passive range of movement. It is usually accompanied by a cracking noise.

Herbal Medicine is the use of plant remedies in the treatment of disease. It is the oldest form of medicine known. Now, with the advancement of science enabling us to identify the chemical constituents within these plants, we can better understand their healing powers.

Cranio-Sacral Therapy- A therapy consisting of gentle encouragement of cranial bone movement to effect the membranes surrounding the central nervous system.

Stress Management : Stress is a natural part of life. When levels of stress exceeds our ability to cope with it, or stretches beyond healthy limitations, it becomes a problem. Stress that is experienced on a long-term basis can be debilitating both physically and mentally. During a stressful experience the body produces an increased amount of hormones, that causes the body to prepare to run or fight. The body can easily adjust to the short-term effects of these chemicals. However, chronic release of the stress related hormones, leads to an increased susceptibility to a variety of diseases. Stress Management focuses on reducing the response to stressful situations includes a variety of techniques and approaches that stimulate relaxation and decreasing stress hormone levels. These techniques include: meditation, visualization, laughter, cognitive therapy, herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine, exercise, diet, relaxation and Ayurvedic medicine.

Nutritional Counseling focuses on education and awareness of the individual’s dietary needs and by examining the person’s current condition and past medical history. Food and nutrition are fundamental to all life. Diet plays a central role in a person’s overall health. Meeting the health needs of the body is the aim of a balanced diet.