Exploring different dimensions of holism: considerations in the context of an evaluation of complementary medicine in primary care.

Holism is often associated with both complementary medicine and primary care. In the context of the Swiss Programme for the Evaluation of Complementary Medicine (PEK), the concept of holism emerged from data on physician's philosophy of care and motivation for patients' choice of physician. Yet, as PEK primarily aimed to quantify differences between conventional and complementary medicine, qualitative aspects of the study were neglected and data not fully explored. The main objective of this article is to explore the concept, variations and dimensions of holism by exploring and reflecting on PEK results implicitly and explicitly related to holism.