所謂“獨立科學體系”，原文為whole medical systems，意指有一整套自己的醫學理論和實踐體系，如中醫和印度草藥醫學。美國將補充和/或替代醫學治療分為四個方面：身心治療，如瑜珈; 生物療法,如草藥; 手法治療，如脊椎指壓和按摩，以及能量治療，如電磁波照射。以前還有第五類，即替代醫學體系。因其用到了上述幾個方面的治療方法，因此將其獨立出來另歸一類，稱為whole medical systems。但仍屬於補充和/或替代醫學（CAM），並沒有從中分離出來。

報告的原文為：

NCCAM classifies CAM therapies into four categories or "domains." These are:
a Biologically-based practices;
a Energy therapies;
Manipulative and body-based methods; and
Mind-body medicine.

NCCAM once had a fifth domain, "Alternative medical systems," but now considers "alternative medical systems" (now known as "whole medical systems") to be a separate category rather than another domain because alternative medical systems use practices from the four domains listed above. For purposes of this guidance, we adopt the same domains and "whole medical systems" category that NCCAM uses.
.....
NCCAM describes whole medical systems as involving "complete systems of theory and practice that have evolved independently from or parallel to allopathic (conventional) medicine." These may reflect individual cultural systems, such as traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine. Some elements common to whole medical systems are a belief that the body has the power to heal itself, and that healing may involve techniques that use the mind, body, and spirit.

其實這個說法並不是現在才有，至少在2004年NCCAM頒布的2005-2009戰略發展報告中就已明確說明。

這份報告本身就說明了美國對發展傳統醫學的重視。象這樣故意歪曲原意，誇大中醫的地位，其效果適得其反。