所谓“独立科学体系”，原文为whole medical systems，意指有一整套自己的医学理论和实践体系，如中医和印度草药医学。美国将补充和/或替代医学治疗分为四个方面：身心治疗，如瑜珈; 生物疗法,如草药; 手法治疗，如脊椎指压和按摩，以及能量治疗，如电磁波照射。以前还有第五类，即替代医学体系。因其用到了上述几个方面的治疗方法，因此将其独立出来另归一类，称为whole medical systems。但仍属于补充和/或替代医学（CAM），并没有从中分离出来。

报告的原文为：

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.

其实这个说法并不是现在才有，至少在2004年NCCAM颁布的2005-2009战略发展报告中就已明确说明。

这份报告本身就说明了美国对发展传统医学的重视。象这样故意歪曲原意，夸大中医的地位，其效果适得其反。