| Description |
This paper discusses alternative medicine in the United States' health care system. To do this, the meaning of alternative medicine is defined and weighed in relation to the term "complementary." Featured, are five salient alternative medical practices--osteopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathy, and homeopathy. Each of these therapies is reviewed in detail and summarized in relation to studies on their efficacy and safety. The need for regulation and control of alternative therapies is emphasized throughout the paper. This theme ranges from the role of the Office of Alternative Medicine (under the National Institutes of Health) in regulating alternative medical practices and promoting well controlled studies on their efficacy and safety to the role of the general practitioner in protecting health care consumers. Three topics pertaining to the American public's pursuit of alternative therapeutic practices are explored. These are patient characteristics, the role of mind/body interaction, and possible cost-effectiveness of alternative medicine. Public interest is then contrasted with Western medical doctor perception of alternative medicine. Previous studies are summarized, and evident are the lack of sufficient studies concerning physicians' perceptions of alternative medicine in the United States. To counter this, a study of a small sample of medical doctors and alternative medical practitioners in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been incorporated into the body of the paper. The methods, results and discussion sections ii explore the results of this study. The purpose of the study was not to prove statistical significance, but rather to gain a general overview of Salt Lake medical doctor perception of alternative medicine, and stress the need for further analysis of this issue. Following the study, the status of osteopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathy, and homeopathy in Utah are briefly reviewed. Finally, the paper finishes with a brief look at alternative therapies in relation to insurance coverage, homeopathic versus herbal supplements, and quackery. |
