BMJ 2000;321:683-686 ( 16 September )

Clinical review

Recent advances

Complementary medicine

Andrew Vickers, assistant attending research methodologist. 

Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA

vickersa@mskcc.org

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Given that many complementary medicine techniques are defined in terms of a static historical tradition, discussing recent advances in complementary medicine is almost a contradiction in terms. None the less, few acquainted with complementary medicine would deny that substantive shifts in its scientific base and organisational structure have occurred recently. These shifts might indicate that complementary medicine is becoming more integrated. Integration, as used here, means that similar clinical, scientific, and regulatory standards are being applied across all forms of health care. If a list was written of what patients care about (for example, the clinical relationship), what researchers feel is important (for example, control of bias), what clinicians hold critical (for example, clinical competence), or what matters to purchasers (for example, cost effectiveness) there would probably be no reference to the historically and politically contingent concepts of "conventional" and "complementary" medicine. Integration has obvious implications for the access to . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Is history static?

Peter Morrell
bmj.com, 15 Sep 2000 [Full text]

Ayurveda-a Great Science.

B M Hegde
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Alternative therapies

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A comment from the author

Andrew Vickers
bmj.com, 28 Nov 2000 [Full text]

Re: A comment from the author - rebutted

John P Heptonstall
bmj.com, 30 Nov 2000 [Full text]

Re: A comment from the author

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bmj.com, 1 Dec 2000 [Full text]

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