BMJ  2005;331:856-857 (15 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7521.856

Editorial

Complementary therapies and the NHS

Uncertain evidence of cost effectiveness should not exclude complementary medicine from reviews and guidelines

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

In the early 20th century, scientific medicine emerged as the dominant model for health care in the West. Yet, despite the successes of scientific medicine, people have continued to seek treatments outside mainstream services.¹ In the United Kingdom about one in 10 of the adult population consults a CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) practitioner every year, and 90% of this contact happens outside the NHS.²

Why do people turn to these therapies? Persistent symptoms and the real or perceived adverse effects of conventional treatments are the main reasons.^w1 Patients value complementary practitioners viewing their predicament "as a whole" and not through the fragmenting lens of clinical specialisation or within the time pressured environment of primary care.^w2

The popularity of a clinical method should not, however, be confused with its value. The popularity of CAM may simply reflect the limitations of conventional treatments. In the past 20 years there has . . . [Full text of this article]

Academic Unit of Primary Care, University of Bristol, Bristol BS6 6JL

Centre for Health Sciences, Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, London E1 4AT (g.s.feder@qmul.ac.uk)

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• van den Meerschaut, L., Sunder, A. (2007). The Homeopathic Preparation Nervoheel N can Offer an Alternative to Lorazepam Therapy for Mild Nervous Disorders. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 0: nem144v1-nem144 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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