Complementary therapies and the NHS

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7521.856

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 excludecomplementary 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 thedominant model for health care in the West. Yet, despite thesuccesses of scientific medicine, people have continued to seektreatments outside mainstream services.¹ In the United Kingdomabout one in 10 of the adult population consults a CAM (complementaryand alternative medicine) practitioner every year, and 90% ofthis contact happens outside the NHS.²

Why do people turn to these therapies? Persistent symptoms andthe real or perceived adverse effects of conventional treatmentsare the main reasons.^w1 Patients value complementary practitionersviewing their predicament "as a whole" and not through the fragmentinglens of clinical specialisation or within the time pressuredenvironment of primary care.^w2

The popularity of a clinical method should not, however, beconfused with its value. The popularity of CAM may simply reflectthe limitations of conventional treatments. In the past 20 yearsthere has . . . [Full text of this article]

Trevor Thompson, clinical lecturer

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

Gene Feder, professor of primary care research and development

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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