BMJ  2007;335:647 (29 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.39349.437442.43

Observations

Yankee doodling

Wham, bam, thank you CAM

Alternative medicine is wildly popular in the United States, but what are we supposed to do about it?

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

I got a phone call the other day from a man asking whether I did "alternative" medicine. When I told him that I wasn't in regular practice, he asked for a referral to someone who could provide this type of care. It made me think.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) comprises a diverse group of treatments, ranging from symptomatic interventions to be used in conjunction with traditional therapies—therapeutic touch or meditation—to unique treatments meant to replace conventional chemotherapy or surgery. CAM includes complex and longstanding fields of study, such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, and homoeopathy, but can also be as straightforward as taking a specific dietary supplement to lower blood pressure or blood lipid concentrations.

Americans love CAM. Over a third of them report having used some form of CAM therapy in the previous 12 months, and the use is increasing every year. Leading CAM therapies include natural products (supplements . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    StumbleUpon    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

How much of orthodox medicine is evidence based?

John S Garrow
BMJ 2007 335: 951. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

What to do about CAM?

David Colquhoun
BMJ 2007 335: 736. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Should NICE evaluate complementary and alternative medicine?

Linda Franck, Cyril Chantler, and Michael Dixon
BMJ 2007 334: 506. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Should NICE evaluate complementary and alternative medicines?

David Colquhoun
BMJ 2007 334: 507. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Sankar, R., Childs, P. (2009). Complementary and alternative treatments in psychiatric out-patients. Psychiatr. Bull. 33: 155-155 [Full text]  
• Garrow, J. S (2007). How much of orthodox medicine is evidence based?. BMJ 335: 951-951 [Full text]  
• Colquhoun, D. (2007). What to do about CAM?. BMJ 335: 736-736 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

What to do about CAM

David Colquhoun
bmj.com, 2 Oct 2007 [Full text]

It's good to talk

Susan E Farwell
bmj.com, 3 Oct 2007 [Full text]

The most important work I do.

Dr Edmond V O`Flaherty
bmj.com, 6 Oct 2007 [Full text]

Scientific fundamentalism

Jerome Burne
bmj.com, 15 Oct 2007 [Full text]

Nice illustration of the problem

Michael F Vagg
bmj.com, 14 Nov 2007 [Full text]

The true value of the Placebo effect

Rhys H Thomas
bmj.com, 9 Dec 2007 [Full text]

Online poll

Find out more >>