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Patient and Medical Education on Complementary and Alternative Medicine

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Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Part of the book series: Biomedical Ethics Reviews ((BER))

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Abstract

Millions of Americans use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, often in the absence of scientific evidence of their safety and effectiveness and, in many cases, with-out including a medical professional in the decision-making process (1). Depending on how broadly one defines it, between 36 and 62% of the US population now relies on some form of CAM (2). Although annual visits to CAM practitioners now out-number visits to primary care physicians (3), only 12% of those using CAM therapies seek them through certified or licensed CAM practitioners (4). CAM users are usually paying out of pocket, using one or more alternative therapies on a regular basis in combination with prescription medications, and generally not discussing their CAM use with their physicians (5).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Ethics and Professionalism at the American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, PA

    Catherine Leffler JD (senior associate)

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  1. Catherine Leffler JD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics, Philadelphia, PA

    Lois Snyder JD (director) (director)

  2. Center for Ethics and Professionalism at the American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, PA

    Lois Snyder JD (director) (director)

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© 2007 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Leffler, C. (2007). Patient and Medical Education on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. In: Snyder, L. (eds) Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Biomedical Ethics Reviews. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-381-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-381-3_5

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-584-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-381-3

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