Overview of complementary and alternative medicine

摘要

The use of complementary and alternative medicine remains controversial, as it has arisen largely from systems that are apart from conventional medicine. However, complementary and alternative medicine is in widespread use in the community and this mandates that medical workers be educated. In particular, its potential interaction with prescribed medicines need to be discussed with patients. Complementary and alternative medicine is most often used to complement conventional therapy rather than as an alternative to it, and most often are directed at symptom relief. Some therapies have become mainstream, such as psychological therapies, and these have been demonstrated to improve quality of life. Other complementary and alternative medicines have been the subject of research. For example, ginger, acupuncture and hypnosis have all been shown to be effective in trials of their use with chemotherapy induced emesis. Studies of prayer, however, highlight the methodological challenges of researching complementary and alternative medicine. Patients’ perceptions of complementary and alternative medicines are firmly divided into those who use them as part of a holistic approach and those who reject them, usually on the basis that they are not curative. Little work has been done on the complex interactions with family over the use of complementary and alternative medicine, which can either be divisive or improve cohesion. Finally, the attempts to practise integrative medicine are analysed as a model for the way forward for patient centred care.