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Complementary medicine and its effectiveness

Complementary medicine refers to a medical or healing practice that incorporates a patient's values, beliefs, and culture to maximize the patient's ability to get well.

Sometimes the term Alternative medicine is used with, or instead of, complementary medicine, and often refers to healing practices that may not be taught in western medical training. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners can include chiropractors, naturopaths, homeopaths, massage therapists, acupuncturists, herbalists, and others. Many areas of alternative medicine, such as massage, vitamin therapy, and acupuncture, are becoming incorporated into mainstream medical practice.

Each year in the United States, more patient visits are made to complementary and alternative medicine providers than to mainstream physicians, with the vast majority of costs paid out of pocket. Because of the variety of CAM practitioners, variances in licensing requirements, and typical lack of reimbursement by insurance, it can be difficult to track the actual type and effects of treatments provided.

The effectiveness of complementary medicine varies a great deal depending on the patient and on the type of practice. Because all people have an innate capacity to experience a placebo response, which is a positive healing response to a treatment, even when the treatment is known to not contain any active medicine, it is not always clear whether complementary and alternative treatments simply activate a placebo response in susceptible patients, or whether they cause healing to occur through other means.

Through increasing research on CAM treatments, some clear data has emerged that shows that many CAM treatments are clearly safe and effective. These include support groups, biofeedback, massage, meditation, some dietary supplements, acupuncture, and others. Other treatments, such as herbal remedies, dietary supplements, and special diets, may need to be evaluated on an individual basis to determine effectiveness for any given patient. These therapies have the potential for toxicity, drug interactions, or worsening of certain medical conditions, and may require close follow up and medical monitoring to prevent adverse reactions. While most patients who seek CAM treatment also seek care from mainstream medical practitioners as well, those that do not may risk misdiagnosis or lack of validated and effective treatment for potentially serious medical problems.

It is not unusual for patients to utilize CAM practitioners for adjunctive treatment of serious medical problems with a philosophy of "might help, can't hurt." Because of steady progress in medical knowledge, including National Institutes of Health funding for alternative medicine research, we are increasingly able to find information about what helps, as well as what harms, in CAM practices. In that way, patients can become better informed about their own care, and can specifically seek alternative AND mainstream medical care that will prove most effective for them.

Main source of Information: Up to Date: Overview of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Pediatrics.

Learn more about this author, Harriet Squier.
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