Download a PDF version of this page

Most people do not tell their physicians about their use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). What implications does this have for traditional patient-physician relationships? This volume examines what should be the center of the dialogue between conventional medicine and CAM. This book is a publication of Humana Press.

"Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Ethics, the Patient, and the Physician" is the first comprehensive, multidisciplinary book to focus on the ethical challenges of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), examining the ethical considerations and challenges that increasingly face patients, physicians and complementary and alternative medicine practitioners today. In one recent year, it was estimated that 42% of Americans spent $27 billion out of pocket on CAM therapies; in particular, CAM therapies are becoming more popular with baby boomers, who are taking an increasingly active interest in their
health and health care as they age. With big issues and big money at stake, how are patients,physicians, the health care system and policymakers handling the explosion in CAM interest and use? What are the physicians' ethical obligations in this area? These topics and more are examined in this timely book.

Chapters 1 and 2 provide a context for thinking about CAM and introduce its history and definitions. Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 examine the ethical responsibilities of physicians, as well as communications issues, patient education, legal concerns, and risk management.
Chapter 7 presents a framework for examining CAM using the scientific method.