Abstract: . . .  Journal of Medicine -- September 17, 1998 -- Volume 339, Number 12 Alternative Medicine -- The Risks of Untested and Unregulated Remedies What is there about alternative medicine that sets it apart from ordinary medicine ? The term refers to a remarkably heterogeneous group of theories and practices -- as disparate as homeopathy, therapeutic touch, imagery, and herbal medicine . What unites them? Eisenberg et al. defined alternative medicine (now often called complementary medicine ) as "medical interventions not taught widely at U.S. medical schools or generally available at U.S. hospitals." ( 1 ) That is not a very satisfactory definition, especially since many alternative remedies have recently found their way into the medical mainstream. Medical schools teach alternative medicine , hospitals and health maintenance organizations offer it, ( 2 ) and laws in some states require health plans to cover it. ( 3 ) It . . .
. . .  alternative medicine a free ride. There cannot be two kinds of medicine -- conventional and alternative . There is only medicine that has been adequately tested and medicine that has not, medicine that works and medicine that may or may not work. Once a treatment has been tested rigorously, it no longer matters whether it was considered alternative at the outset. If it is found to be reasonably safe and effective, it will be accepted. But assertions, speculation, and testimonials do not substitute for evidence. Alternative treatments should be subjected to scientific testing no less rigorous than that required for conventional treatments. Marcia Angell, M.D. Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D. Text References Table of Contents | Previous Article | Next Article Copyright © 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. 4 of 4 23-Sep-98 9:52 PM Editorials -- NEJM 1998; 339: 839-841 -- September 17, 1998 file:///C|/WWW/PAGE/0839.asp . . .
. . .  kinds of medicine -- conventional and alternative . There is only medicine that has been adequately tested and medicine that has not, medicine that works and medicine that may or may not work. Once a treatment has been tested rigorously, it no longer matters whether it was considered alternative at the outset. If it is found to be reasonably safe and effective, it will be accepted. But assertions, speculation, and testimonials do not substitute for evidence. Alternative treatments should be subjected to scientific testing no less rigorous than that required for conventional treatments. Marcia Angell, M.D. Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D. Text References Table of Contents | Previous Article | Next Article Copyright © 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. 4 of 4 23-Sep-98 9:52 PM Editorials -- NEJM 1998; 339: 839-841 -- September 17, 1998 file:///C|/WWW/PAGE/0839.asp  . . .
--2762,3,460,2992,13809