THE BEST ALTERNATIVE?

December 1998
		More than four out of ten people in the United States visited alternative medicine practitioners last year. What is the future of alternative medicine and traditional Western medicine? What does this trend mean to the future of healthcare in the United States?

What is the definition of alternative medicine? What do doctors think of alternative medicine? How has marketing effected alternative medicine? Is there research on St. Johns Wart? Will the FDA get involved with regulation?   August 27, 1998 More hospitals are offering alternative treatments. June 19, 1997 The mixed bag of estrogen hormone replacement. Browse the NewsHour's Health Spotlight.

According to a recent survey, more Americans are using alternative medicine. Last year, more than four out of ten people visited alternative medicine practitioners. That's an increase of 47 percent since 1990. Ranging from hypnosis to acupuncture to megavitamins, visits to alternative medicine practitioners went from 427 million in 1990 to 629 million in 1997. That surpassed visits to primary care physicians. The Journal of the American Medical Association dedicated an entire issue to alternative medicine, publishing the results of a variety of studies, including that one. Other studies tested the effectiveness of some alternative methods, with varied results. Chinese herbal medicine, for example, was deemed effective in treating irritable bowel syndrome, while chiropractic spinal manipulation did not relieve chronic tension headaches. One study showed a traditional Chinese practice of burning herbs at the toe of a pregnant woman was effective in correcting a fetus in breech presentation. Some have said the mere publishing of the studies shows that alternative medicine is becoming accepted as a viable option to western medicine. Others maintain that there is little proof that the techniques are effective. Do you have a favorite form of alternative medicine? What do these studies say about alternative and complementary medicines? What does this trend mean to the future of healthcare in the United States? George Lundberg, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Marcia Angell, executive editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, answer your questions. Click to continue...