Complementary and alternative medicine in Korea: current status and future prospects

Traditional Oriental medicine has been an integral part of prevailing practice and belief systems throughout Korea's history. Beginning late in the nineteenth century, Western medical practices were introduced by Christian missionaries and these practices quickly supplanted traditional medicine in institutional health care. After the Korean War, the government revived interest in Oriental medicine and established colleges of Oriental medicine, in addition to supporting the colleges of Western medicine. A difference in standards between these medical traditions underlies a mistrust of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) that is common among practitioners of Western medicine. Western medicine is built on reproducible experiments and statistical analysis, whereas complementary and alternative treatments are built on experience. Recent surveys show that CAM is widely used in Korea, with usage rates ranging from 29% to 53% among various patient populations. CAM also accounts for a large share of healthcare costs. Approximately 29% of out-of-pocket, health care expenditure in Korea is for CAM therapies. Both the Korean government and the medical community recognize a need to integrate the health care delivery system and to define the roles of physicians, Oriental medical doctors, and pharmacists better. To accomplish this, there will be a need for standards for judging the safety and effectiveness of treatments and consensus-building will be needed to overcome the differences among practitioners from various traditions and backgrounds.