Alternative or additional medicine? A new dilemma for the doctor

The growth of alternative medicine poses particular problems for general practitioners working in the National Health Service. This paper reviews the subject and presents preliminary results of a two-stage study of the prevalence of use of alternative medicine in a south London practice. Extended interviews with users explored motivations for choice of treatment and attitudes towards orthodox and alternative health care. The study suggests that many patients are making use of alternative medicine in addition to their NHS consultations without the knowledge of their general practitioners. The clinical and ethical implications of this pattern of illness behaviour are discussed.