Complementary and Alternative Medicine Ethics, the Patient, and the Physician

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Ethics, the Patient, and thePhysician is the first comprehensive, multidisciplinary book to focuson the ethical challenges of complementary and alternative medicine(CAM), examining the ethical considerations and challenges thatincreasingly face patients, physicians and complementary andalternative medicine practitioners today. In one recent year, it wasestimated that 42% of Americans spent $27 billion out of pocket on CAMtherapies; in particular, CAM therapies are becoming more popular withbaby boomers, who are taking an increasingly active interest in theirhealth and health care as they age. Most people do not tell theirphysicians about their CAM use - what implications does this have fortraditional patient-physician relationships? This volume examines whatshould be the center of the dialogue between conventional medicine andCAM. With big issues and big money at stake, how are patients,physicians, the health care system and policymakers handling theexplosion in CAM interest and use? What are the physicians' ethicalobligations in this area? These topics and more are examined in thistimely book. Chapters 1 and 2 of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Ethics, thePatient, and the Physician provide a context for thinking about CAM andintroduce its history and definitions. Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 examinethe ethical responsibilities of physicians, as well as communicationsissues, patient education, legal concerns, and risk management. Chapter 7 presents a framework for examining CAM using the scientificmethod. As we enter the 21st century, and CAM use becomes morefrequent, often as a companion to conventional medicine, this volume istimely, thought-provoking and practical reading.