Complementary Medicine—The Case for Dialogue

Complementary medicine (CM) is popular with patients but physicians do not feel at ease with this situation and some fear that the patient might be the loser. Their fear is based on the perception that some CM practitioners have dubious qualifications and competence and that too little is known about the efficacy and safety of many complementary therapies. It follows that, in the interest of the patient and all other parties involved, we urgently need more and better research to fill the void. Integration of complementary medicine into mainstream care requires a minimum of essential evidence. As in all areas of medicine, there can be no short cut to rigorous research.