Alternative Medicine

Whenever I hear the words alternative medicine, I usually do not hear the words coming from a doctor. It might be through word-of-mouth from a friend or co-worker referring someone else to a therapy that they underwent and made them feel good afterward. My first thoughts toward alternative medicine is to be skeptical even if the word medicine is part of it. If it is really as effective for health problems, why don't doctors advice their patients to try some of these therapies?

It is interesting to me that according to Kessler's study the number of visits to unconventional therapies was higher than the number of visits to physicians. With the current health care system, alternative medicine might be a less expensive choice than visiting a primary care physician. However, alternative medicine is still limited to a certain sociodemographic that can afford to go to a chiropractor, for example.

I think that alternative medicine can be an untapped biotechnology that physicians could learn more about in order to inform their patients of the risks and benefits or to supplement treatments and drugs. In order to this, primary care doctors would need to be taught about alternative therapies like acupuncture as early as medical school. I do not think alternative medicine needs to be included in health care reform. Instead, more research should be invested to find the benefits and whether the effects would be worth the expenses.