Yet 70 percent never mention this to their physicians. While most of these techniques are not covered by insurance, coverage for alternative care is expanding. As in many areas of health care, there are few easy answers on complementary medicine. We do know, however, that this emerging area of health care needs to be scientifically researched to determine which methods work, which don t, and which ones are both effective and cost efficient. This research can then be used by patients and practitioners to make well-informed decisions about health care.
Good science means conducting open-minded inquiry.
Scientific literature already demonstrates the effectiveness of some forms of complementary care for certain conditions. Most often they are used in conjunction with standard care, not in place of it. As physician and author James Gordon writes, What we need is a combination of alternative and conventional medical practices, a new synthesis that includes and respects both modern bio-medicine and ancient healing traditions. The University of Minnesota believes that the training provided to students of the Academic Health Center should encourage them, as tomorrow s health care professionals, to be open to complementary health care methods while maintaining a scientific approach. Course work and research on complementary healing are now under way, and the best ways of integrating complementary methods into patient care are being defined.