More people visit alternative medical practitioners than conventional allopathic doctors according to a national study.

The results of the study were published in an article entitled WHY PATIENTS USE ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE in the May 20, 1998 edition of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) p. 1548-1553 by Stanford researcher John A. Astin, PhD.

Some study results mentioned in the article:

• Researchers estimate that Americans made 425 million visits to alternative health care providers in 1990, a figure that exceeded the number of visits to allopathic primary care physicians during the same period. (By almost 100 million visits!)
• A 1994 survey of physicians from a wide array of medical specialties (in Washington State, New Mexico, and Israel) revealed that more than 60% recommended alternative therapies to their patients at least once in the preceding year, while 38% had done so in the previous month.
• Forty seven (47) percent of these physicians also reported using alternative therapies themselves, while 23% incorporated them into their practices
• The 2 most frequently endorsed benefits (alternative care) were, "I get relief for my symptoms, the pain or discomfort is less or goes away, I feel better," and "The treatment works better for my particular health problem than standard medicine's." According to the study author, These responses suggest that the most influential or salient factor in people's decision to use alternative health care may be its preceived efficacy.
• The response, "The treatment promotes health rather than just focusing on the illness," was the third most frequently reported benefit.
• Relief of symptoms is the main benefit reported (the perceived efficacy of alternative medicine being cited nearly twice as often as other reported benefits).
• A central finding is that users of alternative health care are no more dissatistied with or distrustful of conventional care than nonusers are.

Summary