RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 General practitioners and alternative medicine
JF The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
JO J R Coll Gen Pract
FD British Journal of General Practice
SP 52
OP 55
VO 37
IS 295
A1 Elieen Anderson
A1 Peter Anderson
YR 1987
UL http://bjgp.org/content/37/295/52.abstract
AB A questionnaire on the views, beliefs and attitudes of doctors regarding alternative medicine was sent to 274 general practitioners. Of the 222 who replied, 31% said that they had a working knowledge of at least one form of alternative medicine, 29% had read publications on alternative medicine and 41% had attended lectures or classes in alternative medicine. Twelve per cent had received training and 42% wanted further training in an alternative form of medicine; 16% currently practised a form of alternative medicine. The majority of doctors (95%) said that patients had discussed alternative medicine with them during the past year and over half (59%) had referred patients to alternative practitioners. Forty-one per cent of doctors believed that alternative systems of medicine were valid and over half of the doctors (54%) defined alternative medicine as additional to western medicine, not taught in western medical schools or not available on the National Health Service, compared with only 16% who defined alternative medicine as unscientific.