Is it ethical for medical practitioners to prescribe alternative and complementary treatments that may lack an evidence base?

Kotsirilos, Vicki

doi:10.5694/mja11.10877

Topics

To the Editor: I am concerned that the viewpoints by Dwyer1 and Pirotta2 were published without establishing a clear definition of “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM).

Whole Health Medical Clinic, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: vicki.k@optusnet.com.au

Competing interests:

I was the Founder and Founding President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association.

1. Dwyer JM. Is it ethical for medical practitioners to prescribe alternative and complementary treatments that may lack an evidence base? — No. Med J Aust 2011; 195: 79. <MJA full text>
2. Pirotta MV. Is it ethical for medical practitioners to prescribe alternative and complementary treatments that may lack an evidence base? — Yes. Med J Aust 2011; 195: 78. <MJA full text>
3. Altman DG, Bland JM. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. BMJ 1995; 311: 485.
4. Consortium of Academic Centers for Integrative Medicine. Definition of integrative medicine (adopted May 2004). http://www.imconsortium.org/about/home.html (accessed Aug 2011).
5. Brown J, Morgan T, Adams J, et al. Complementary medicines information use and needs of health professionals: general practitioners and pharmacists. Sydney: National Prescribing Service, 2008. http://www.nps.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0020/66620/CMs_Report_-_HP_-_Apr_09.pdf (accessed Sep 2011).

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