A survey of primary care physicians’ perceptions of their patients’ use of complementary medicine
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TL;DR
Physicians underestimate the rate of complementary medicine use by patients, suggesting that many patients do not report such use to their physician.
Abstract
Physicians underestimate the rate of complementary medicine use by patients, suggesting that many patients do not report such use to their physician. Since alternative treatments are potentially harmful and may interact with conventional medications, physicians should be encouraged to communicate with patients about complementary medicine in general and herbal remedies in particular, and they should regularly include questions about their use when taking histories. They should also inform themselves about risks of alternative treatments particularly with herbal remedies, and have access to appropriate information systems.
