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Now,
what is the evidence for these things that draw patients for complementary and alternative
medicine, that’s made it so appealing? Well, the evidence, in terms of the effectiveness
of these practices, is largely rooted in anecdotes and tradition, not in rigorous journal
articles. Although there are beginning to be small studies, and as I’ll attempt to show
you, my colleagues and our many grantees in the growing community around the United
States, are doing a better job of developing evidence of that efficacy. There’s also growing evidence about safety. There is a concern
about safety, not only whether there is an inherent toxicity -- and most of these products
are safe, but there are some we know are not safe. But there’s a more pragmatic concern,
even for safe things, that a person will choose to use them in place of an effective
therapy or in addition to an effective therapy in some way, as I’ll show you,
interfering with that therapy. |