Is the complementary and alternative medicine intervention evidence-based? a users’ guide to the medical literature

Abstract

As with conventional medical practices, the physician has the responsibility to assess the evidence related to safety and effectiveness for a complementary and alternative medicine treatment (CAMT) before recommending or implementing it. The same evidence-based steps used for the assessment and evaluation of conventional medical literature apply when considering the use of CAMT. These are as follows: 1) identifying why a CAMT is sought or being used; 2) finding relevant clinical data from randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, or observational research; 3) assessing the quality of these data using a set of simple screening questions; 4) examining the population studied in these studies for its match to the patient being treated; 5) identifying those interventions that are potentially toxic and high cost; and 6) exploring the beliefs that physician and patient hold about the therapy. On the basis of the information from these six steps, the physician and patient then can decide whether a CAMT may be useful, is at least harmless or should be avoided.