Patterns of use of unconventional therapies in the medical outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in India

Abstract

Unconventional, alternative or unorthodox systems of treatment have become increasingly popular in recent years. We interviewed patients visiting the Internal Medicine outpatient department (OPD) for a period of 6 months regarding their use of unconventional therapies. Overall 76% of patients visiting the OPD had used one or more of the unconventional therapies in the past 1 year. Homeopathy was found to be the most frequently used alternative therapy (38.6%). A large number of patients used more than one unconventional therapy. Digestive problems, backache, joint pains and bronchial asthma were the most frequent conditions for which alternative therapies were used. Most patients who used alternative therapies used them on their own, without actually visiting a provider of such therapies. Because of the widespread use of alternative systems of medicine, efforts to enhance understanding about these forms of treatment have to be made.