More than half of these Americans paid for the entire cost of treatment themselves,
contributing to the estimated $27 billion spent on alternative medicine treatments in
1997—almost equal to U.S. consumers’ out-of-pocket expenses for conventional physi-
cian’s services in the same time period. In total, Americans made 629 million visits to
alternative healers in 1997, nearly 243 million more visits than to all U.S. primary
care physicians. While no comparable survey results have been published since then,
all indications are that Americans have continued to embrace alternative therapies,
most likely at an accelerating rate. Clearly, alternative medicine is a big business.
The mainstream medical community can no longer ignore alternative therapies. The
public interest is extensive and growing. You have only to look at the proliferation of
popular health books, health food stores, and clinics offering healing therapies to
realize that this interest cannot be dismissed. In other words, Americans want some-
thing more than biomedicine, and they are willing to pay for it.Why Are People Turning to Alternative Medicine?
Some people have the same goal for both conventional and alternative medicine,
such as the use of both pain medications and acupuncture to control chronic pain.
Others may have a different expectation for each approach: For example, seeing a
conventional practitioner for antibiotics to eradicate an infection, and then using an
alternative practitioner to improve natural immunity through a healthy lifestyle.
Someone receiving chemotherapy may use meditation and visualization to control
the side effects of the chemotherapeutic agents. People who combine conventional
and alternative therapies are making therapeutic choices on their own and assum-
ing responsibility for their own health (see Table 1.1).Table 1.1 Thirteen Top Reasons People Seek Alternative Therapies,
1990–1997
Problem Percentage of Sufferers
Neck problems 57
Back problems 48
Anxiety 43
Depression 41
Headaches 32
Arthritis 27
GI problems 27
Fatigue 27
Insomnia 264 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TOALTERNATIVE MEDICINE