Summary

The Oxford Handbook of Complementary Medicine presents evidence-based information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in an easily accessible form, thereby enabling hospital doctors, GPs, nurses, medical students and other healthcare professionals to competently advise patients about CAM treatments.The book covers such things as definitions, cost, safety, regulation, legal and ethical issues and a range of practical issues, diagnostic techniques, and risk-benefit assessments of complementary therapies and medicines. The main part of the book is organised by condition, outlining for each the CAM treatments available, ranked according to level of evidence of effectiveness, followed by a concise clinical bottom line assessing risks and benefits, and their effectiveness in relation to conventional treatment. Evaluations are presented in a precise, matter-of-fact fashion, avoiding the sometimes obscure jargon of CAM. Many issues surrounding CAM remain controversial and this handbook discusses them openly and critically.