ABSTRACT
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) encompasses a large variety of techniques which have little in common except that they are excluded from mainstream medicine, claim to offer help for a range of conditions, and pride themselves on a holistic approach to patient care. Some relate to therapeutic modalities, some to diagnostic techniques, and many include both diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. Since most of CAM is used as an adjunct to conventional treatments ‘complementary’ is a much more appropriate term than ‘alternative’. When used as a true alternative CAM almost invariably becomes a hazard to patients. Few differences exist in principle between pharmacotherapy and herbal therapy except that herbal remedies are multicomponent systems which render them pharmacologically more complex. The rules of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics also apply to herbal medicine. CAM is a very heterogeneous array of therapeutic and diagnostic techniques. Many of its modalities are hugely popular with patients.
