ABSTRACT
The field of complementary medicine is moving and developing at a great pace. Many important milestones have been achieved. However, there is work to be done to address evidence and policy issues. In order to understand the current state and status of Complementary and alternative medicine, some historical context is required. Key moments in the development of complementary medicine in the West and an understanding of the social construction of medical knowledge provide insight into the present state of this fascinating area. The establishment of the Cochrane Centre in the United Kingdom in 1992 and the new emphasis on evidence-based medicine threatened to continue the policy of apartheid and the entrenchment of orthodox medicine as the establishment. Public interest continued to develop, and people consulted complementary practitioners in ever-increasing numbers in the West, as Kelner and Wellman have described. The development of medicine is embedded in culture, context and economics.
