ABSTRACT
National surveys of the general population indicate that increasing numbers of consumers are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States. Eisenberg et al. (1993; 1998) conducted nationally representative surveys that revealed a rise in consumer CAM use from 33.8% in 1990 to 42.1% in 1997. In these surveys, researchers also found increased out-of-pocket expenditures from $14.6 billion in 1990 to $21.2 billion in 1997 (Eisenberg et al., 1998). Increased consumer use has been evident for some time; in 1991, the U.S. Congress mandated legislation in support of the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine, later renamed the National Center on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). The NCCAM budget for fiscal year 2005 is $121 million, to be used for the purpose of conducting research, providing education, and disseminating authoritative information.
