The ethics of complementary medicine.

Complementary or alternative medicine (CM) is an area of intensive growth. At present about a third of the general population of the US use at least one form of complementary treatment.' In Europe its prevalence ranges from 49% in France to 24% in Denmark.2 In some countries (for instance Austria) CM can only be practised by physicians; in most countries, however, its practice is dominated by nonmedically qualified practitioners. This popularity of CM raises issues relating to its efficacy, safety and cost. It also raises ethical concerns which are often neglected. The following will address some important ethical issues relating to CM. The framework adopted here is the one by R Gillon.3 It is based on the four principles respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice which can be readily applied to CM.