Primary Care Commons^™

Common Naturopathic Therapies For Chronic Conditions, Jordan E. Perlman

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Complementary and Alternative Medicine has started to achieve greater public prominence – many patients report satisfaction and believe these therapies are cost effective. Allopathic physicians are largely unfamiliar with the supplements prescribed by naturopathic doctors, and have trouble integrating these therapies into traditional treatment plans. Patients are not trained to evaluate the safety or efficacy of their medication regimens, and rely on their primary care physicians to provide that service -– even if the majority of their "medications" are supplements recommended by an "alternative" provider.