title: Problems in the evaluation of alternative medicine.
abstract: Evaluation of alternative medicine poses paradigmatic as well as procedural difficulties. Difficulties faced by the scientific community in accepting the 'world view' of acupuncture and homeopathy are described, and possibilities for evaluating alternative medical paradigms are considered. A selection of randomized controlled trials are reviewed and weaknesses in protocol and method identified.
authors.affiliation: Institut Universitaire de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Patel
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D006705:Homeopathy; D006801:Humans; D059408:Pain Management; D011897:Random Allocation