Complementary and conventional medicine in Switzerland: comparing characteristics of general practitioners.
OBJECTIVE
Do structural characteristics of general practitioners (GPs) who practice complementary medicine (CAM) differ from those GPs who do not? Assessed characteristics included experience and professional integration of general practitioners (GPs), workload, medical activities, and personal and technical resources of practices. The investigated CAM disciplines were anthroposophic medicine, homoeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, neural therapy and herbal medicine.


METHODS
We designed a cross-sectional study with convenience and stratified samples of GPs providing conventional (COM) and/or complementary primary care in Switzerland. The samples were taken from the database of the Swiss medical association (FMH) and from CAM societies. Data were collected using a postal questionnaire.


RESULTS
Of the 650 practitioners who were included in the study, 191 were COM, 167 noncertified CAM and 292 certified CAM physicians. The proportion of females was higher in the population of CAM physicians. Gender-adjusted age did not differ between CAM and COM physicians. Nearly twice as many CAM physicians work part-time. Differences were also seen for the majority of structural characteristics such as qualification of physicians, type of practice, type of staff, and presence of technical equipment.


CONCLUSIONS
The study results show that structural characteristics of primary health care do differ between CAM and COM practitioners. We assumed that the activities of GPs are defined essentially by analyzed structures. The results are to be considered for evaluations in primary health care, particularly when quality of health care is assessed.
Widmer
Marcel
M
Institute for Evaluative Research in Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Berne, Stauffacherstrasse 78, 3014 Berne, Switzerland. marcel.widmer@memcenter.unibe.ch
Herren
Sylvia
S
Dönges
Andreas
A
Marian
Florica
F
Busato
André
A
D000529:Complementary Therapies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010821:Physicians, Family; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland; D016526:Workload