title: [Complementary Medicine - a critical analysis].
abstract: Complementary medicine is a complex field, which has gained importance particularly due to its wide-spread use. Here I try to review this area briefly but critically. My conclusion is that issues such as efficacy and safety of complementary techniques can and should be researched systematically and rigorously.
authors.affiliation: Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter & Plymouth, Exeter, UK. Edzard.Ernst@pms.ac.uk
authors.forename: Edzard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ernst
mesh_terms: D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research; D018570:Risk Assessment