ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE AND ETHICS

Leading bioethicists and philosophers examine and debate the question of how the health care system should deal with using complimentary and alternative medicines. The distinguished authorities writing here both defend and criticize alternative medicine, with some arguing that the medical system should change substantially in order to accommodate alternative medicine, and others claiming that virtually all alternative treatments are worthless. In the heat of the debate many fundamental issues are raised concerning our health care system, among them the questions of therapeutic effectiveness, media truthfulness, the patient’s freedom to choose among treatment options, health insurance coverage, the ability of the current healthcare delivery system to meet patients’ needs, and government approval of alternative medicines.