Normal medical practice of referring patients for complementary therapies among Australian general practitioners

Abstract

Objectives: Assessing the extent to which general practitioners (GPs) accept complementary therapies as normal medical practice.

Design: An examination of two Australian surveys of GPs undertaken in Tasmania and Victoria in 1997.

Outcome measures: Type of referral (to doctors or non-medical therapists) and therapy. Levels of acceptance. Basis for judgement of acceptability.

Results: In Tasmania 66% of GPs referred patients to doctors - primarily for acupuncture and hypnotherapy. Fifty-five per cent referred patients to non-medical practitioners - primarily for chiropractic, massage and osteopathy. In Victoria the rate of referral was 93%. Most GPs accepted acupuncture as a normal, but not orthodox, therapy. There are varying levels of acceptance of other complementary therapies and GPs judge by assessing safety and therapeutic value.

Conclusion: Some complementary therapies are clearly part of normal, if not orthodox, practice in Australia. Discussion of complementary therapies in medicine must consider the differential levels of acceptance of different therapies.