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Because of the uncertain nature of various alternative therapies and the wide variety of claims different practitioners make, alternative medicine has been a source of vigorous debate, even over the definition of "alternative medicine".〔(Can Mainstream Medicine and Alternative Therapies Coexist? )〕〔(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. – The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine – 12(7):601 )〕 Dietary supplements, their ingredients, safety, and claims, are a continual source of controversy. In some cases, political issues, mainstream medicine and alternative medicine all collide, such as in cases where synthetic drugs are legal but the herbal sources of the same active chemical are banned.〔(Former Surgeon General: Mainstream Medicine Has Endorsed Medical Marijuana | DrugReporter | AlterNet )〕 In other cases, controversy over mainstream medicine causes questions about the nature of a treatment, such as water fluoridation.〔(Informed Public Debate Needed On Water Fluoridation )〕 Alternative medicine and mainstream medicine debates can also spill over into freedom of religion discussions, such as the right to decline lifesaving treatment for one's children because of religious beliefs.〔(Book Review by Janice Dickin – Rennie B. Schoepflin; Christian Science on Trial: Religious Healing in America. )〕 Government regulators continue to attempt to find a regulatory balance.〔(Dietary Supplement Regulation: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Public Hearing )〕 Jurisdiction differs concerning which branches of alternative medicine are legal, which are regulated, and which (if any) are provided by a government-controlled health service or reimbursed by a private health medical insurance company. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – article 34 (''Specific legal obligations'') of the General Comment No. 14 (2000) on ''The right to the highest attainable standard of health'' – states that Specific implementations of this article are left to member states. Two governments, acting under the laws of their respective countries, maintain websites for public information making a distinction between "alternative medicine" and "complementary medicine". In North America, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) states: :"...people often use the words “alternative” and “complementary” interchangeably, but the two terms refer to different concepts: 'Complementary' generally refers to using a non-mainstream approach together with conventional medicine. 'Alternative' refers to using a non-mainstream approach in place of conventional medicine. True alternative medicine is not common. Most people use non-mainstream approaches along with conventional treatments. And the boundaries between complementary and conventional medicine overlap and change with time. For example, guided imagery and massage, both once considered complementary or alternative, are used regularly in some hospitals to help with pain management."() In the British Isles, the National Health Service (England)'s NHS Choices (owned by the Department of Health) states: :"Although 'complementary and alternative' is often used as a single category, it can be useful to make a distinction between complementary and alternative medicine. This distinction is about two different ways of using these treatments". "Treatments are sometimes used to provide an experience that is pleasant in itself. This can include use alongside conventional treatments, to help a patient cope with a health condition. When used this way the treatment is not intended as an alternative to conventional treatment. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says that use of treatments in this way can be called 'complementary medicine'. Treatments are sometimes used instead of conventional medicine, with the intention of treating or curing a health condition. The NCCIH says that use of treatments in this way can be called 'alternative medicine'. There can be overlap between these two categories. For example, aromatherapy may sometimes be used as a complementary treatment, and in other circumstances is used as an alternative treatment. A number of complementary and alternative treatments are typically used with the intention of treating or curing a health condition. Examples include: homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, chiropractic, herbalism."() == Evidence and Efficacy == As alternative medicine becomes more available in the Western world, and is increasingly incorporated into conventional healthcare systems, there is a growing demand for science-based evidence to verify the efficacy of these treatments.〔Barry, Christine (2006). The role of evidence in alternative medicine: Contrasting biomedical and anthropological approaches. Social Science and Medicine, 62(11): 2646-2657〕 In the regulation of alternative medicine, policy makers largely rely on biomedical approaches to evidence, such as the randomized clinical trial (RCT), which has been embraced as the ‘gold standard’ for assessing the effectiveness of all medicine and medical practices.〔Lock & Nguyen (2010). An Anthropology of Biomedicine. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell〕 While undoubtedly a useful scientific tool of analysis, the RCT, in its reductionist nature, can present difficulties in assessing those medicines falling outside of the biomedical framework.〔〔Thompson, Trevor DB (2004). Can the caged bird sing? Reflections on the application of qualitative research methods to case study design in homeopathic medicine. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 4(4)〕 The RCT, which only measures a small set of symptoms and effects, diminishes the complexity that is involved in the healing systems of some alternative medicines, such as in homeopathy.〔〔 Additionally, what constitutes as ‘evidence’ can vary greatly, ranging from the biomedical goal of establishing concrete, statistical results according to scientific criteria to a more holistic approach that examines the effects that a treatment has upon the patient’s overall life experience, including social, cultural, and physical factors.〔 In order to gain a more accurate picture of the true efficacy of alternative medicines, it is necessary to challenge the mainstream, biomedical definition of ‘evidence’ and to move outside of the exclusive use of the RCT in obtaining this evidence. Therefore, it may be useful to consider incorporating other forms of research, such as qualitative and ethnographic studies, in the regulation of alternative medicines.〔 The Formal Case Study (FCS), a systematic, qualitative research technique, has also been suggested as a feasible compromise between biomedical and anthropological approaches in researching alternative medicines.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Regulation of alternative medicine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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