COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE Ethical and legal issues at the interface of complementary and conventional medicine

Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, University of Sydney, NSW. Ian H Kerridge, BMed(Hons), MPhil, FRACP, FRCPA, Associate Professor of Bioethics, and Director; John R McPhee, BCom(Hons)(LegStud), Honorary Associate in Health Law. Reprints will not be available from the authors. Correspondence: Associate Professor Ian H Kerridge, Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, Blackburn Building, D06, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006. [email protected] The Medical Journal of Australia ISSN: 0025729X 2 August 2004 181 3 164-166 ©The Medical Journal of Australia 2004 www.mja.com.au Complementary and alternative medicine had no compelling evidence base and that what rese done had substantial methodological flaws or systema As the risks and benefits of CAM and its int allopathic (conventional) medicines become better various ethical a d leg l issu s are raised. Moreover, re law, professional practice, healthcare policy and focused attention on the interface between compl