J Altern Complement Med. 2001 ; 7 Suppl 1(): S139-43.

Publication of complementary and alternative medicine research in mainstream biomedical journals.

Fontanarosa PB.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Chicago, IL 60620, USA. phil_fontanarosa@ama-assn.org

The growing interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among the public, patients, physicians, and academic medical centers has been accompanied by an increasing amount of research and publication of articles on unconventional medicine in mainstream biomedical journals. This presentation highlights recent trends in the publication of research articles on CAM therapies in major medical journals; delineates issues related to journal policies, scientific evaluation, and editorial decision-making regarding submitted manuscripts; and discusses the role of leading medical journals in providing reliable, evidence-based information on complementary and alternative medicine to the medical community and the public.