Aust Health Rev. 1983 Dec; 6(5): 118-21.

Alternative health technologies.

Wells R.

The uncritical reporting of medical break-throughs has created unrealistic public expectations about the prevailing medical model of health care. These expectations constrain rational planning to produce "Health for All by 2000". The medical model has many limitations and "Health for All" will require the employment of ancillary and in part alternative strategies. A growing reaction against some of the perceived defects in health care provided by medical and other legally registered health workers is maintaining a market for so called alternative medicine. This takes many forms, some of which are currently undervalued and underused by the medical and allied health professions, but many of which will impede progress to "Health for All". The latter will not go away by being ignored by the medical and allied professions. They should be exposed, equally with officially sponsored forms of health care, to the light of scientific evaluation and public policy debate.