To the Editor: Although the article by Dr
Wetzel and colleagues1 is a welcome addition to the scant
literature on medical education in alternative medicine, a sensitive
issue missing from the authors' comments was consideration of
the intention of these courses. Some believe that presentation of
information about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is, by
implication, advocacy of CAM. The fine line between conveying
information about a therapy and its clinical application vs
"how-to" instruction is a very important distinction. This
differentiation is reflected in the American Academy of Family
Physicians' recently issued policy on continuing medical accreditation
for courses addressing alternative medicine, which accepts the former
approach but disallows accreditation of courses including the latter
information.