Pluralism Here to Stay
Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor:

I would like to point out that the title of the Vitals Signs article "On Considering Alternative Medicine" (November 2001) and its text are not entirely consistent with each other.

While the text refers to the narrow issue of licensure of naturopathic doctors, the title itself suggests a broader approach to alternative (integrative) medicine.

I submit that the Massachusetts Medical Society should keep these two matters separate and not let its policy on the licensure issue color its attitude toward integrative medicine itself. To do otherwise would be a disservice to our members and to our patients, both of whom the Society serves as an advocate.

Medical pluralism is here to stay, and alternative medicine and its practitioners should not all be painted with the same brush.

Certainly, this was one of the many take-home messages from the presentation at our recent district society's winter meeting entitled "Integrative Medicine - Promises and Perils."

- Hubert I. Caplan, M.D., Newton