Panel debates use of alternative medicine

"How many scientists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one -- but the light bulb doesn't want to change." In this joking manner, Mark Micozzi of the American College of Physicians, a national specialty-physician group, described the most serious obstacle to incorporating alternative medicine into the practices of standard medical institutions. But Micozzi said that as today's society becomes increasingly aware of both the effectiveness and costs of its medical options, it is developing "the need" to change and become more accepting of alternative therapies. Micozzi was one of three experts on alternative medicine who spoke at the Annenberg School Tuesday night as part of the first New Health Symposium -- an 11-day series of more than 100 panel discussions designed to "explore new frontiers in health." The panel discussed the ways in which alternative medicine should be integrated with conventional medical practice in today's society. Alternative medicine -- which includes therapies such as acupuncture, herbal remedies, massage therapy and spiritual healing -- has existed since the very founding of medicine thousands of years ago, according to Paul Root Wolpe, a bioethicist at Penn's Center for Bioethics. However, he added, only recently has this form of medical treatment entered the spotlight and even become a popular option in the United States. Panelist and Folklore Professor David Hufford pointed out that the old American attitude of "don't tell a doctor what you think of him; he's the doctor" no longer exists in today's society. Instead, American patients research their ailments on the Internet, visit numerous doctors for second opinions and investigate their varying choices for treatment, Hufford added. With this dawning awareness of medical options, Hufford said, Americans are choosing alternative forms of medicine which often prove more cost-effective conventional forms. The panelists agreed that the best way for alternative medicine to coexist with conventional medicine is for the medical profession to co-opt alternative medicine as a viable form of treatment for physicians to use. "After all, how did conventional medicine finally get rid of homeopathy? The physicians asked the homeopathist to join them," Wolpe noted. He added that physicians now need to incorporate other alternative forms of medicine as well. Audience member Richard Biever, a Christian Science practitioner from Malvern, Pa., said he doesn't consider alternative medicine to be an alternative, since he uses spiritual healing as his only form of health care. "It was very encouraging to come and hear these distinguished guys talk about the general fallacy with conventional medicine," Biever said. Suburban Philadelphia residents and audience members Sharon Wakumski and Stephanie Wolf each said they share a life-long interest in alternative medicine and therapy. Wakumski, a psychic reader, said she "was interested in alternative medicine even before it became fashionable." She added that she often prescribes herbal remedies in her work. Wolf, a hands-on healer and massage therapist, said the symposium proved to her that alternative medicine is actually gaining more respect in the medical and academic communities.