Theoretical Collaboration Methods

The health care industry has a variety of policies and standards regarding coverages for alternative medicine modalities. From a sociological standpoint, unconventional, alternative, or unorthodox therapies refer to medical practices that are not in conformity with the standards of the medical community. The New England Journal of Medicine defines unconventional therapies, "as medical interventions not taught widely at U.S. medical schools or generally available at U.S. hospitals. Examples include acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage therapy"(1993). Coverages vary widely among conventional carriers, preferred providers as well as the omnipresent Health Maintenance Organizations ("HMO"). The primary emphasis and, for
If this proves to be a fallacious statement, by concluding that section j was an attempt to deem that alternative medicine as an experimental service; then one might conclude that Kaiser dismisses alternative medicine treatment altogether by not including them in their coverage plan at all. Either way Kaiser must view alternative medicine as being inadequate or inappropriate treatment for illness, providing relief of symptoms or improving their patients degree of health. Preventive medicine, wellness and alternative therapies are fundamental components of a growing national trend. According to a survey conducted by The Journal of the American
However, the trend seems to be towards acceptance of alternative medical practices. A telephone poll of 500 American adults was taken from TIME/CNN on October 23, 1991 by Yankelovich Clancy Shulman that contained three questions about their use of alternative medicine. The results of the survey were: 31 percent of the poll sought medical help from a chiropractor, 6 percent sought help from an acupuncturist, 5 percent went to an herbalist, 3 percent visited a homeopathic doctor, and 2 percent sought help from a faith healer. When those who had sought medical help from alternative medicine providers where asked if they would go back to an alternative doctor, 84 percent of them said yes, and only 10 percent answered no, with the 6 percent of ‘not sures' being omitted. Among those who had not sought help from a practitioner of alternative medicine, 62 percent said that they would consider seeking medical help from an alternative doctor if conventional medicine failed to help them(Wallis, 1991). If a high percentage of illnesses are truly