Complementary therapies and the general practitioner. A survey of Perth GPs.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge, attitudes and referral patterns of general practitioners (GPs) toward 10 specific complementary therapies.

METHOD: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional postal survey, conducted between July 1998 and August 1998 inclusive. A random selection of 200 male and 200 female Western Australian GPs residing in Perth and listed in the Australian Medical Association database file of registered GPs.

RESULTS: The response rate was 74.8% (n = 282). Over 90% of these GPs reported having been approached by more than 30 patients seeking their advice about complementary therapies in the past nine months. The majority of these patients were women, over the age of 35 years. Ten complementary therapies were listed in the questionnaire: acupuncture, hypnosis, meditation, spinal manipulation, yoga, homeopathy, herbal medicine, naturopathy, massage and aromatherapy. Just under half (132) of the respondents had undertaken studies in at least one of the listed complementary therapies, with over 60% reporting a wish for further training. Overall, 67.8% (191) of all respondents reported they were in favour of GP referrals to complementary therapists. However, 56.1% (158) were against complementary therapies being included in rebates for private health insurance. Overall, 75.0% (211) of GPs surveyed had already formally referred a patient to one or more of the listed therapies, the most frequent of these being acupuncture, massage, meditation, hypnosis and spinal manipulation as a part of their overall medical treatment.

CONCLUSION: Perth GPs have a high level of interest in complementary therapies. Government regulation and registration of complementary therapies is seen by GPs as important in order to ensure professional standards of practice. Given the high level of interest, provision of undergraduate and postgraduate education in complementary therapies could be considered. In addition, the development of clinical guidelines would be of benefit.