A “concerning” number of hospitals have no policy on complementary medicine practitioners or use by patients, despite the widespread use of alternative therapies, researchers say. 

They’ve called on hospitals to update or review their policies after their survey found a “substantial proportion” had no policies regarding complementary practitioners or patient use. 

Yet 60% of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy report using complementary medicines, say the team of University of Western Sydney researchers.

“Consistent policies across Australian hospitals, and staff and patient awareness of these policies, are important because of the widespread use of complementary medicine,” the authors wrote.