Emerging Industry Overview: Alternative Medicine
Industry Snapshot
Alternative medicine is for the most part a Western term. Worldwide, the use of such methods as acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbal remedies, homeopathy, and hypnotherapy has been part of the medical mainstream for centuries. For this reason, the undeniable growth of the alternative medicine industry in the United States represents a dramatic shift not only in the traditional Western medical industry but in Western thought itself. Historically, alternative therapies such as those mentioned above were used by only a small portion of the population in the United States and were considered by many Western...