1 in 3 People Use Alternative Treatments—How to Choose What’s Best for You

The Smart Patient’s Playbook
Part 11
Save
1 in 3 People Use Alternative Treatments—How to Choose What’s Best for You
Illustration by The Epoch Times/Shutterstock
Updated:

Across the country, patients are building alternative treatments into their own treatment plans.

In 2022, 36.7 percent of adults reported using at least one complementary approach in the previous year, according to a JAMA analysis of National Health Interview Survey data—nearly double the percentage two decades earlier. Alternative forms of care include everything from guided imagery to traditional Chinese medicine.
One drug can lead to another. Doctors call it a prescribing cascade—and it often begins in predictable moments.
AD