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Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152:606.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

I was surprised to read in the ARCHIVES that next November's issue will feature articles on "Alternative Medicine."¹ I assume that your intention is a critical approach to this subject. I was wondering, however, whether you realize that with this presentation you unintentionally legitimize alternative medicine in a journal issued under the auspices of the American Medical Association. The very name of "alternative medicine" implies the existence of another medicine whose theory is not based on science and whose practice does not follow the time-honored art of diagnosis and therapy. Furthermore, "alternative medicine" is not practiced by medical graduates and does not follow the principles set by Hippocrates. The purpose of this presentation is not clear and its implications will be harmful to the profession and our patients. Your initiative is particularly irritating when one considers the chronic conditions so frequently seen in pediatric patients and the despair their parents . . . [Full Text of this Article]