Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) describes many diverse forms of treatment that are used in addition to (complementary) or instead of (alternative) conventional medical treatments. CAM encompasses a wide range of products, with varying sources of evidence on their efficacy, and a history of use related to cultural and traditional values as well as on the basis of consumer health preferences.

In practice, most of the time you will be looking into the safety aspects of these medicines. Although a few studies have reported favourably on the use of selected CAM preparations, for most alternative medicines there remains a lack of good quality research-based evidence for efficacy or tolerability.

Accreditation number for this module: S2019/107

This module has been accredited for 1 hour of Group-1 CPD (or 1 CPD credit) or 1 hour of Group-2 CPD (or 2 CPD credits) upon successful completion of the module's Test yourself multiple choice questions, suitable for inclusion in an individual pharmacist’s CPD plan.