Oxford Handbook of Complementary Medicine (Oxford Handbooks) [Vinyl Bound]

Edzard Ernst (Author), Max H Pittler (Author), Barbara Wider (Author), Kate Boddy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0199206775 | ISBN-13: 978-0199206773 | Edition: 1

The Oxford Handbook of Complementary Medicine presents evidence-based information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in an easily accessible form, thereby enabling hospital doctors, GPs, nurses, medical students and other healthcare professionals to competently advise patients about CAM treatments.

The book covers such things as definitions, cost, safety, regulation, legal and ethical issues and a range of practical issues, diagnostic techniques, and risk-benefit assessments of complementary therapies and medicines. The main part of the book is organised by condition, outlining for each the CAM treatments available, ranked according to level of evidence of effectiveness, followed by a concise clinical bottom line assessing risks and benefits, and their effectiveness in relation to conventional treatment.

Evaluations are presented in a precise, matter-of-fact fashion, avoiding the sometimes obscure jargon of CAM. Many issues surrounding CAM remain controversial and this handbook discusses them openly and critically.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This pocket-sized book is packed with well set out information...The brevity of style makes the book user-friendly... provides clear concise descriptions."--International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care Newsletter

"This pocket-sized book is packed with well set out information...The brevity of style makes the book user-friendly... provides clear concise descriptions."--International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care Newsletter

"[The book] covers a vast array of complementary therapies...an excellent resource for a wide range of medical practitioners to enable informed and reasoned discussion of CAM therapies."--The New Zealand Medical Journal

About the Author

Professor Ernst qualified as a physician in Germany where he also completed his MD and PhD theses. He was Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) at Hannover Medical School (Germany) and Head of the PMR Department at the University of Vienna (Austria). He came to the University of Exeter in 1993 to establish the first Chair in Complementary Medicine. He is founder/Editor-in-Chief of two medical journals (FACT ('Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies') and 'Perfusion'). His work has been awarded with 13 scientific prizes/awards and two Visiting Professorships. He served on the 'Medicines Commission' of the British 'Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency' (1994 - 2005) and on the 'Scientific Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products' of the 'Irish Medicines Board'. In 1999 he took British nationality. Publications: >1000 papers in the peer-reviewed literature, 39 books (translated into 5 5 languages). About five hundred invited international lectures. Dr Pittler is a physician and deputy director of Complementary Medicine at the Peninsula Medical School of the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth. He holds an MD in Applied Physiology from the University of Freiburg, Germany and a PhD in Medical Sciences from the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, UK. He is founding associate editor of the review journal FACT - Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies and co-editor of 4 books including the desktop guide to complementary medicine (Mosby/Elsevier), numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. Barbara Wider, MA (Exeter, UK), Staatsexamen (Freiburg, Germany) is a Research Fellow in Complementary Medicine at the Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, UK. With a background in humanities, earth sciences and European studies, Barbara studied at the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), Montpellier (France) and Exeter (UK) and worked as an assistant researcher and tutor in Germany and France before joining the Complementary Medicine group in Exeter in 1996. She is co-author/editor of three books including the Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Elsevier, 2006), several book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. Barbara also edits the journal FACT (Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies), a quarterly review journal of complementary medicine research.

Product Details

• Vinyl Bound: 512 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (May 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199206775
• ISBN-13: 978-0199206773
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,391,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)