Professionalization of alternative medicine between adaptation and exit: the case of homeopathy

For the past several years, conventional health care systems - often called ,,conventional medicine" - have been criticized widely. Reasons mentioned a re increasing costs and its ill equipment to handle multifaceted chronic il lnesses. Such a decline of legitimacy is paralleled by an increase of alter native and complementary medicine. As the example of homeopathy shall demon strate, successful strategies of professionalization in orthodox medicine c an not simply be applied to its,,holistic challengers". Important reasons t o be outlined encompass the economic impacts of health care which have reac hed both orthodox and alternative medicine as well.