French law faced with the ambiguity of health care

Background: The use of unconventional care practices concerns a large proportion of the French population. Some are used by health professionals and are integrated into conventional care. Others are practiced in complete autonomy. The question of the involvement of the state and representatives of unregulated professions in integrative-medicine training and certain unconventional practices is, however, the subject of debate in France and a consensus is yet to be reached.

Objective: This article gives an overview of unconventional care practices and the civil and criminal liability of its practitioners, and proposes measures to take. Results: Our analysis identifies certain shortcomings in unconventional care practices and recommends a certain number of “good practices.” Conclusion: A structured approach to integrative medicine and its teaching in France would allow patients to have safe access to certain relevant practices and enable France to join the many countries that are ahead of it in this field (Switzerland, Germany).