7 Proven Ways to Build Credibility with GPs and Conventional Healthcare by Jayney Goddard MSc PG Dip Ed, FCMA, FRSM. President, The Complementary Medical Association

Complementary and integrative practitioners can build credibility with conventional healthcare by communicating professionally, respecting their scope of practice, and positioning themselves as allies in patient safety. This matters because complementary medicine use is mainstream in the UK, with one-year prevalence estimated at roughly 26–41% of the population, yet much of it goes undisclosed to doctors — a communication gap that raises real risks such as undetected herb–drug interactions. The barrier is often anticipated rather than actual: while only around 13% of complementary practitioners perceive conventional providers as open to contact, surveys show UK physicians already refer patients to complementary therapies in about 39% of cases. Seven evidence-based strategies help bridge the divide: leading with the patient rather than the modality, writing concise GP-friendly referral letters, respecting professional boundaries, making safety a shared language, keeping professional records, building relationships before they are needed, and demonstrating recognised standards such as CMA membership, insurance and CPD.

 

Early in my career, I sat across from a new client who had spent twenty minutes apologising before she would even tell me what had brought her to my practice. Her GP, she said, had “rolled his eyes” when she mentioned she was seeing a complementary practitioner. She had come to me almost in secret, and she fully intended to keep it that way. What struck me was not her doctor’s scepticism – that I could understand – but the fact that her care had been split into two halves that were never going to speak to one another. She was the one left standing in the gap.

That moment shaped how I have thought about our profession ever since. If we want complementary and integrative medicine to be taken seriously – and, more importantly, if we want our clients to receive joined-up, genuinely safe care – then learning to build credibility with conventional healthcare is not optional. It is central to good practice. The encouraging news is that the evidence shows it is entirely achievable, and that conventional colleagues are often far more open than we assume.

Why interprofessional working matters more than ever

Let us start with the scale of the issue. Complementary medicine is not a fringe pursuit in the UK; it is mainstream behaviour. A systematic review of UK surveys found average one-year prevalence of complementary medicine use ranging from around 26% in the most methodologically robust studies to 41% across all surveys, with lifetime use as high as 44–52%.^[1] In other words, a substantial proportion of the patients sitting in every GP’s waiting room are already using the kinds of approaches we offer.  (Please note that I’ve not been able to find any research that gives more up-to-date statistics; however, judging by the enormous increase in membership of the Complementary Medical Association across all membership sectors (practitioner, Fellow, Student, Training School, Approved Supplier, Clinic, Spa and Retreat), it indicates that the profession has grown dramatically. From that, we can extrapolate that the demand is higher than ever.*)

The difficulty is that parallel care (complementary alongside conventional) frequently happens in silence. A systematic review and meta-analysis of disclosure rates found that a large share of patients simply do not tell their doctors about the complementary medicine they use. The reasons are revealing: doctors not asking, patients fearing disapproval, a belief that it was not important enough to mention, an assumption that the doctor would not know anything about it, and the conviction that what they were using was “natural” and therefore safe.^[2] Notice how many of those reasons are about communication and relationship rather than the therapy itself.

This silence carries real clinical risk. The interaction between herbal products and prescribed medicines is a recognised and growing concern in primary care, where polypharmacy is common and practitioners across both systems often lack a full picture of what a patient is taking. Undetected interactions can blunt the effect of essential medicines, amplify them dangerously, or contribute to adverse events – St John’s Wort and serotonergic medicines being one well-documented example.^[3] When we communicate openly with a client’s GP, we are not surrendering our autonomy. We are closing a safety gap that nobody else is positioned to close.

The myth of the closed door

Many practitioners hold back from contacting conventional colleagues because they expect to be rebuffed. The evidence offers a more nuanced and rather hopeful picture. A survey of complementary medicine practitioners working with cancer patients found that 40% had been in contact with their clients’ conventional healthcare providers, and that the single strongest predictor of whether that contact happened was the practitioner’s perception that the doctor was open to it.^[4] The barrier, in other words, is often anticipated rejection rather than actual rejection.

And conventional medicine is not as uniformly hostile as the stereotype suggests. A UK systematic review of physicians found that, on average, around 39% had referred patients to complementary therapies and 46% had recommended them – despite the fact that only about a tenth had received any formal training in the field.^[5] There is appetite for collaboration. What is frequently missing is a credible, professional bridge. That bridge is precisely what each of us can build.

1. Lead with the patient, never the modality

The fastest way to lose a conventional colleague is to open with a defence of your therapeutic system. The fastest way to earn their attention is to demonstrate that your first concern, like theirs, is the person in front of you. When you make contact with a GP, frame everything around the client’s wellbeing and safety: what you are seeing, what you are doing, and what you think the wider team should be aware of. Shared concern for the patient is the common language of all healthcare, and it dissolves a remarkable amount of professional wariness.

2. Write letters that speak your colleague’s language

A GP has minutes, not hours. A rambling, jargon-laden letter will be skimmed and filed; a crisp, structured one will be read and respected. Borrow the conventions of conventional practice. State who you are and your qualifications in one line, summarise the client’s presentation, outline what you are providing, flag anything relevant to their medical care – particularly any supplements or herbs with interaction potential – and make any request explicit. Keep it to a single side of paper. Communicating in a format your colleague already trusts signals competence before they have read a word of the detail.

You will find an excellent template that the CMA has prepared for our Members when you log in to your Membership section here on this website. This template will make it quick and easy for you to communicate effectively with your clients, GP, and other medical professionals.

3. Be scrupulous about scope of practice

Nothing erodes credibility faster than appearing to practise medicine you are not qualified to practise. Never advise a client to stop, start or alter a prescribed medication; that is a conversation for them and their prescriber. Please be clear in your own mind and in your communications about where your expertise ends and whether you are referring your client on or working alongside conventional care.

Conventional colleagues extend trust far more readily to practitioners who demonstrate that they understand and respect professional boundaries. Knowing the edges of your competence is itself a mark of professionalism.

4. Make safety your shared language

If you take only one practical message from this article, let it be this: position yourself as an ally in patient safety. When you proactively flag a potential herb–drug interaction, ask whether a client has disclosed a supplement to their pharmacist, or encourage someone to tell their GP what they are taking, you are doing exactly what the evidence shows conventional medicine most needs from us.^[3] Encourage every client to be open with their doctor, and explain why it protects them. A practitioner who is visibly safety-conscious is a practitioner worth referring to.

5. Document and communicate professionally

Credible professions keep credible records. Maintain clear, contemporaneous notes; obtain informed consent; and, with the client’s permission, be willing to share appropriate information with the rest of their care team. Shared records and regular, professional communication are repeatedly identified as the mechanisms that make integrative care work in practice. Good documentation also protects you, and it demonstrates that you operate to a recognised standard rather than on instinct alone.

6. Build the relationship before you need it

The time to introduce yourself to local GP practices, pharmacists and allied health professionals is not the moment a complex case lands on your table. Relationships built in advance are the ones that hold under pressure. Consider writing a brief, factual introduction to your practice and the conditions you commonly support, offering to be a resource. An evidence-based summary of your modality – honest about both what it can and cannot do – is one of the most effective tools for building a doctor’s confidence in you. Familiarity, cultivated patiently, becomes trust.

7. Let your standards speak for you

Finally, demonstrate that you belong to a profession with standards. Membership of a recognised and globally respected body body such as The CMA, appropriate professional indemnity insurance, a commitment to continuing professional development (CMA CPD), and ethical, non-exaggerated advertising all tell a conventional colleague that you take your responsibilities as seriously as they take theirs. Credibility is not a single grand gesture; it is the cumulative weight of many small signals that say, “I am safe to work with.”

Handling scepticism with grace

You will, on occasion, meet genuine resistance. When you do, resist the urge to argue your modality’s case point by point. Acknowledge the concern, return the focus to the shared patient, and let your conduct – your professionalism, your respect for boundaries, your evident concern for safety – make the argument for you over time. Credibility earned this way is far more durable than any debate won. The colleague who watched you handle a difficult case well will remember it long after they have forgotten any study you might have cited.

The client I described at the start eventually gave me permission to write to her GP. I kept it short, factual and centred entirely on her. Her doctor did not become an enthusiast overnight – but he did write back, and the next client he sent my way came through the front door, not the side one. That, in the end, is what building credibility with conventional healthcare is for: not our professional vanity, but the simple, profound benefit of care that finally works as one.

CMA CPD Reflective Practice – Build Credibility with GPs and Conventional Healthcare

Use the prompts below to reflect on your own interprofessional practice. Recording your reflections, and any resulting changes to your practice, contributes towards your continuing professional development. this CMA CPD activity is valued at one hour.

• Think of a recent client who was also under the care of a GP or consultant. Did the two halves of their care communicate? If not, what held you back from making contact?
• How confident are you that your clients routinely disclose their complementary medicine use to their doctors? What could you change in your intake or consent process to encourage this?
• Review how you would structure a referral or update letter to a GP. Does it lead with the patient and their safety? Could a busy colleague absorb it in under a minute?
• Identify one local conventional or allied health professional you could introduce yourself to this month, before a clinical need arises.
• What is one concrete action you will take in the next four weeks to strengthen your credibility with conventional healthcare colleagues? Diarise a date to review whether you did it.

After you have finished your Reflective Practice exercise, you can earn 1 hour of CMA CPD by uploading after you have finished your reflective practice exercise, you can earn one hour of CMA CPD by uploading this here on the Complementary Medical Association website.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can complementary practitioners build credibility with GPs and conventional healthcare?

Complementary and integrative practitioners build credibility with conventional healthcare by communicating professionally, respecting the limits of their scope of practice, and positioning themselves as allies in patient safety. Seven evidence-based strategies are especially effective: leading with the patient rather than the modality, writing concise GP-friendly referral letters, never advising clients to alter prescribed medication, making safety a shared priority, keeping professional records, building relationships before a clinical need arises, and demonstrating recognised standards such as CMA membership, indemnity insurance and continuing professional development.

Are GPs open to complementary medicine referrals?

Many GPs are more open than practitioners expect. A UK systematic review found that, on average, around 39% of physicians had referred patients to complementary therapies and 46% had recommended them, despite only about a tenth having received formal training in the field. The main barrier to interprofessional contact is usually anticipated rejection rather than actual rejection: just 13% of complementary practitioners in one survey perceived conventional providers as open to communication, even though the providers’ openness was the single strongest predictor of whether contact happened.

Why should patients disclose their complementary medicine use to their doctor?

Disclosure protects the patient. Complementary medicine use is common in the UK – one-year prevalence is estimated at roughly 26–41% of the population – yet much of it goes untold to doctors, often because the doctor never asked or the patient assumed it was unimportant. This silence carries real clinical risk, as undetected herb–drug interactions can reduce the effectiveness of prescribed medicines or amplify them dangerously. Encouraging clients to be open with their GP closes a safety gap that no single practitioner can close alone.

What should a complementary practitioner include in a referral letter to a GP?

A referral or update letter to a GP should be concise, factual and centred on the patient. State your name and qualifications in a single line, summarise the client’s presentation, outline the care you are providing, flag anything relevant to their medical treatment – particularly any supplements or herbs with interaction potential – and make any request explicit. Keeping the letter to one side of paper, in the structured format conventional colleagues already trust, signals competence and respect for their time. Remember that all CMA members can access a helpful GP letter template in the membership section here on this website.

In closing

Building credibility with GPs and conventional healthcare is not about diluting what we do or apologising for it. It is about presenting our work with the professionalism, clarity and safety-consciousness that earn a colleague’s trust – and, in doing so, giving our clients the joined-up care they deserve. The evidence tells us the door is more open than we fear. It falls to each of us to walk through it well. Please be sure to log into the Membership section here on The CMA website in order to take advantage of the great number of useful professional templates that we have created for you.  These will make life in practice much more straightforward. 

References

1. *Posadzki P, Watson LK, Alotaibi A, Ernst E. Prevalence of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by patients/consumers in the UK: systematic review of surveys. Clinical Medicine (London). 2013;13(2):126–131. PMID: 23681857. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23681857/
2. Foley H, Steel A, Cramer H, Wardle J, Adams J. Disclosure of complementary medicine use to medical providers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Scientific Reports. 2019;9:1573. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-38279-8. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38279-8
3. Drug–herb interactions: a challenge and clinical concern in primary healthcare. Frontiers in Medicine. 2025. DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1657005. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1657005/full
4. Mentink M, Jansen J, Noordman J, van Vliet L, Busch M, van Dulmen S. Interprofessional contact with conventional healthcare providers in oncology: a survey among complementary medicine practitioners. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 2024;24:288. DOI: 10.1186/s12906-024-04563-6. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-024-04563-6
5. Posadzki P, Alotaibi A, Ernst E. Prevalence of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by physicians in the UK: a systematic review of surveys. 2012. PMID: 23342401. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23342401/

Please note there is a later meta-analysis that aims to ascertain the use of complementary therapies that was published in 2022 here:

About the author
Jayney Goddard MSc, PG Dip Ed, FCMA, FRSM, is the Founder and President of The Complementary Medical Association (CMA), a UK-based , global standards-setting organisation for complementary and integrative medicine. She has spent more than three decades championing evidence-based practice and raising professional standards across the field, and writes and lectures widely on integrative health, healthy ageing and longevity.