Alternative medicine in Russian province

Abstract

The article is about the instututionalisation of actors of the alternative medicine field in framework of a changing social policy in Russia. Institutionalization of medical experts is related to their world view, professional identity, relations with colleagues and patients, conditioned by socio-cultural context. The degree of integration of alternative experts into the professional community of health care providers is defined by a number of interrelated factors, including the nature of legal regulation of their activity, the degree of its legitimization. These factors effect the status of alternative medical practitioners on the service market and their participation in realization of health care policy.