How is an alternative medicine doctor different from conventional doctors? For those seeking answers to their illnesses, injuries or health care, seeking different doctors and treatments is a growing trend across America and around the world. Alternative medicine doctors often treat patients with herbs, nutrients and therapies such as acupuncture or massages to treat certain ailments. If an alternative health therapy is practiced along with conventional medicine it is known as complementary and alternative medicine. More and more people are seeking out non-traditional approaches when treating themselves as alternative medicine is now a $15 billion dollar a year business in the United States alone.