Nearly 70 percent of Americans turn to alternative forms of medicine ­ from acupuncture to tai chi and guided imagery ­ to cure their ills when regular medicine has failed.

This finding comes from a nationwide random telephone survey of 1,000 people done by the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention. The survey also shows that 56 percent of those interviewed believe their health plans should cover alternative care and they are willing to pay for it in their medical insurance premiums.

At the same time, half of the people who seek alternative practitioners still rely on traditional medicine for basic health care.

On average, participants in the study made four visits annually to conventional doctors.

Five years ago, a landmark survey by Harvard Medical School revealed that one in three Americans used non-traditional medicine, spending $14 billion a year in treatments. Earlier this year, a Los Angeles Times report said that alternative medicine is now an $18 billion industry and that Americans will spend $3.65 billion on herbal medicines this year, an almost 100 percent increase since 1994. California takes the lead in this trend.

Stanford's survey didn't include patient expenditures. Respondents said they would be willing to spend on average an additional $15 a month in health insurance for complementary services such as chiropractic, massage or acupuncture.