Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

Today, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are everywhere: in the media, at the mall, in the drug store, and even in medical journals. It’s taken a while for the world of conventional Western medicine to catch on, but as more people, young and old, turn to the realm of holistic, herbal, and spiritual healing, major medical institutions are stepping up to the plate. They are beginning to investigate the effectiveness and safety of these therapies, and have even begun integrating some of these techniques into their own medical approach.


What is CAM? The US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines it as "medical practices that are not commonly used, accepted, or available in conventional medicine." At present, this umbrella term includes many therapies. Among these are herbal medicine, homeopathy, hypnosis, ayurvedic medicine from India, traditional Chinese medicine, chiropractic, faith healing, and others. Currently, medical science is trying to distinguish among those therapies that are safe and effective, those that are effective but may carry health risks, those that are ineffective, and those that are both ineffective and unsafe.


In recent years, the popularity of alternative and complementary therapies has increased dramatically. Studies published by Eisenberg and colleagues at Harvard Medical School documented that 42 percent of adults in the United States (82 million people) routinely use complementary medical therapies to treat their most common medical conditions. In 1997, Americans made an estimated 629 million office visits to complementary therapy providers and spent an estimated $27 billion out-of-pocket on complementary care. Harvard researchers have also documented that most Americans use complementary and alternative therapies as adjuncts to – rather than as replacement for – conventional medical care.


Despite the growing popularity of such approaches, many people do not seek out alternatives to conventional medical care. In a survey in 2000 of its readers, Consumer Reports found that 65percent of the 46,000 respondents did not use alternative therapies, saying they were satisfied with standard medical treatment. This survey was not a scientific sampling of the population at large. But it did reveal an interesting, positive result: a majority of respondents said they tell their doctors about their use of alternative therapies – 60 percent according to the survey.
That’s good news because, as late as 1998, a national survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reported that many patients were reluctant to discuss complementary therapies with their doctors as many physicians were unsympathetic toward – or just plain uninformed about – complementary therapies. But that is changing. Most doctors now acknowledge the widespread use of complementary medicine. And it is important for patients to keep their doctors informed so that they can stay alert for possible drug-herb interactions and even learn from patients who have found a beneficial therapy.


What else is happening? Employers are jumping on the bandwagon, although not in the numbers expected. A survey in 2000 of 30 large US national employers revealed that 76 percent offer insurance coverage for at least one form of complementary therapy. But 75 percent of employers said that the main obstacle to adding or expanding such coverage was the lack of evidence-based clinical research into the effectiveness of complementary therapies.


That criticism is right on the mark. It’s true that in many cases, there is not enough research concerning either the effectiveness or safety of CAM therapies. But that is changing. The US government agencies and major medical institutions are beginning to fund education and long-overdue research.By 1998, 64 percent of US mainstream medical schools were offering elective or required courses in alternative medicine.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/health-and-family/161691/should-you-consider-alternative-medicine

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