Complementary therapy and prioritisation of healthcare funding

Abstract

Alternative medicine has reached our shores and is becoming increasingly popular. We now also have such practitioners making a claim on public funding for their area, seemingly in common with `traditional` medicine (Weekender, April 27,2002). What`s wrong with that, one might ask? For a start, alternative medicine is unregulated and untested. It does not undergo stringent medical trials to confirm that the medicine or procedure actually works-and to exclude, as far as possible, drugs or procedures that harm. That does not mean to say that they don’t work - in fact, many of our medicines today were originally identified through observations that certain herbs or plants do. For example, digoxin, which is a commonly used medicine prescribed to cardiac patients, was originally extracted from the foxglove. However, there is plenty of evidence that herbal medicines may also cause harm. Some years ago, a popular variety of herbal tea was withdrawn in the UK after it was found to be associated with hepatic fibrosis - a potentially fatal medical condition. They may also cause interactions with other medication the patient may be taking, causing them to work differently or not at all. So, although they may be helpful, they have not been sufficiently investigated to be considered harmless, as their suppliers very often paint them to be!