Consider the Alternatives
In
1993, a New England Journal of Medicine survey shocked physicians:
One-third of their patients were turning to alternative medicine; 72
percent of those folks weren't telling their doctors about it; and they
were spending $10.3 billion for such therapies.
David Eisenberg conducted that survey. He updated it
in 1997 and published the results in the November 11, 1998, Journal
of the American Medical Association. Eisenberg, who directs a center
for research into and education about alternative medicine at Boston's
Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center, found that visits to alternative
practitioners grew from 427 million in 1990 to 629 million in 1997 while
visits to conventional physicians dropped to 386 million from 388 million
in 1990.
The survey found yearly expenses were $12.2 billion
for visits to alternative therapists (most not covered by insurance),
$5.1 billion on herbal remedies, $3.3 billion for high dose vitamins,
$1.7 billion for diet products and $4.7 billion for books, classes and
related materials.
What is alternative medicine? The 1997 survey listed
acupuncture, massage therapy, biofeedback, megavitamins, homeopathy,
relaxation techniques, guided imagery, spiritual healing by others,
commercial diets, folk remedies, hypnosis, diets like those based on
vegetarianism or macrobiotics, herbal remedies and forms of energy healing
that involve touch, magnets or other devices.
The 1993 article in the New England Journal
prompted its deputy editor, Edward Campion, to ask in an accompanying
essay: "Has the American public forsaken medicine for herbs and crystal
healing?" The 1998 JAMA issue had no accompanying swipes. Instead,
JAMA editor George Lundberg wrote: "There is no alternative medicine.
There is only scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine supported
by solid data or unproved medicine, for which scientific evidence is
lacking."
What a difference five years makes.
The studies published in November '98 provided evidence
that some alternative approaches worked; others did not. Instead of
name-calling, conventional medicine is moving toward doing what it does
well: rigorous testing.
Meanwhile, medical schools are debating whether, how
and how much to teach their students about these alternative therapies.
The dean of KU's School of Medicine, Deborah Powell,
says: "The job of academic medical centers is to explore new diagnostic
and treatment modalities that come to our attention and conduct appropriate
research to mainstream them when they seem to offer a good choice."
A task force is working on the question of what the
school should be teaching its students about alternative therapies.
It will find KU faculty who are able to offer everything from anecdotal
testimony to research-based advice about the merit of various therapies.
