Government review to probe efficiency and cost of natural therapies

HEALTH funds spent more than $113 million subsidising questionable natural therapies such as rolfing, naturopathy, aromatherapy and kinesiology in 2011-12 at the same time as they were unable to cover fully the medical bills of cancer patients.

The government has set up a review to investigate the clinical efficacy, cost effectiveness, safety and quality of natural therapies with a view to making budget savings.

From January 14 the natural therapies covered by the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate will be restricted to a list published by the government.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Baggoley, who is heading the review, told health fund chiefs earlier this month that 29 natural therapies would be subject to review.

The National Health and Medical Research Council will conduct a scientific literature review of the evidence for each of these therapies.

``Rebate changes from this initiative are not expected to have a material impact on private health insurance participation rates,'' he said.

The Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton is backing the review and says taxpayers ``can't subsidise everything''.

``Public money needs to be spent on things which have a chance of being cost effective,'' he said.

Consumers Health Forum Chief Carol Bennett questioned why health funds were funding treatment that ``have no demonstrated worth when they can't meet the basic health needs of people who have to cash in their life superannuation savings''.

Rolfing is based on the theory that the cause of human physical and emotional discomfort lies in our internal connective tissue and the relationship it has with the earth's gravitational field, and involves physical manipulation.

Kinesiology relies upon the muscle feedback system and aims to ``balance'' the bodies energies.

While City Clinic naturopath Kathy Harmer agreed that unproven natural therapies should not be subsidised, she said adding clinically proven natural products and supplements to health insurance rebates would take pressure off the medical industry. 

``There are some therapies that haven't had a lot of research or trials to show how effective they are which are on the registry when they don't need to be,'' said Ms Harmer.

``But I think it would be good to be able to claim a lot more for natural products and supplements, such as different herbal medicines and nutritional supplements like magnesium, which is used to treat different nutritional deficiencies.”

Alexander technique practitioner Michael Schellshear said a British Medical Journal study published in 2008 had backed the value of the Alexander Technique therapy which teaches people to alter their movement to deal with chronic back pain.

``It would meet the cost effectiveness guidelines set by Treasurer Wayne Swan,'' he said.

COMENT:

This article was published on October 4, 2012, in The New York Times, and it was written by Jane Hoxen, after a meeting abouts the trimmings in American healthcare.

At this meeting it was decided to abolish the aid in alternative medicine, as are alternative treatments that only serve to complement the therapies offered by health and therefore should not be offered by hospitals.

This has caused a revolution with people who consider alternative medicine as the authentic mode of healing, so this should be built into your insurance.

Politicians have responded by saying that only scientifically proven methods will be subsidized defraying those which are considered as a form of alternative medicine is not scientific. This causes need for studies on these techniques, which will be funded by the government to calm the rest of the population

Some people state expensive therapies medications including natural vitamins should be subsidized, because they are the only type of healing nutritional diseases.

From my point of view the cure of diseases such as deficiency should be subsidized by the state, but in times of crisis as an aromatherapy treatment or some type of massage should not afford because they are an alternative treatment therapies offered by doctors in hospitals.

Music therapy can help children with communication problems

Some infants who are born with impaired hearing and who cannot benefit from
hearing aids are likely to gain 90% normal hearing ability by undergoing ear
surgery. But, after the operation, the child - who has never heard before - undergoes
a long rehabilitation process before he or she can begin to speak. In a recent study,
researchers examined the particular effects that music therapy has on the potential
development of toddlers (aged 2-3) who have undergone ear surgery, specifically in
terms of improving spontaneous communication.
“Music includes various elements that are also components of language. So, this
non-verbal form of communication is suitable for communication with these

children, when they are still unable to use language,” explained a researcher. She
added that the toddlers undergoing rehabilitation are under a lot of pressure from
their surroundings - especially their parents- to begin talking, and sometimes this
pressure makes them become introverted. In such a scenario, music therapy
strengthens these children’s non-verbal communication and lessens pressure on
them for verbal exchange and response.
The study provided sixteen sessions for children after ear surgery. Eight of the
sessions included music-related activities and the rest involved playing with toys
and games without musical sounds. The results showed that during those sessions
when music therapy was implemented, spontaneous communication was markedly
more frequent and prolonged in the children. The researchers concluded that
exposure to music needs to be gradual, through the use of music experiences that
involve basic musical parameters, such as intensity and rhythm

COMENT

This article was written on May 20, 2012, in a local magazine in London and it was written by Adam Williams.

In the news they talk about an specific aspect. It explains a new technique which can help to toddlers, who has never hear before. It was drafted before the breakthrough that deaf children had to be used and this could be applied in more hospitals, where doctors are trained to look after children and to help them.

 It's a great technique. This has helped many children recover and be integrated relatively normally in everyday life, a difficult achievement that doctors have succeeded. After surgery, recovery is the hardest stage, especially for young children. Therefore, this new technique has been implemented which no doubt will help these children recover, always with the help of her parents, who play a fundamental role. The technique is based on a CBR affection and play music ranging from less intense to more intense, until the child recovers completely. Therapy is long but the results are effective. At first the technique was performed without music, but music to introduce children experienced a breakthrough.

 In my opinion, this technique has made ​​an advance, that after checking their effectiveness should be applied to all hospitals in the world, helping. This story appeared in an entrance exam. When I read it I was surprised, because it was about our topic and I decided to include it. 

The Great Debate Between Western And Alternative Medicine

Today, most Americans live an overly complicated life. There’s too much pressure to live up to, and not enough time. Add to that a schedule that’s jam-packed with work, family life and unpredictable everyday stressors, it’s no wonder it is easy to get run down and eventually, sick.

Adding to that stress, once someone finds themselves sick, comes a decision that many people are facing. Which path does one take to wellness…the western medical approach or the alternative avenue?

The answer to which type of medicine one is more likely to seek can be found in how people perceive their individual worlds. Not so simply, it boils down to spirit vs. science. A more spirit-based individual will look for a holistic approach to health, as alternative medicine treats body, mind, spirit and emotions wholly. A more scientific-centric individual will trust western medicine and the many21st-century, technology-based advances that have been forged through these type of treatments.

Comparing both western and alternative medicine, there’s benefits and drawbacks to both.

Looking deeper into alternative medicine, Livestrong.com notes that rather than determining which genes are responsible, the practitioner considers how individuals contribute to their health through individual beliefs and lifestyle choices. While this burden of responsibility can be difficult for a patient to accept, this individualized view of health care also assumes the patient has the power to cope, rehabilitate, adapt and recover. Alternative medicine offers that ability to heal the entire body during treatments and at home without the use of standardized medication.

COMENT:

This news was posted on November 15, 2012, in the newspaper The Mirror by Alexander Evans.

 This piece of news shows how people live burdened, and the only consequence is stress and disease. In each disease, people face to it in different ways. Some people who are more liberal, adopt alternative medicine as his based of his lifestyle and adapts to them. Other people are suspicious of any method outside and away from traditional medicine, adopted by the most traditional, which tend to go to hospitals, traditional medicine and chemistry. Both options are correct, and that will influence each person in different ways, if your think that alternative medicine will cure you it is more likely to happen because as Crick Williams said the power is in the mind, which leads us and modify our behavior.

Personally I agree with the author of the story, because our attitude to medicine, can be very crucial to their effectiveness. In my point of view I think a combination of both medicines is great, and it helps people in two ways: through science, research and scientifically and by proven the balance, peace, stress which caused the most of humans problems. But most importantly, we must be in favor of the treatment adopted, and that a good attitude will help us to improve our recovery.

Promueve el IPN medicina alternativa

En cada municipio se pretende atender de 300 a 400 pacientes [Foto: Especial]

Lorenzo Arroyo Márquez, presidente del
 patronato del Hospital General de 
Tulancingo (HGT), anunció que este
 viernes inicia la primera jornada de
 salud alternativa a cargo de 10 
especialistas del Instituto Politécnico
 Nacional

Por: María Antonieta Islas I Tulancingo

La campaña comenzará en Santiago Tulantepec,
 en la sede del DIF local, y continuará el sábado
 en Tulancingo, en el jardín La Floresta.Lorenzo 
Arroyo Márquez, presidente del patronato del 
Hospital General de Tulancingo (HGT), anunció
 que este viernes inicia la primera jornada de salud 
alternativa a cargo de 10 especialistas del Instituto
 Politécnico Nacional (IPN), quienes ofrecerán terapias gratuitas de homeopatía y acupuntura a los asistentes.

Los especialistas retomarán actividades el próximo viernes 7 de diciembre en Singuilucan, en la
 Unidad Básica de Rehabilitación (UBR), y concluirán el sábado en la Casa del Adulto Mayor
 de Cuautepec.

En los cuatro municipios, las valoraciones médicas iniciarán a las nueve de la mañana y en
cada una de ellas atenderán entre 300 y 400 pacientes.

Arroyo Márquez explicó que esta jornada surge ante la necesidad de muchos pacientes que a diario
 llegan al HGT y no cuentan con recursos para costear los medicamentos, sobre todo personas con
 enfermedades crónico-degenerativas.

Por ello, estableció contacto con Guillermo Pérez Ishiwara, investigador del IPN, quien le propuso
 gestionar ante dicha institución educativa la realización de campañas de medicina alternativa.

“Hablamos de medicina alternativa en México porque en países como China e India son técnicas
 tradicionales que se han ocupado durante más de 2 mil 500 años”, detalló.

Lorenzo Arroyo ponderó la respuesta del IPN, ya que a través del doctor Crisóforo Ordóñez López,
 director de la Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, enviará acupunturistas y homeópatas
 para que atiendan sin costo alguno a la población de la región.

Además de ser valorados, los pacientes recibirán todo lo necesario para que cubran el tratamiento
 establecido, incluso el patronato del HGT prevé una segunda campaña de seguimiento en enero
 de 2013.


COMENTARIO:

 Esta noticia fue publicada en el 19 de Septiembre de 2011, 

 en un periódico local mexicano por la periodista María Antonia

 Islas, quien a través de esta noticia realiza un reportaje sobre

 la primera jornada de medicina alternativa en México, la cual

 va a consistir en acercar estas técnicas, relativamente

 desconocidas para la población occidental, a los ciudadanos.

 Para ello se elaboró una jornada en la cual se realizaban tratamientos

 de acupuntura o aroma terapia de forma gratuita. Los asistentes

 aseguraron que esta medida es muy acertada, ya que este tipo 

de terapias son muy comunes en la cultura oriental, pero en occidente

 ocurre lo contrario y a pesar de que algunas están homologadas

 científicamente algunos sectores de la población no muestra

 confianza ante ellas. Por lo tanto a través de esta jornada se intentaba

 mostrar a los ciudadanos que los médicos practican este tipo de medicina porque esta estudiada y científicamente aprobada, lo que tras un estudio realizado un año después verificó la confianza en la población que

 produjo esta jornada.

Este éxito ha provocado que vuelva a realizarse y en 2013 tendrá lugar

 la III jornada  de salud alternativa que como en el año 2011, estará

 al cargo de especialistas del Instituto nacional politécnico.

Personalmente me parece una gran medida que aporta confianza y
 conocimiento a la población, que ya tiene razones y motivos para
 acceder a estas prácticas alternativas, sin dejarse influenciar sino
 únicamente guiados por su razón y su experiencia.