Alternative medical therapies stir up a debate
Consumers are voting with their wallets
February 14, 1997
Web posted at: 9:45 p.m. EST
KENT, Washington (CNN) -- Patients at a community health
center in this town south of Seattle have the option of
seeing an M.D. or an N.D.
An N.D. is a Naturopathic Doctor, someone whose treatments
include acupuncture, diet, herbs and a variety of other
modalities not ordinarily used by medical doctors.
"I think one of the surprises is that conventional medicine
and natural medicine can work together side-by-side
ultimately to benefit the patient," says Dr. Marty Ross of
the Kent Community Health Center.
The medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, acupuncturists and
others have developed systems and guidelines that enable them
to work together in the patient's best interests.
But panelists at a recent meeting of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science are skeptical, to say the
least.
"I think that the real question is when do we call it
medicine vs. therapy vs. religion, and when does the taxpayer
start paying for these various ways of making people feel
better," says Ursula Goodenough of Washington University.
To Dr. Ross, the medical director of the Kent Community
Health Center, the bottom line is not what the treatments are
called, or whether certain scientists approve of them, but
whether they work or not.
Consumers are voting with their wallets
"Ultimately, we have to look at how our patients respond to
that therapy," he says, "and I think clearly that's what's
taking place in this clinic."
Indeed, many people say alternative treatments make them feel
better. Even scientists who think the treatments are bogus
cannot dismiss the responses, and they admit they've learned
from it.
"We've learned something about the psychology of treatment,
about how the placebo effect works, how simple reassurance
works, how relieving stress and anxiety can actually have
positive spinoffs," says Barry Beyerstein of Simon Fraser
University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"That is scientifically useful information that can now be
incorporated into scientific biomedicine so we don't need all
the hocus-pocus to go with it."
What some view as hocus-pocus, however, is valid and helpful
to others. And while panelists call for proof that these new
therapies work, consumers are casting their votes with their
wallets.
Experts estimate that Americans spend $15 billion a year on
alternative medicine, and that's the kind of testimonial
that is hard to ignore.
Correspondent Andrew Holtz contributed to this report.
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