Question

There is no complementary or alternative medicine (CAM). There is only medicine; medicine that has been tested and found to be safe and effective . . . Medicine that has been tested and not found to be safe and effective . . . and medicine that is plausible but has not been tested . . . How would you apply the above statement to CAM therapies? "Complementary therapy" and "alternative therapy" are the terms used interchangeably. Do you think a meaningful difference exists between these two terms? Why? What barriers exist in traditional (allopathic) medicines for acceptance of CAM therapies? Why is it insufficient to rely on a century's worth of anecdotal evidence for alternative therapies?

Answer 1

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) includes many practices and products, (that are not part of standard medical care), which are used to promote and maintain health and wellness or to treat diseases. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) defines CAM as "a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that aren't generally considered part of conventional medicine." Most of the CAM therapies are not tested properly through scientific research methods and thus it's effectiveness is not proven as in case of allopathic medicine, though many claims are there as anecdotal evidence for it's efficiency.

There is a meaningful difference exists between these two terms. Complementary means combining together in such a way to enhance or emphasize the qualities of each other. That means, if these therapies are doing along with the standard allopathic medicine, the effectiveness will be more, i.e, either it can cure the disease completely or it can shorten the duration of sickness or it can alleviate the symptoms and sufferings more effectively.

On the other hand, Alternative therapy means this therapy is available as another possibility or choice, instead of standard allopathic medicine.

Allopathic medicine is practiced by health professionals who hold a degree or post-graduation in medicine, who has undergone several years of intensive studies and practices. But, most of the CAM therapies are practiced by those who are having a few months of training or got the knowledge from their ancestors and practicing as a family therapy and passing knowledge only to their children.

Barriers of CAM therapy:

Even though some of the CAM therapies have undergone careful research studies and have been found to be safe and effective, there are others that have been found to be ineffective. The effectiveness of many CAM therapies and how they act physiologically are not known until now. In many cases which are claiming on the effectiveness of CAM, it's not proved whether the effectiveness is due to the therapy itself or due to the individual centered, holistic approach of the therapist.

The main barrier for allopathic medicine to accept CAM therapy is the lack of scientific evidence and controlled clinical trials to support it's efficiency. The physician's negative attitude towards the CAM therapy is another barrier. Some physicians are not open to different types of treatment modalities and not willing to include other modalities in their treatment regimen.

Research has been slower to study the effectiveness of CAM therapies due to;

1. Time and funding issues

2. Problems in finding institutions and researchers to work with those on CAM therapies

3. Regulatory issues

Standard treatments have generally been studied for safety and effectiveness through an intense scientific process that includes clinical trials with large numbers of patients. Those approach should be taken for the research studies of CAM too.

It is insufficient to rely on anecdotal evidence for alternative therapies. Sometimes herbal supplements, though they are natural or botanical by origin; may be harmful when taken by themselves or with other substances, or in large doses. Many cases of liver damages and even deaths have been reported as a result of CAM therapy. Moreover, CAM therapy, effective on one person may not be effective on another person. As in the case of studies with placebos, there might be some psychological factors for the effectiveness of CAM in certain people. As far as the effectiveness is not proved in all the research studies with the allowable percentage of exceptions, CAM therapies can not be relayed as a medicine. It had been reported that many CAM therapists spend more time in getting to know the individual needs and desires of their clients, and providing a patient-centered approach to diagnosis and treatment that may improve the patient satisfaction, and thus the effectiveness can not be relayed upon the therapy itself.