Question

Craig Oakley is a physical therapy assistant who does home visits for a rehabilitation service. One of his patients, Mr. Singh, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and has asked Craig's opinion about taking Chinese herbal remedies that he has read help restore joint health. 1. How should Craig respond? 2. What are some of the resources he can consult in order to fmd out more about the treatment? 3. What precautions should Craig follow when speaking with Mr. Singh about complementary and alternative therapies?

Answer 1

1. Craig should respond positively to Mr Singh regarding his curiousity about the opinion that Craig was asked about. Also he should be true to his feeling towards the therapy.

2. There are various resources that he can consult in order to find out more about the treatment like :

- the article from where the patient got his idea about the therapy

- he can directly consult the centers where the therapies are given

- he can surf through the internet and do all the researches required to find the adequate information regarding the therapy

- He can consult his colleagues and take their advices and their opinion about the therapy

- he can also contact the people who have received the treatment or the therapy before with the similar condition

3. The precautions that Craig should follow while speaking to Mr Singh about the complementary and alternative therapy is that he should first support the idea provided by Mr Singh. He should give proper information which he had taken regarding the topic. Also he should explain Mr Singh about the alternative therapies which are present in the health care facilities. After he had informed and explained about the therapy he should now be honest and give the merits and demerits of all the therapies including the allopathy medications. He should also provide his own view to Mr Singh, then he should let Mr Singh think and decide about the therapy that he wants to choose