Hospital Healthcare Europe reports:
A year-long pilot scheme in Northern Ireland has found that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can offer significant health improvements to NHS patients.
Independent analysis of the findings showed:
- Patients receiving acupuncture treatment reported an average 33% improvement in their health and wellbeing
- Patients receiving chiropractic and osteopathy treatment reported an average 38% improvement in their health and wellbeing
- Patients receiving homeopathic treatment reported an average 54% improvement in their health and wellbeing
Founder of Get Well UK, Boo Armstrong, says of the results: “The results from this project speak for themselves – complementary therapies improve health and save money. These findings are consistent with other service evaluation from across the UK. A personalised health service will need protocols to include complementary therapies.” Full report
And what was the average rate of improvement for conventional medicine? Has any such analysis been ever undertaken?
Comment by ez — 18 February 2009 @ 7:19 am
Oh dear….
A study where the patients came from sources (GPs) who already believe CAMs work, rather than a random sample….
A study where the patients self-selected themselves, rather than being a random cohort….
A study that did not look at patients with the same clinical symptoms who did not have CAM therapy….
A study with no peer review of the methodology, data or conclusions….
A “paper” that reads like, and uses the same terminology as, a customer satisfaction survey….
A “paper” prepared by a public relations company, rather than the researchers….
Hardly something to be proud of.
Comment by johnd — 8 March 2009 @ 9:28 pm
Your title is incorrect — CAM can provide significant health improvements to NHS patients. That wasn’t proven here.
In fact, I’m surprised it wasn’t 100%. These people expect there to be an improvement in their “wellbeing” and will report such a thing. A simple combination of very suggestible people and the placebo effect. If, on the other hand, homeopathy could be proven to effectively treat, say, cancer more often that conventional medicine (over a significantly large sample) then you’d have something.
Sorry, try again.
Comment by MarkC — 9 March 2009 @ 1:36 am