When It Comes To Integrative Medicine, Does The UK Lag Behind The U.S.?

In spite of recent cuts to publicly funded advertising campaigns, the UK has led the charge in effective public health campaigns aimed at promoting preventative measures, including healthy eating and smoking cessation.

Last week, for example, researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical published the results from the so-called "txt2stop" campaign. Some 5,800 smokers were sent text messages encouraging them to quit; those who did were twice as likely to stop after six months than their counterparts who received no messages. The campaign has been hailed as a simple but cutting-edge intervention that could serve as a powerful tool in promoting behavioral change.

But when it comes to complementary and alternative medicine (also referred to as CAM) aimed at prevention, many experts agree that the UK lags behind the US in access to -- and acceptance of -- integrative therapies. Many of those therapies -- acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic, homeopathy, massage and osteopathy -- aim to promote prevention of chronic and serious disease.

"Generally, CAM has not been a part of the infrastructure within health care in the UK," explained Giles Tomsett, managing International director of Healthways, a company that specializes in disease management. He added that complementary medicine had not yet fully infiltrated the mainstream.

Indeed, a recent US survey found that nearly 40 percent of American adults use some form of alternative medicine. A House of Lords report from 2,000 cites found two estimates of CAM use: One found that only 20 percent of British adults had used CAM in the last year. Another, focusing on England specifically, put that estimate closer to 28 percent.

"Because of the tight central government controls on the use of modalities in the NHS, alternative or complementary medicine used by medics tends to be attacked rather than embraced," said Michael E. Ash, an osteopath and naturopath, who is a vocal proponent of alternative medicine. Ash is coordinating a new course in functional medicine through the US-based Institute of Functional Medicine, which is set to begin in October.

In the UK, most people pay for CAM privately; currently only two CAM professions -- osteopathy and chiropracty -- are regulated by statute. Of those, the NHS does provide some funding for osteopathic treatment, though it is subject to location and at the discretion of one's general practitioner. (In the US, osteopathic physicians are licensed as Doctors of Osteopathic medicine; they can practice medicine and surgery. In the UK, osteopaths must be registered with the General Osteopathic Council, but do not prescribe drugs.)

A 2001 report cites estimates suggesting that somewhere between 35 and 50 percent of general practices had some access to alternative therapies, whether delivered by a primary care physician, a CAM practitioner working within a practice or NHS referrals to outside providers.

"I don't think the scene is huge in the UK," said Jasmine Johnson, a Fulham-based osteopath, adding that it was growing, albeit slowly. "You used ot be a bit of a freak if you were a vegetarian; these days, it's not unusual to go into a healthfood shop and buy raw food chocolate."

One person who does seem intrigued by the potential preventative benefits of CAM is the Prince of Wales, who has hailed alternative medicines as a "potentially powerful resource." According to Ash, the Prince also commissioned a report that found three-quarters of the British public would like to see alternative therapies covered by NHS.

For his part, Tomsett believes the Prince's interest in CAM might give it a slow but steady push into the mainstream.

"Because Prince Charles is very engaged in this, it does carry a weight of interest," he said. "There is this whole range of alternative medicines that are being accepted as an alternative way for people to improve their well being."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/06/integrative-medicine-uk_n_889523.html

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