Alternative Medicine and the universal health care imperative
Until the early 1990s, before the government began an aggressive re-expansion of its role in American health care, alternative medicine was thriving. Part of the statist federal agenda was to rename and reconfigure alt med as �CAM� (complementary alternative medicine, or alt med light), and to integrate ancillary, secondary, non-threatening alt med light therapies into the dominant conventional, allopathic medical mainstream.
Helping this agenda along was a bone thrown to the original alt med community in the form of the creation of the National Institutes of Health�s Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) in 1991, later expanded to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in 1998. These organizations, true to form, stifled creativity, channeled alt med�s thriving progress into bureaucratic quagmires, and ultimately made primary alternative therapies go out of fashion and become much less available.
And all of this took place before the federal government completely took over all of medicine � a prospect that may be imminent, and certainly will be if Obama is elected.
I have reported, commented on, and argued about these developments including the diminution of alternative medicine for years. In recent times, the audience of independent thinkers who are in touch with and informed by alternative medicine�s philosophical roots of independence and freedom has apparently diminished, as alt med/CAM players, proponents, and �stakeholders� have followed their self-interests toward the gilded cage of more government involvement and control.
It will be interesting to see what happens on November 4. If McCain, whose health care plans involve expanding free market choices and options, wins, we will be allowed four more years of relative freedom in health care. If Obama comes out on top, it is likely that we will have seen the last of the once strong and autonomous alternative medicine field as it is subsumed under statist government-run universal health care.
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Peter Barry Chowka is a widely published writer and investigative journalist who writes about politics, health care, and the media. Between 1992 and 1994, he was an advisor to the National Institutes of Health. His Web site is: https://chowka.com
Peter Barry Chowka believes that CAM was just a ruse to kill alternative medicine. He is totally against it. I don't. I think it is a foot in the door that alternative medicine should be shining the spotlight on.
I have also seen so many articles about the doom of alternative medicine if there is any talk of any regulation. Yet, the alternative field makes no attempt to create any form of regulation of their own. It is like the banking system saying, hey, we know what the problems are.. we don't need any regulation. Things will just be ok because we are all trustworthy... everyone should assume that there are hucksters in the alternative health business.
so, imo, a lot of these articles are totally about protecting the alternative health BUSINESS, not alternative health customers.
Alternative fields do regulate. ND's and acupuncturists, massage therapists, homeopaths in some states, clinical nutritionists in some states, are all regulated in many states.
Idaho has very specific laws to protect the practitioners of a variety of alternative therapies from prosecution with I think is a monumental protection for freedom of choice to use natural products and to advise in the use of natural products.
I do not think that natural substances should be regulated except perhaps in how they are grown (pesicides or no?) how they are cleaned, stored and processed for hygiene considerations only and most specifically radiation must be regulated out!!!
There are standards of practice for the production of many products regarding cleanliness, labeling restrictions, etc already and already we are regulated from stating what a product is known to do on its bottle or in the manufacturers advertising.
I do also believe that cam is a ruse to kill alternative medicine and I don't trust those folks one idota to tell me the truth. They are trying to measure something that needs different kinds of rulers, especially when it comes to homeopathy, which cam does not support. Homeopathy and acupuncture are by far and away the most powerful healing modalities on the planet and they would just through one out the window if they had their say.
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Alternative fields do regulate. ND's and acupuncturists, massage therapists, homeopaths in some states, clinical nutritionists in some states, are all regulated in many states.
Idaho has very specific laws to protect the practitioners of a variety of alternative therapies from prosecution with I think is a monumental protection for freedom of choice to use natural products and to advise in the use of natural products.
I do not think that natural substances should be regulated except perhaps in how they are grown (pesicides or no?) how they are cleaned, stored and processed for hygiene considerations only and most specifically radiation must be regulated out!!!
There are standards of practice for the production of many products regarding cleanliness, labeling restrictions, etc already and already we are regulated from stating what a product is known to do on its bottle or in the manufacturers advertising.
when consumerlabs tested supplements, many did not have what was on the label. and some had lead.
If these companies were manufacturing barbie dolls.. I wouldn't care. but they are manufacturing products that people are taking to improve their health.
I'm not crazy about the government being the regulator.. but what do you propose? No one seems to like consumerlabs.. but hey, it seems they are the only game in town.
Frankly, I think some independent consumer agency should be testing these products like consumer reports tests soups and crockpots.
As a customer, it bothers me when I see these reports showing what seems to be a lack of consistency and standards in the health supplement industry. There are many good companies.. but what is wrong with random testing of products? If they come up to standards, that could be GOOD PR as well as bad PR for these companies. I would think the good companies would want this.. maybe not from the government.. but from something like consumer reports.
Consumer reports has tested some supplements.. but they are usually ones like centrum. What is needed is a consumer agency more geared toward the health industry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arrowwind09
I do also believe that cam is a ruse to kill alternative medicine and I don't trust those folks one idota to tell me the truth. They are trying to measure something that needs different kinds of rulers, especially when it comes to homeopathy, which cam does not support. Homeopathy and acupuncture are by far and away the most powerful healing modalities on the planet and they would just through one out the window if they had their say.
Arrowwind, my husband is going through chemotherapy now. At the class they gave for all future chemo patients, they had a representative of the support part of the hospital. She informed the patients of acupuncture and "touch massage" services that they had at the hospital with the procedures specifically geared to help with the problems that cancer patients go through.
That wouldn't have happened without CAM. And the acupuncture wouldn't be there without studies showing that there was benefit.
Obama and Alternative Medicine
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