Alternative Medicine: The Future Is Holistic and Bright
Thousands of Emiratis are turning to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), primarily because they are displeased with conventional care. In fact, most Emiratis believe that they chose alternative medicine because they were not satisfied with the results of conventional medicine and/or they deem that CAM is safe and effective.
Dissatisfaction: Patients are dissatisfied with conventional treatment, because it has been ineffective, or has produced adverse side-effects, some of them serious, or is seen as too impersonal, too technologically-driven, and too expensive
Need for ‘bespoke’ medicine: Patients seek alternative therapies, such as homeopathy, because they see them as less authoritarian, also personalised, or customised, with more personal autonomy and control over their healthcare decisions
Philosophical analogy: Alternative therapies are attractive, because they are more attuned with patients’ values, worldview, spiritual or religious convictions, or beliefs regarding the character, nature and meaning of health and illness.
Statistics suggests that 20 per cent of 15,000 patients at one speciality homeopathic clinic alone in Abu Dhabi are Emirati. This is in sharp contrast to what was just 6 per cent when the clinic was launched about a decade ago.
As a matter of fact, most Asians, primarily Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis have traditionally opted for CAM treatments; the Emiratis were wary about CAM to begin with. But, today this is not so. This is a paradigm shift, because the Emiratis have seen good, long-term results with CAM protocols. They are also spreading the good word about CAM treatments. Here goes —
20 per cent of patients at a speciality homeopathic clinic are Emirati
20 per cent of patients at the Gulf Chinese Medical Center are Emirati
24 per cent of alternative medicine visits in Dubai were for homeopathy
40 per cent of patients at the Dubai and Herbal Treatment Centre are Emirati
100,000 people in Dubai sought alternative medicine and treatment in 2014.
Besides —
Wellness tourism in Dubai is aspiring to be world-class and is expected to generate US$2.67 billion by the end of 2015
UAE’s health market is expected to reach US$8 billion by the end of this year — of which US$6 billion will be outpatient.
It is also a major ‘talk-point’ to highlight that all CAM practices are regulated by the Dubai Health Authority, Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, or the Ministry of Health. This ensures acceptable quality standards of practice and also ethics.
Currently, there are over 200 licenced CAM professionals in the UAE. CAM therapies, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, Ayurveda, hijama (cupping), chiropractic, osteopathy, and naturopathy, are also fully recognised by both federal and local health authorities in the UAE.
During 2014 alone, 21 practitioners successfully passed the UAE Ministry of Health’s CAM qualifying exams: six specialised in homeopathy, two in Ayurveda, one in acupuncture, two in hijama (cupping), two in unani, three in clinical massage therapy, three in chiropractic, and two in other alternative genres.
It is reported that the UAE has been formulating its CAM policies for the past two decades in line with WHO’s Global Strategy on Traditional and Complementary Medicine. Concurrently, other countries in the GCC are augmenting their resources and policies to follow the GCC Executive Council’s position and diktat in placing CAM on an equal footing, or a level-playing field, with conventional medicine. This has led to the development of infrastructure, policies and administration for effective implementation of CAM policies.
It would also be heartening to know that homeopathic remedies, to cull a classical example, are now coded by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and the Dubai Drug Code. Such homeopathic remedies are made more readily available for the general population. Besides, a number of doctors have registered and regulated natural medicinal products in the formulary of their clinics and hospitals.
CAM is also used as an adjuvant with conventional medicine with better, more tangible results. Illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, anxiety, insomnia, stress, and post-menopausal syndromes are treated using conventional medicine, along with supplementary CAM treatment to further aid and hasten the recovery process. So much so, the integration of CAM into national health policies, has not only ensured that CAM practitioners are getting licence to work along with conventional medical doctors in clinics and hospitals, but more and more CAM treatments too are finding their way to the list of therapies and medications that doctors can prescribe. What’s more, doctors are reducing their prescription of antibiotics for viral infections of the throat and sinuses, and instead prescribing homeopathic remedies which are safer for long-term use, and have shown to be more effective in building better immune defences against a host of chronic or seasonal conditions.
Although critics argue that certain CAM protocols are not as well researched as conventional medicine and there are problems with funding and infrastructure, the current popularity of CAM seems to be ushering in support from government and other organisations. This is a welcome change for the future of CAM treatments in the region. All good medicine is evidence-based — the spin-off is apparent. CAM is now embracing evidence-based work in order to raise its acceptance bar and recognition not only among patients, but also conventional medical practitioners. This augurs well for the future of CAM-based protocols that fulfil scientific and medical norms and follow high quality standards for the good of patients.
What also propels CAM therapies to become more and more popular in the future is their emphasis on the natural healing ability of the body as against ‘technology-only’ for healing in conventional medicine. CAM is keyed towards patient-centric care, treating the whole person, who has the illness and not just the illness alone in isolation. This obviously emphasises on prevention and individualised, or customised, programmes of care targeted towards the cause of illness, rather than just its symptoms.
A growing number of healthcare professionals and consumers have begun to integrate CAM into mainstream healthcare in response to the increasing costs of the healthcare system, aside from a growing number of people with chronic disease due to an aging population. Today, CAM therapies are used not only for pain and injury prevention, but also post-surgical treatment and non-invasive pain relief. They are available in select high-profile institutions and others, aside from a wide array of CAM healthcare practices, products and therapies that are distinct from conventional medicine.
It may also be mentioned that, according to reports, the number of people aged 65 and older will double in the next 25 years and the demand for non-medical home-based help — for daily activities such as dressing, bathing and meal preparation — is expected to expand. This will lead to a rise in demand for home medical equipment and supplies and for CAM services, such as homeopathy, chiropractic, physical and massage therapy and their related products, such as physical therapy equipment and supplies. Also, decreased mobility in arthritis, for example, will cause such patients, or individuals, to seek CAM therapies, pain control treatments, and exercise regimens.
It may be mentioned too that more than 30-40 per cent of people in the region have used some form of CAM. The most popular treatments include homeopathy, massage therapy, chiropractic services and other types of body treatments. More than 25 per cent of today’s youth and current seniors have tried mind-body practices such as meditation, hypnosis and acupuncture. Besides, the older age group with higher expectations of service will demand more innovative, personalised CAM healthcare programmes, such as homeopathy, that cater to their unique needs. This will propel CAM services in the future, and take them to the next level.
Some forms of CAM, such as traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine and homeopathic medicine have been practiced for centuries, whereas others, such as chiropractic, laser therapy and electrotherapy, are more recent in origin. Yet, CAM’s growing popularity highlights a number of opportunities for improvement in the future within conventional medicine, including the need to:
Provide for a more meaningful communication between patient and healthcare providers
Revise the definition of wellness and health maintenance
Promote an environment in which physicians and consumers have the opportunity to explore CAM therapies that can be incorporated with conventional medicine, especially in lifestyle illnesses, such as hypertension and diabetes, and improve the healthcare system for long-term sustainability with great cost savings.
This bids fair for a bright, sustainable future for CAM therapies, in the region. It also brings to the fore the emergence and progression of safe, humane medicine, such as homeopathy — which is effective and free of side-effects, unlike the current hazards of drug-caused iatrogenic illness, the growing bugbear of conventional medicine.
