BMJ  2005;331:795 (8 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7520.795-a

News

Alternative therapies could save the NHS money, says report commissioned by Prince Charles

Roger Dobson

Abergavenny

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Many complementary treatments could make an important contribution to health care in the United Kingdom, says a report commissioned by the Prince of Wales and published this week.

Greater use of some complementary treatments could result in major savings in healthcare costs too, says the report, which calls for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to assess the cost effectiveness of such treatments.

"Despite the fragmentary nature of the evidence, there seems good reason to believe that a number of complementary and alternative medicine treatments offer the possibility of significant savings in direct health costs," says the report.

The report, which focuses on acupuncture, homoeopathy, chiropractic, osteopathy, and herbal medicine, says that deprived communities in particular could benefit from the treatments.

On homoeopathy, the report says, "There is a large literature on the costs and benefits of homeopathy, and many studies over the past 40 years—randomised controlled trials . . . [Full text of this article]


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Rapid Responses:

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The Laws Of Nature - Natural Science
Dr. Herbert H. Nehrlich
bmj.com, 9 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Pandering to the Prince
richard horton
bmj.com, 7 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Prof Ernst almighty attorney
R W SCHWARZ
bmj.com, 9 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Pandering to the Prince ? No.Complimentary therapies do fill in the gaps ...and help much more..
Dr. Bhalendu S. Vaishnav
bmj.com, 9 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Horton's Ill-Judged Remarks
Jay Ilangaratne
bmj.com, 9 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Pandering to the Prince
John Stone
bmj.com, 9 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Scientific research is the same for CAMs as such as conventional treatments
Firenzuoli Fabio, et al.
bmj.com, 9 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Calling A Spade A Spade
Dr. Herbert H. Nehrlich
bmj.com, 9 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Calling A Spade A Spade
Michael O'Donnell
bmj.com, 11 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Calling A Spade A Spade
Michael Foley
bmj.com, 11 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Pandering to the Prince - Rather a Simplistic View
Jayne LM Donegan
bmj.com, 11 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Pandering to medicine
Don Nixdorf
bmj.com, 11 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Truth Hurts - Why prosecute Dr. Horton?
Balaji Ravichandran
bmj.com, 11 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Dangerous treatment
Theo Fenton
bmj.com, 12 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Science Fiction
Roberta Smith
bmj.com, 12 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Errare Humanum Est
Dr. Herbert H. Nehrlich
bmj.com, 19 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Re: Dangerous treatment
Theo Fenton
bmj.com, 12 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Re: Dangerous treatment
Jayne LM Donegan
bmj.com, 12 Oct 2005 [Full text]
What is "Tap water"?
F. Ambrosi
bmj.com, 12 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Homeopathy - yet again !
Andrew D Lawson
bmj.com, 13 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Truth Hurts - Why prosecute Dr. Horton?
Donald E. J. Pyle
bmj.com, 13 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: What is "Tap water"?
Tim M Reynolds
bmj.com, 13 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Pandering to the Prince.
Richard G Fiddian-Green
bmj.com, 14 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Re: What is "Tap water"?
Franco Ambrosi
bmj.com, 14 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Re: Pandering to the Prince - Rather a Simplistic View
Simon J Baker
bmj.com, 16 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Re: Re: What is "Tap water"?
Simon J Baker
bmj.com, 16 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Pandering to science
Peter Morrell
bmj.com, 16 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Re: Calling A Spade A Spade
Eddie Vos
bmj.com, 16 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Pandering to science
Simon J Baker
bmj.com, 17 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Re: Pandering to science
Joseph C Watine
bmj.com, 19 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Two questions on homoeopathy
Morag G Kerr
bmj.com, 19 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Logic will never convince the faithful
Onisillos Sekkides
bmj.com, 22 Oct 2005 [Full text]
Re: Re: Re: Pandering to science
Simon J Baker
bmj.com, 22 Oct 2005 [Full text]



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