Patient choice in the NHS
It may be true that we value alternative therapies individually but there is a growing debate about how these therapies should be provided. In the UK scientists have called for the NHS to stop paying for homoeopathic treatments calling it an unproven therapy based on magical thinking.
Yesterday I wrote about Shiatsu in terms of consumer choice. A client may choose a therapy because it gives them something of value. Patient choice in the NHS has been on the political agenda for several years now but ultimately that choice will always be limited by the public funding available.
The choice of therapy on the NHS is a balance between the value an individual gains and the willingness of the tax paying public to fund such therapies. It is no surprise then that the NHS would prefer to fund treatments with a large body of scientific evidence behind them. It is easier to justify spending higher proportions of public funds on evidence based medicines than therapies with a perceived magical leaning.
Unfortunately, providing this evidence is expensive. The large pharmaceutical companies not only have a legal requirement to provide this evidence but also the deep pockets to pay for it. Of course, those deep pockets are kept topped up by lobbying governments to ensure that public health policies are drug based. There is no way that homoeopathy or shiatsu could ever compete in this battle.
Tony Brown @ May 29, 2007