Medical Journal of Australia wants physicians to ask more questions about herbs
By Rada Rouse, AAP National Medical Correspondent |
In an unusual focus on alternative medicine, the journal pointed out that about 50 per cent of Australian patients turn to complementary therapies.
Professor Gillian Shenfield and colleagues at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital said about $900 million a year was spent on alternative medicines and this was increasingly being supported by health insurance funds.
In an editorial, Prof Shenfield warned that such preparations have variable content, and may be toxic or adulterated.
In addition, a worrying number of patients do not tell their doctors about their use of herbal medicines even when simultaneously taking prescription pharmaceuticals.
"If 50 per cent of Australians are using alternative treatments each year, it is essential that doctors recognise this fact and be prepared to discuss such use with their patients in a non-judgmental manner," the editorial said.
"It is high time for us to recognise that a complementary system for trying to achieve a state of well-being exists in Australia. We cannot ignore it."
The editorial suggested doctors include routine questions about alternative treatments in medical history-taking and report adverse reactions to the commonwealth committee which records them.
In an article on safety issues, director of the Hunter Drug Information Service at Newcastle's Mater Hospital, Anna Drew, called for the establishment of a parallel data base on herbal remedies.
"The challenge for the government and the CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) industry is to provide a level of postmarketing surveillance at least equivalent to that in place for pharmaceuticals," she said.
She said the government's Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee (ADRAC) had received only 154 reports from health professionals relating to alternative products in 25 years.
One of the most publicised was the case of an anaphylactic reaction in an 11-year-old asthmatic who took royal jelly. At the time of her death, ADRAC had three reports of adverse reactions on file but this had now increased to 18, including another fatality, in the wake of raised awareness and manufacturers issuing warning labels on royal jelly products.
"It is important to promote an avenue for alternative practitioners and consumers to report adverse effects to CAM products, as a large proportion of alternative medicines are sold through health food outlets, supermarkets and by direct marking (including via the internet)," the article said.
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