13 Sept 2010

Economic report finds complementary medicine could significantly ease health budget

A recent report from ‘Access Economics’ one of Australia's leading economic forecasting firms, investigated the cost-effectiveness of natural medicines for some of Australia’s most common health problems. The results strongly indicate that the nation could save millions in healthcare if complementary medicines and therapies were more widely used.

The research was commissioned by The National Institute of Complementary Medicine, University of Western Sydney to look at the cost effectiveness of some popular treatments for some of the most common and costly chronic health problems, including lower back pain, heart disease, depression and arthritis. It analysed interventions such as St John's wort, fish oils, acupuncture and an herbal anti-inflammatory preparation. The study found that treatments such as acupuncture for chronic low back pain, St John's wort for mild to moderate depression, fish oil in heart disease and herbal medication Phytodolor to manage osteoarthritis pain. These complementary medicines/therapies not only help treat the symptoms of illnesses, but they also result in cost savings to the health system. For example, using the herbal treatment St John's wort for mild to moderate depression could save nearly $50 million a year, and reducing the reliance of Australians on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) with a best-case scenario saving of $178 million each year.

The study did not take in all complementary medicines just those "where a reasonable body of evidence for safety and efficacy was available". The Researchers also highlighted that complementary medicines can have problematic, and not yet fully understood, interactions with other drugs and any decision to take them should be discussed with a doctor.

NICM executive director, Professor Alan Bensoussan, who is also Director of the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at UWS, said "The clinical evidence showing some complementary medicine can play a vital role in improving an individual's health has been clear for some time, now this report shows complementary medicine could also improve the health of the healthcare system," and that “Research partnerships have increasingly focused on high burden of disease areas where mainstream medicine has yielded relatively poor results, particularly in the prevention and management of chronic disease, and towards enhanced results using a combination of complementary and mainstream interventions.”

The report authors acknowledged the added expense of the GST on complementary medicines may impede more wide use of some treatments and recommended governments review their strategy as evidence for the clinical and cost effectiveness of the CM grows.

The findings strengthen the importance of ongoing research effort to determine and unlock the broader benefits of complementary medicines and therapies for the health of all Australians and to improve their use in an integrated healthcare practice environment.

Professor Avni Sali and the National Institute of Integrative Medicine concur with the findings of this important report. Professor Sali is a long time advocate for better disease prevention and an integrative approach to total healthcare management. The National Institute of Integrative Medicine is committed to furthering research into evidence based complementary medicine.

To view the full report by Access Economics, Download Cost Effectiveness of complementary medicines.pdf