A new study shows that there is an 'effectiveness gap' in primary health care, which complementary approaches could fill.

Most of us are aware that there are certain medical conditions for which the doctor really doesn't have much to offer. Think of chronic back pain, for instance, or irritable bowel syndrome. Yet this is a surprisingly under-researched area of medicine.

Dr Peter Fisher and his team at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital set out to investigate the effectiveness gap (EG). By talking to a group of family doctors, they learned that a practice will see at least one patient a month for which they can't do as much as they would like. For there are certain conditions for which there is no effective treatment. That is, there may be no treatment available or, even if it is, there are side effects or other problems that make it ineffective.

The doctors agreed that musculoskeletal problems were the prime example of the EG, as well as depression, eczema, chronic pain and irritable bowel syndrome. But there are complementary treatments available for these conditions. For instance, St John's Wort is useful for mild depression and glucosamine is effective for arthritis. The research agenda in complementary medicine should focus on conditions affected by the EG, says Dr Fisher.

Source

UK Complementary Health Care Conference 5th December 2002