Is complementary medicine cost effective?

By Michelle Guillemard. Yes, it is - according to a new report.

Access Economics, an economic consulting firm, investigated the cost-effectiveness of natural therapies for some of Australia’s most common health problems, and the results suggested that the nation could save millions in healthcare if complementary therapies were more widely used.

The research, conducted for the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) at the University of Western Sydney, looked at omega-3 fish oils and St John’s Wort, among other therapies.

In the report, Executive Director of the NICM, Professor Alan Bensoussan, highlighted that Australians spend over $3.5 billion each year on complementary medicines - usually to assist in the management of chronic disease and improve health and wellbeing.

He said: “Over the last twenty years, there has been a growing body of scientific knowledge on the efficacy of complementary medicine; understanding of mechanisms of action; and advances in processes to ensure quality and standardisation of materials and products.

“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.”

Professor Bensoussan said the findings strengthen the importance of ongoing research efforts to determine and unlock the broader benefits of complementary medicines and therapies for the health of all Australians.

You can view the full report here