With surveys in Australia confirming over 70% of Australians use natural healthcare products or complementary medicines, the CHC is calling on the Government to establish a Natural Healthcare Authority to co-ordinate research, and disseminate information and education based on this research.
The CHC has also been urging the Government to fund an health economics study to demonstrate the potential cost savings from a health policy based on wellness and prevention and encompassing natural healthcare as a key component.

It is very exciting therefore to have the Health Minister, Tony Abbott, confirm his offer made late last year of half a million dollars to undertake a health economics study on the therapeutic and cost benefits of glucosamine in osteoarthritis and multivitamins in the aged.

It is encouraging also to see the political parties taking a greater interest in natural healthcare as they develop their health platforms in the lead up to the next election.
Just last month the Democrats held forums in both Sydney and Melbourne to develop an action plan for complementary medicines.
These events provided the opportunity for stakeholder input into identifying the options for integrating natural healthcare into health policy.
A core component of their proposal is the establishment of a Natural Healthcare Authority as proposed by the CHC.
The Democrats are to be congratulated on this initiative.

The Greens have also confirmed their interest in incorporating natural healthcare into their health policy and have indicated an interest in several of the CHC initiatives.
We look forward to seeing their health platform in the near future.

Discussions continue with the Opposition to influence their health platform- watch this space!

Another CHC project underway that will be of interest to all those involved in healthcare is the preparation of a report to identify those complementary medicines for which there is good level one clinical trial evidence to demonstrate efficacy.
Included in this report are four important products for which there is evidence that the natural products are equally effective- both therapeutically and cost wise- as their pharmaceutical alternative - BUT without the side effects.

This report will be released later this year and will be another tool to use in demonstrating the potential cost savings from increased use of natural healthcare.

As Prof John Murtagh, Adjunct Professor of General Practice at Monash University states in the May/June edition of the Journal of Complementary Medicine, " The healthcare imperative of our times is to help people to stay well". He continues: "In a healing profession obsessed with intervention, invasive technology and drug management, the practitioner has an obligation to his or her patients to use natural healing methods wherever possible, and be very discerning and conservative with investigatory medicine."

It is clear that all of us- consumers as well as healthcare providers, must be better informed on the uses, benefits and potential adverse effects of complementary medicines as they become first choice in healthcare in Australia.