The Natural Healthcare Summit in Canberra last week provided a perfect opportunity for the Complementary Healthcare Council to challenge the current so called 'health' system, which even the immediate past Health Minister had noted when he claimed that he was supposed to be the Minister for Health, but in fact was the Minister for disease.
The Wellness Revolution brought together the best of science with economic facts in a range of presentations which collectively made a compelling argument for why natural healthcare must take its proper place as a major part of our national healthcare policy.

The facts were cogently argued by Australia's leading experts in natural healthcare and will be distributed to politicians, key educators, medical practitioners, health insurance companies, and the media. Our thanks go especially to Professor Marc Cohen, Doctor Mark Donohoe, Professor Stephen Myers and Chris Oliver.

It was interesting timing that on the very day our Wellness Revolution Summit opened in Canberra, our health Minister was proposing that health insurance funds should not cover 'unproven' natural therapies including massage and homoeopathy. It is difficult to reconcile this proposal with a purported preventive health policy.

It is clear that the natural healthcare industry has much work to do in educating our policy makers of the real value of natural healthcare in optimising health, preventing disease- especially the age related chronic conditions and reducing the cost of healthcare.

Following are the list of recommendations that emanated from the Summit, and we look forward to pursuing our objective of optimising health through the use of good quality low risk natural healthcare, and influencing the restructuring of our health system to one that is genuinely based on health and wellness..

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The Government to establish a National Institute of Natural Healthcare to:
· co-ordinate research into natural healthcare and disseminate research findings
· educate consumers, health care providers, and industry through conferences, seminars, workshops
· undertake a cost benefit study to demonstrate the value and potential savings in cost of healthcare from greater use of Natural healthcare
· establish a consumer information service in conjunction with the industry.

2. Prepare a CD-ROM of key points of presentations from this summit and send to all politicians, decision-makers and people in positions of authority to disseminate the knowledge we have gleaned from these two days most effectively, emphasising the safety aspect of CHPs.- Remember 140,000 hospital admissions annually for iatrogenic diseases!

3. Prepare a well argued collation of the best information to support the CD-ROM.

4. Identify our political champion.

5. Work with the Government to ensure an appropriate risk based regulatory system with better independent auditing processes.

6. Accept the invitation of the back Bench Health and Aging Committee to host a dinner in parliament house for MPs and run a mini Wellness Revolution with 2-3 key speakers.

7. Compile data to show that CM practitioners successfully treat patients in a community setting, and participate in the APAC workshops that are developing Guidelines for Community and Aged Care

8. Develop a public campaign to take our policy to the government , via the media and via all our clients and patients.

9. Establish communication with other practitioners - natural therapists to write letters to doctors, etc.

10. Ask pertinent questions through the Senate Estimates Committee.

Val Johanson
23 September 2003