User:Fyslee/Sandbox Label "Alternative" problems
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[edit] TWO: Restore "Problems With the Label 'Alternative'"
- That deleted section at Alternative medicine needs resources as documentation for the current (true) opinion.
[edit] Sandbox Comments
The now deleted portion from [1], which needs to be restored and improved is below.
START DELETED PORTION
Problems with the label "alternative"
Some doctors and scientists feel that the term "alternative medicine" is misleading, as these treatments have not been proven to be an effective alternative to regulated conventional medicine. However, alternative medicine can become accepted as conventional medicine if it is scientifically proven to be effective.
- "There cannot be two kinds of medicine - conventional and alternative. There is only medicine that has been adequately tested and medicine that has not, medicine that works and medicine that may or may not work. Once a treatment has been tested rigorously, it no longer matters whether it was considered alternative at the outset. If it is found to be reasonably safe and effective, it will be accepted." - Angell M, Kassirer JP, "Alternative medicine--the risks of untested and unregulated remedies." N Engl J Med 1998;339:839.
- "There is no alternative medicine. There is only scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine supported by solid data or unproven medicine, for which scientific evidence is lacking. Whether a therapeutic practice is 'Eastern' or 'Western,' is unconventional or mainstream, or involves mind-body techniques or molecular genetics is largely irrelevant except for historical purposes and cultural interest. As believers in science and evidence, we must focus on fundamental issues-namely, the patient, the target disease or condition, the proposed or practiced treatment, and the need for convincing data on safety and therapeutic efficacy." - Fontanarosa P.B., and Lundberg G.D. "Alternative medicine meets science" JAMA. 1998; 280: 1618-1619.
- "In medicine, most "alternative medicine" is not mainstream for good reason. If it's truly effective it will become mainstream and no longer "alternative." If it remains alternative, it belongs there." - Scott L. Replogle, M.D.
- "Complementary and alternative medicine" ("CAM") is an imprecise marketing term that is inherently misleading. "Alternative" methods are loosely described as practices outside of mainstream health care. They lack evidence of safety and effectiveness and are generally not covered by insurance plans. "Complementary medicine" is loosely described as a synthesis of standard and alternative methods that uses the best of both. In truth, there are no "alternatives" to objective evidence of effectiveness and safety." - NCAHF
Richard Dawkins, professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, defines alternative medicine as "that set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested or consistently fail tests" (See Diamond 2003).
END DELETED PORTION -- Fyslee 22:44, 30 December 2005 (UTC)
Later the section was revised and moved up to the top: [2]
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The boundaries of alternative medicine have changed over time as a number of techniques and therapies once considered to be "alternative" have been accepted by mainstream medicine.
Various advocates and critics of alternative therapies believe that the term "alternative medicine" is misleading. Some advocates believe that Western therapies are the "alternative" in that they were preceded by traditional therapies. Others believe that the term was invented by advocates of "allopathic" medicine in an attempt to discredit natural therapies [3]. Critics of alternative therapies assert that they are not effective and consequently are not a legitimate alterantive to conventional medicine. Richard Dawkins, professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, defines alternative medicine as "that set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested or consistently fail tests" (See Diamond 2003). Many on both sides believe that alternative therapies can become accepted as conventional medicine if they are scientifically proven to be effective.
END MOVED SECTION -- Fyslee 22:44, 30 December 2005 (UTC)
