A report by the National Institute for Complementary Medicine in Australia has found that four simple CAM interventions can offer cost savings.
As part of NICM’s efforts to inform the effective integration of complementary medicine into routine healthcare, the institute commissioned Access Economics to undertake a series of studies assessing the cost effectiveness of selected CAM interventions. Four of the five CAMs assessed were found to be cost effective as alternative or adjunctive treatments for national health priority health conditions including:
- Omega-3 fish oils for secondary prevention of heart disease
- Acupuncture for chronic low back pain
- St John’s wort for mild to moderate depression, and
- An herbal combination for osteoarthritis.
For full report and a pdf of the full study go here:
http://www.nicm.edu.au/content/view/174/295/