Trying to Find Middle Ground in the Alternative Medicine Debate
by Kirk Bangstadkirkbangstade@medicalhealthcarecareerschools.com
Medical Health Care Career Schools Columnist
Alternative medicine has a lot of supporters and opponents that continuously debate the usefulness of therapies outside of mainstream medicine. Unfortunately, this debate is missing a middle ground that helps justify some alternative medicine and proves others to be a sham. WebMD's public editor wrote about this dilemma recently in response to a number of complaints directed at the website for not giving enough coverage to alternative medicine.
The Quacks Give Alternative Medicine a Bad Name
The biggest problem concerning alternative medicine today is that any remedy or treatment outside of mainstream medicine is automatically lumped into the alternative medicine category. Because it is the catch all for every unproven healthcare idea, alternative medicine gets a bad rap from the mainstream healthcare community. This is unfortunate because there are a number of healthcare practices within the alternative medicine category that are very beneficial.Public Clamors for Trusted Alternative Medicine Info
WebMD has become a recognized online source for healthcare information, and they've recently been getting a number of complaints from people for not providing enough coverage of alternative medicine. WebMD's public editor, Robert Davis, recently addressed the public's concern. He admitted that WebMD did not devote enough time to alternative medicine, and it needed to because so many people used it on a regular basis.He cited a number of reasons why mainstream medicine has not acknowledged valid alternative medicine practices. First, because too many people offer quack medicine to make a quick buck, it is sometimes hard to differentiate between good and foolish alternative medicine. Second, there's a lack of scientific studies proving the beneficial effects of some alternative medicine. Because WebMD strives to be a trusted medical resource for the public, they might hurt their reputation by writing about an unproven medical treatment, even though that treatment may be loved by many.
Source:
webMD
About the Author
Kirk Bangstad is an artist manager and singer working in Chicago, IL. His previous experience includes consulting for technology companies in the Silicon Valley and serving as a field director and publicist for a statewide political campaign. Kirk holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University.
Posted on: March 17, 2006
