Australian Doctors, Scientists Fear Alternative Medicine : Personal Liberty Digest™

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Australian Doctors, Scientists Fear Alternative Medicine

February 9, 2012 by Sam Rolley

The traditional medical establishment fears the mainstreaming of alternative

medical practices so much that a group of doctors and scientists in

Australia are asking the country’s university policy makers not to allow

courses in alternative medicine to be offered.

The Friends of Science in Medicine, as they call themselves, say they are

worried about the increasing number of “pseudo-science” courses they say are

not based on scientific principles and experimental evidence. They believe

that universities would lend undeserved credibility to what they describe as

“quackery.”

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, about one in three Australian

universities now offers courses in some form of alternative therapy or

complementary medicine, including traditional Chinese herbal medicine,

chiropractic, homeopathy, naturopathy, reflexology and aromatherapy.

Friends of Science in Medicine co-founder Dwyer, a government adviser

on “consumer health fraud,” says government funding for alternative medicine

courses in subjects like Chinese herbal medicine and chiropractic should

cease. He also believes that Australia’s government health insurance should

stop reimbursing for alternative treatments altogether.

German and British medical insurance providers are also in the process of

removing alternative therapies from the list of treatments they will cover.