Ontario College of Physician and Surgeons publish new update on their policy statement on complimentary and alternative medicine

Monday, 13 February, 2012

Trends show that increasing numbers of patients are looking to complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) for help with complex medical problems, wellness, or relief from acute symptoms.

This last November The College has updated their policy statement on CAM, for physicians to either be able to collaborate, or to practice themselves. The great news is that they will no longer be prosecuting their members for practicing CAM.

However, the College requires their members to provide a conventional diagnosis “informed by evidence and science”. That translates into the conventional method of blood tests, or use of diagnostic equipment such as MRI, or CT scans. These tests show structural changes, when there are symptoms that are categorized and labelled. This means that the evidence is based on conventional medical techniques. I treat many patients according to symptoms which show a functional change in their system. These changes would not necessarily show up in conventional tests as there is not yet a structural change. Conventional medical tests cannot really do this. Functional medicine is the domain of CAM. I wonder how a physician would get around this.

Bottom line: Perhaps this is the first step in the medical world for a recognition by the dominating science of conventional medicine, the youngest kid on the block, to integrate CAM.

Reference:

http://www.cpso.on.ca/uploadedFiles/policies/policies/policyitems/complementary_med.pdf