Alternative medicine is increasingly seeping into the mainstream.
An example: When one of Alan Lazar’s arthritis patients didn’t respond to conventional treatment, the Florida orthopedic surgeon headed to the health food store and bought some books on herbal remedies.
That began an intense decadelong interest in alternative medicines. In late 1996, the Plantation, Fla., physician teamed up with a nutritionist to develop a line of herbal supplements now carried in 27 states, 50 health food stores in South Florida and Lazar’s medical office.
Lazar and other medical practitioners are responding to the boom in unconventional medical care. In South Florida, hospitals have christened alternative medical programs, medical schools are offering introductory courses on acupuncture and vitamin-makers are seeing sales of their herbal supplements swell.
Sales of herbal supplements — such as kava kava for stress reduction and ginkgo biloba for memory enhancement — were expected to top $2.3 billion by the end of this year, according to FIND/SVP, a New York-based research firm. The alternative medical-care industry includes therapies, such as acupuncture, and is a $3 billion business, according to some estimates.
What’s driving the boom? Patients. More than four of every 10 adults said they used some type of unconventional medical therapy during the past year, according to a nationwide study in January by Landmark Healthcare, a managed alternative care company based in Sacramento, Calif. Those treatments include taking echinacea in an effort to stimulate the immune system and fight colds, undergoing biofeedback to lessen stress before surgery and seeking acupressure treatment to try to ease migraine headaches and back pain.
“Patients today are dissatisfied with the current level of care they are receiving,” said Harvey Grossbard, an acupuncturist in Aventura, Fla., who also specializes in treatments with herbal medicine and acupressure, a technique in which acupuncture points on the body are stimulated with manual pressure, often to alleviate pain.
“Many patients are also experiencing a lot of adverse effects from many of the drugs they are taking and are looking for something more effective, or as effective, and with less risk.”
One fast-growing segment of the alternative medical industry got a boost in December, after an independent panel of experts convened by the National Institutes of Health supported acupuncture’s effectiveness.
The panel concluded that acupuncture is effective in treating nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, surgical anesthesia and morning sickness, and also relieves pain caused by dental surgery.
Other pain-related conditions–including tennis elbow, headaches, lower back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and menstrual cramps–may also benefit from the technique used in China for centuries, but the scientific data was less concrete, the panel said.
With the spotlight squarely on alternative medicine, hospitals, universities and others are seeing opportunity, too.
Consider:
– A handful of South Florida hospitals recently have opened specialized alternative medicine programs. North Shore Medical Center in Miami opened its Complementary Health Care Center in February, offering nutrition counseling and classes in tai chi. Last fall, the Miami Heart Institute in Miami Beach opened its Center for Alternative Medicine and Longevity.
Both have seen only modest growth. “Since alternative care seems to be something people are seeking out, and they’re finding relief, the hospitals are trying to see how they can meet that need,” said Florida Hospital Association spokeswoman Kim Streight.
– Surging sales of vitamins and herbal supplements helped buoy profits for vitamin manufacturers.
A handful of herbal treatments led to $100 million in sales for Boca Raton, Fla.-based Rexall Sundown last year. Those include ginseng (said to boost energy), St. John’s wort (said to relieve mental depression), echinacea (wards off colds and flu) and saw palmetto (said to improve some prostate problems).
Retailers are profiting too. Clearwater, Fla.-based Eckerd Drugs began carrying about 30 herbal products in 1992.
Now the chain’s 2,750 stores nationwide keep 100 to 150 herbal products on their shelves, including ginkgo biloba, said to enhance memory by purportedly improving blood circulation.
– Reston, Va.-based American WholeHealth runs five clinics where patients can be treated by either mainstream physicians or alternative medical providers such as acupuncturists, massage therapists or yoga instructors.
The clinics are geared to people with chronic health problems including diabetes, lower back pain or multiple sclerosis. Founded by a conventional physician in 1993, the company runs five centers in Maryland, Colorado and Illinois; a sixth will open this summer in Boston.
With $20 million in venture capital, American WholeHealth expects to open as many as 60 clinics by 2004.
– A rising number of health maintenance organizations and other insurers are paying for alternative medical treatments, or negotiating discounts with holistic providers for patients willing to pay out-of-pocket themselves.
– About 50 of the nation’s 125 medical schools offer elective, for-credit courses on alternative therapies, according to the American Medical Association. Another 18 medical schools offer seminars on the subject.
Since 1996, second-year medical students at Nova Southeastern University have taken a mandatory course in alternative and complementary medicine. There are plans to open an institute of alternative medicine that would serve as a clearinghouse for information on unconventional therapies.
With more of their patients using alternative treatments, mainstream medical doctors are taking note.
