Alternative Medicine Expenses on the Increase

A new report from the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (affiliated with the National Institutes of Health) notes that alternative medical care "accounts for 1.5 percent of all health-care costs in the United States, but 11.2 percent of all out-of-pocket costs" mostly spent with "self-care therapies" that don't require consultation with a practitioner ("Americans Spend Billions on Alternative Medicine" - U.S. News and World Report, July 30, 2009). Purchase of "non-vitamin, non-mineral natural products" such as fish oil and echinacea accounted for some $14.8 billion of the total spent on alternative medicine.

Review selected library titles related to alternative medicine at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• alternative medicine
  
• homeopathy
  
• holistic medicine
  
• herbs therapeutic use
  

Alternative Therapies edited by Debra A. Miller - Greenhaven Press, 2009.
call number: 615.5 Alt
Includes information on alternative therapy regulation, safety, benefits/drawbacks, and use with children. - publisher's table of contents excerpt

Mosby's Complementary & Alternative Medicine: A Research-Based Approach by Lyn Freeman - Mosby Elsevier, 2009.
call number: 615.522 Fre
"This text includes practical, clinically relevant coverage of complementary and alternative medicine, with commentary by well-known experts, descriptions of recent medical advances, case studies, and the history and philosophy of each discipline, along with indications, contraindications, practical application, and clinical trials for each topic." - publisher's summary excerpt

Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine by Simon Singh & Edzard Ernst - W.W. Norton & Co., 2008.
call number: 610 Sin
"Noted science writer Singh and British professor of complementary medicine Ernst offer a reasoned examination of the research on acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine and other alternative treatments. . . a stimulating and informative account that will be indispensable to anyone considering an alternative treatment, though it may not dissuade true believers." - Publisher's Weekly review excerpt

Prescription for Drug Alternatives: All-Natural Options for Better Health without the Side Effects by James F. Balch, Mark Stengler, and Robin Young-Balch - John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
call number: 615.535 Bal
"Verdict: The evidence supporting the efficacy of some suggested supplements is weak, and there are no caveats to readers that supplements themselves act as drugs. The bulk of the book consists of a listing of disease conditions with causes; prescription drug treatments with associated benefits, side effects, and risks; and natural alternatives." - Library Journal review excerpt

Alternative Medicine: An Introduction to Holistic and Integrative Therapies [videorecording] produced by Revodition LLC, 2008.
call number: DVD Nonfiction 615.88 Alt
"The program features 7 practitioners who have become successful in their respective forms of complementary and inclusionary medicine. They provide powerful insight on their experiences and methods of healing individuals who had nowhere else to turn for help." - publisher's summary excerpt