US-urgent action alert

[Sue Boyle]

Hi Shannon and Teresa,

If you read all of the papers NCCAM presented( boring ) the important portions are:
a request for the the community to assist NCCAM in shaping the research portfolio.
The 4 factors(scientific promise, extent and nature of practice and use, amenability to rigorous scientific investigation, and a potential to change health or health care practices )i identified as key components of a framework for research priorities.
The type and sources of information that must be included in an optimal priority setting process.
Comment on;
the major unmet needs of consumers and the general public in accessing, interpreting and making use of research evidence about CAM.
the major unmet needs of health care providers in accessing , interpreting and making use of research evidence about CAM.
research needed to better understand how both health care providers and the general public make decisions about CAM practice and use.

Of course this could have been asked for a week or more ago, rather then today with a deadline of tomorrow!

NCCAM was established to give grants, conduct and support research, dissemination of information, identifying, investigating and validating CAM. It is independent of NIH. I believe homeopathy has gotten a couple of grants for research over the years, but we apparently don't apply for many grants on the whole. It is hard to get a grant for something that doesn't lend itself to "traditional" research parameters and lots of practitioners are busy with their practices to research.

Hope this helped clarify the request.

Sue
________________________________




URGENT ACTION ALERT!!!
ADVOCATING HOMEOPATHY for MAINSTREAM HEALTHCARE
Dear NCH members,

You have an opportunity until November 19, 2009 to participate in what may be the most important decision for homeopathy and the integrative practice community in the next decade.

It will certainly be your one chance to participate in a $600-million question, namely:

How should NCCAM prioritize its spending for the years 2011-2015?
NCCAM (National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine - a division of the National Institutes of Health) is the primary source of government research funds for this field.

Let NCCAM know the kinds of research you think NCCAM should fund today. And tell your friends to comment as well. This one is VERY important.
We need to be heard! If you would like to support this objective, please post your comments before Thursday, November 19 at

NCCAM Strategic Plan: 2010 [NCCAM Health Information .
Sincerely,

Nancy Gahles, DC, CCH, RSHom(NA)
President
National Center for Homeopathy
101 S. Whiting St., Suite 16
Alexandria, VA 22304
www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org
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The National Center for Homeopathy | 101 S. Whiting St. | Suite 16 | Alexandria | VA | 22304

[Shannon Nelson]

Now, that, I agree, is a huge problem! (I mean, not differentiating between someone who has a few weekend seminars and someone who's spent years studying deeply with people who are well trained and experienced--and that, in my very strong opinion, is the true issue, NOT the matter of MD or not-MD, etc.

I think that's something we should focus on--through public lectures, articles, whatever. Giving "the public" a better understanding of the *range* of homeopthy, and the fact that while acute issues might in many cases be helped by someone with minimal training, and while *palliation* (or suppression) might be achieved fairly simply in some circumstances, to truly *cure* takes much longer and broader training. People don't know that; most of the doctors etc. who are taking weekend classes don't know it. Many naturapaths don't even know it--particularly tragic, in my opinion!

That should be an issue mentioned, over and over, in the NCAM comments, that we want a much *fuller* understanding of homeopathy, including its range, and including the difference between a few weekend seminars, versus a few years of training and mentorship (not to mention years of clinical experience).

There are MDs (and other "licensed providers) doing very high quality homeopathic prescribing--Will Taylor, Joe Rozencwajg, and many others. There are also fully trained non-licensed MDs who are doing not-so-great prescribing; it's not a simple question, and we do ourselves a huge disservice if we settle for any simple answer (such as avoiding teaching homeopathy to MDs etc.).

Fact is, the MDs are at the top of the *legal* heap; also most are very sincere people who *want to help their patients*. Medical knowledge can be a huge asset to health management--it just needs to be understood and applied in a useful way. Getting homeopathy training to some greater number of appropriate and interested MDs could make a huge difference, especially if they are integrated into the homeopathic community--e.g. to take and pass the same certification exams as the rest of us--and if the level of public education is enhanced, so that more and more people are *aware* of the range of different methods which may be called homeopathy, and aware of the possibilities of chronic / "constitutional" homeopathic treatment, as distinct from acute care and palliative. (I'm thinking of the naturapath I'd been seeing, who was completely unaware of all of that!)

Shannon

[Shannon Nelson]

Why?



URGENT ACTION ALERT!!!
ADVOCATING HOMEOPATHY for MAINSTREAM HEALTHCARE

Dear NCH members,
You have an opportunity until November 19, 2009 to participate in what may be the most important decision for homeopathy and the integrative practice community in the next decade.

It will certainly be your one chance to participate in a $600-million question, namely:

How should NCCAM prioritize its spending for the years 2011-2015?
NCCAM (National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine - a division of the National Institutes of Health) is the primary source of government research funds for this field.

Let NCCAM know the kinds of research you think NCCAM should fund today. And tell your friends to comment as well. This one is VERY important.
We need to be heard! If you would like to support this objective, please post your comments before Thursday, November 19 at
NCCAM Strategic Plan: 2010 [NCCAM Health Information .
Sincerely,

Nancy Gahles, DC, CCH, RSHom(NA)
President
National Center for Homeopathy
101 S. Whiting St., Suite 16
Alexandria, VA 22304
www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org
Forward email

This email was sent to shannonnelson@tds.net by e-newsletter@nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org .
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The National Center for Homeopathy | 101 S. Whiting St. | Suite 16 | Alexandria | VA | 22304

[Shannon Nelson]

I think it's safe to assume that any visible public effort to promote "alternative" care in general, and also homeopathy in particular, will have to contend with efforts to distort. Some of those could well be deliberate maliciousness (people who don't trust the field, and want it to fail; or who have financial or emotional stake in the "mainstream medical model"), and some of it not. But if we aren't even in the *game*, then we have no right to complain about the rules or the action. We *are* being affected. Do we want to try to move things in our favor, or do we want to just fade back into the shadows and hope "they" forget about "us"? (Which ain't going to happen...)

[Sue Boyle]

NCH hasn't the money or staff to check credentials for everyone who claims to practice homeopathy unfortunately. That is why the CHC exists, but there are very few homeopaths who elect to go go for their CCH, possibly it's the cost or who knows what else stops them. If and when insurance starts paying homeopaths, we will see credoentialling as a necessary part of insurance payment.

Sue