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  • Health-Care - The Importance of Choice - Part 8

    Health-Care - The Importance of Choice - Part 8
    31 Jul
    2018
    Tagged as

    Posted by Evolve College News

    Evolve College Urges Caution

    This is a continuation of our important series on health-care – and your choice.

    In Evolve College’s view, the fundamental point in all of this is that consumers (the general public) have a choice as to the health-care they adopt. This is a basic right of each and every person.

    Certain measures, such as withdrawal of certain rights or privileges associated with use of Complementary Medicine therapies, may be part of an overall trend or move to funnel health-care services towards Conventional Medicine (putting pressure on that system – as discussed below and in next week’s article) and away from the use of Complementary Medicine or Complementary to Medicine therapies.

    We urge caution here, for two reasons:

    • First, people have the right to choose the health-care they adopt, as a fundamental right applicable to all adults able to give informed consent.
    • Second, any restriction in or exclusion of the service provided by Complementary Medicine and Complementary to Medicine therapies could put an untenable pressure on the conventional medical system which must not be allowed if we as a nation are to practice responsible governance.

    Why does this matter? 

    People may not agree with others’ choices as to what type of health-care they use. However, the fundamental point is that people have a choice

    We refer below to some of the insinuations or statements that have formed part of the rhetoric against certain therapies that do not meet the usual double blind randomised control trials even though they may have other types of evidence indicating their benefit. (Refer for instance to our series on massage and its therapeutic benefits, first published towards the end of 2016.)

    We therefore ask:

    1. Is labelling the general public as stupid or gullible or easily fooled, or insinuating that they are, and that they are not capable of choosing their own form of health-care, an accurate description of the public? Do you, as a reader, consider this to be an accurate description of you (as a health-care user)?

    2. Are blanket restrictions in health-care really required in order to safe-guard a so-called less-than-intelligent public?

    3. Or do people have the right to choose what health-care they use, subject of course to the usual measures of public safety and responsibility and accountability of practitioners, such as through the registration system under AHPRA for registered practitioners, and codes such as the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission Code of conduct for unregistered practitioners, and the National Code for unregistered practitioners. See our previous series on the National Code for further information: Part 1: addressing what the National Code is and Part 2 summarising its main points

    Evolve College is all about professionalism and integrity. Our entire College operates on this basis and our students are taught with this as the core. As a result, our students emerge into their chosen profession with a well-rounded and well-trained basis, as well as confidence and a hefty measure of professionalism, ready to make a real, and valued contribution to the sector they work in. Our students are well known for their exceptional professionalism demonstrated in the many community and public events we support nation-wide, the requests we receive for such services, and the feedback we get.

    From that basis, we fully back professionalism and integrity in all aspects of health-care, without exception, and our students are trained according to a very high standard of ethics and professional standards. We expect our students to practice to that standard, and in teaching to that standard, we represent the standard that we consider should be practised by health care professionals across the board.

    In doing so, we as Evolve College are setting standards for health-care, just as we are setting standards for education – that centre on integrity and quality. 

    Alongside that, we fully and absolutely respect the right of individuals to choose the type of health-care that is right for them, subject to meeting all relevant laws and regulations. 

    As stated in a prior series we ran on health-care:

    It is for the public that Evolve College teaches and delivers with the quality that we do, for the quality of student experience with us shapes the quality of therapist that graduates at the end of our course which of course in turn contributes to the quality of the industry they practise in and the service it offers to the public.

    Next week we look at the very important question of whether restrictions on complementary therapies could have an adverse effect on Conventional Medicine. This is a very important topic. Watch out for our article next week, to explore more.

    PRIOR ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES

    Read the full series of articles: 

    1. Part 1 – The importance of choice 
    2. Part 2 – Conventional Medicine
    3. Part 3 – Complementary Medicine
    4. Part 4 – Complementary to Medicine
    5. Part 5 – Government Changes affecting complementary medicine – PHI rebate 
    6. Part 6 – Government Changes affecting complementary medicine – Potential GST exclusion
    7. Part 7 – Risks to health-care

    NOTES ON REFERENCING AND LINKING 

    You are welcome to link to or refer to our articles from Evolve College News. Acknowledgement of Evolve College News is required, along with a link to the original article and our site. Questions are to be directed to news@evolvecollege.com.