I have read with great interest the recent spate of articles on health care in Maine. As a chiropractor, I certainly applaud the Blue Ribbon Commission’s basic recommendation that preventive health measures, such as reducing smoking, increased exercise and better diet are probably the most effective (and cost-effective) steps that can be taken to improve the health of our citizens. They also made recommendations about improving access to medical care and prescription medication.

Basically the commission’s recommendations are twofold: patient lifestyle improvements, and improved access to medical care. If a person’s lifestyle changes are not sufficient to, say, reduce their high blood pressure, the assumption is that the person then has to begin taking medication. I feel the commission missed an area where very significant savings, as well as improvements in health care, can be found. There’s a third option, between lifestyle changes and medical care, and one that is frequently overlooked: natural health care.

There has been a huge surge of interest in natural health care. A study published in 1993 showed there were actually more visits to non medical health care providers (chiropractors, massage therapists, and acupuncturists were the top three) than there were to medical doctors in 1991. The purpose for these visits ranged from simple stress release to treatment of chronic pain and even life-threatening conditions.

In my chiropractic practice, it is not unusual for a patient’s health to improve enough that they are able to discontinue several of their long-term medications. I have also had patients tell me they have had similar results from acupuncture, massage therapy, and using herbs. These treatments are not simply feel-good luxuries, but are an essential part of the health care for these patients, and in some cases are life-saving.

Natural health care has many advantages. The first is cost. Since natural medicine relies on hands- on methods for diagnosing, the costs of testing are considerably less. It is not unusual for patients to be evaluated, treated, and released from chiropractic care for less than the cost of one MRI. Also, the mainstay of medical treatment is medication.

The cost of drugs has increased dramatically the past few years; from 1992 to 1997 consumer spending on drugs increased 123 percent, and has jumped even higher with the aggressive advertising campaigns the drug companies have undertaken recently. There are hidden costs of medications as well.

A study published in the American Journal of Managed Care stated that 5 to 15 percent of all elderly hospitalizations, and fully 45 percent of all re-hospitalizations were the direct result of side effects of medication. The price tag for these medication -related hospitalizations was an amazing $40 billion a year. Perhaps it would be better to treat patients naturally, without drugs, rather than making drugs more affordable.

Consider the case of low back pain. Low back pain is an enormous expense for health insurance companies, with most of that expense coming from testing and pain medications. Several studies have shown chiropractic care to be both less expensive and more effective than regular medical treatment. Research has even shown the benefits of chiropractic are still present two years after treatment stopped.

One study commissioned by the government of Ontario found that if back pain was treated by chiropractors first, the savings would be “hundreds of millions of dollars annually” for that province alone. That is a substantial savings. There is not as much research on acupuncture, but it is approved by the World Health Organization for a number of conditions, including migraine, low back pain, ulcers, and asthma.

Natural health care is also a much safer than high-tech medicine. A recent report revealed that medication errors are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, killing more people than even auto accidents. Anti inflammation medicines, such as Naprosyn, Vioxx, Advil and Flexeryl cause an estimated 16,500 deaths per year in the United States alone – the same as AIDS. Natural health care is much safer by comparison. A recent study found chiropractic care to be several hundred times safer than aspirin.

Natural health care will never replace high-tech medicine; there are conditions best treated with drugs and surgery. But the excitement of the latest medical breakthrough should be tempered with a healthy respect for the inevitable side effects of the breakthrough treatment that seem to surface about two to three years later. If the governor is serious about making health care more effective and affordable, I would recommend steps be taken to encourage more use of natural health care.

This would include better coverage through insurance plans and educating the public about natural health options. But the most important step would be educating the medical profession and other decision-makers. The Blue Ribbon Commission showed its bias against the chiropractic profession when they declined to let the profession testify at their hearings, despite hearing from the medical association, and other groups. The medical profession is still very skeptical about any form of natural health care, despite the large body of evidence showing its safety and efficacy. We all tend to be leery of something we don’t understand, and in this case public and medical ignorance about natural health options has a huge cost.

Dr. Michael Noonan is a chiropractor in Old Town.