Alternative medicine
The recent article by Dr. K. Madan Gopal, “The delicate balancing of health-care costs” (Editorial page, June 4), on the need for balancing health-care costs, puts forth much needed insights into the matter. India enjoys medical pluralism and the role of alternative health care too needs to be deliberated upon in this context, especially in the preventive aspect.
For instance, a patient of Osteoarthritis (Stage 1) reporting to a PHC should be provided with information regarding effective management of the same through Ayurveda. The scenario now is such that the patient is put on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics, which treat the symptoms while the cause persists. The condition easily progresses to the later stages which require surgical intervention. This results in decreased productivity and quality of life as well as a growing financial burden. Intervention through alternative medical systems that have clinically established efficacy in specific conditions should be mainstreamed and made available to patients upon primary consultation. This level of integration of medical systems needs to be implemented at the grass-root levels.
As the global morbidity trend shifts steadily towards non-communicable and lifestyle diseases, alternative systems of health care can rise to the occasion, with the right kind of policymaking at the State and national levels.
Dr. D. Ramanathan,
Thrissur, Kerala
At Roland Garros
A Spaniard is once again the king of Roland Garros. Though it is Carlos Alcaraz’s first triumph on the storied clay court in Paris, he carried on the tradition of countryman Rafael Nadal. The future of world tennis seems to be in safe hands.
R. Sivakumar,
Chennai