http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=32 How to get in contact with a stakeholder you do not know? Stakeholders in the context of our project are people or institutions who have interests towards CAM; for instance national or international patients’ organisations, who represent the views and demands of their members for or against CAM methods to be included in their portfolio; or academic institutions, who are possibly for or against CAM as a medical field, a term for a different medical approach; or doctors’ and practitioners’ boards, who have pro or contra views on CAM, governmental departments, pharmaceutical industry organizations and so on …. CAMbrella is very interested in coming to know all the relevant stakeholders for CAM in Europe, especially when it comes to questions of the future research agenda. There are working groups explicitly looking out to identify possible stakeholders in Europe – and another working group has the global view as its target and is keen on information about stakeholders from outside Europe, like India, or China, Australia and Africa. If you feel you belong to a relevant stakeholder group that has an opinion about CAM – or if you know of such an organisation / board / institution – please fill in the form and send it to us – see below for details. CAMbrella will approach the institution(s) you have named with the specific questions the working group wants to put for its task. We are especially interested in stakeholders from countries in Europe that are not part of the Consortium: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia. If you want to be up to date on CAMbrella’s progress, please sign in for the newsletter (quarterly). Thank you very much for your time and support! Wolfgang Weidenhammer, coordinator Bettina Reiter, public relations click for Stakeholder Identification Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=32 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=157 CAM congress in Berlin On October 7 and 8, 2011, the 4th European Congress for Integrative Medicine (ECIM) will take place in Berlin. The Congress offers an innovative platform for physicians, researchers, sponsors, health care politicians, students and patients alike to collectively work on the development of the best possible integrative health care. The congress will focus on the following topics: oncology, paediatrics, pain, Mind-Body-Medicine, research methods and terminology, education and Integrative Medicine Patient Care. The Congress Presidents are Prof. Dr. B. Brinkhaus, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and Prof. Dr. G. Dobos, Universitätsklinikum Essen. Further information: http://www.ecim-congress.org Scientific program: http://www.ecim-congress.org/tl_files/content/2011/Inhalt_HP_ECIM_englisch_20_09_2011%20web.pdf Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=157 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=158 CAM in Hungary About half of the Hungarian population use CAM, with the most common users being women, middle-aged people, well educated individuals, people in high positions with high income, and city dwellers. There seems to be a significant trend towards an increased use of CAM. The expenditure for CAM in 2010 is estimated at approx. 580 billion HUF (2 million Euros). The use of CAM is more characteristic of older and sick people, while openness towards CAM is more common among younger and healthier individuals. There are no differences between medical and non-medical CAM services in terms of usage and satisfaction. In 1997 the Minister of Health set up a body of professional advisers which is still in place today. Recently the Hungarian statutes were revised by the body of advisers together with representatives of four Hungarian medical universities, ÁNTSZ and National Institute of Pharmacy. The Hungarian Health Minister also recently established a new professional medical department for all medical disciplines, including CAM. CAM is regulated by law, is included in health services and patient care, and the providers of CAM have to meet certain professional requirements. Regardless of having a physician’s or non-physician diploma, obtaining a license requires passing tests issued by the State Popular Health Care Institute (ÁNTSZ). During the nine years after the statute was passed, a lot of experience was gained in Hungary in the areas of teaching and everyday practice, and the policies and statutes have to be revised accordingly. In 1998 and 2002 the medical department of the Hungarian Academy of Science (MTA) accepted as scientifically proven and medically curative the following branches that are practiced only by physicians: Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and related techniques) Manual Medicine (osteopathy, chiropractic) Neuraltherapy Only one CAM department Achieving a physician’s diploma in these areas is only possible, though, after successful exam and permission at University of Pecs CAM Department, as this is the only Hungarian university with a CAM department. Other areas, e.g. acupressure, reflexology, phytotherapy and kinesiology, do not require a physician’s diploma and can be practiced with medium qualifications in the health field. Regarding CAM treatments such as Ayurveda, Tibetan Medicine, biophysical medicine and Homeopathy, it was decided that additional scientific evidence is needed, but their use is still allowed in health care. The only procedures assessed as unscientific by the MTA were those used in natural healing and conducted with instruments as diagnostic tools, e.g. bioenergetic tests. Text: Gabriella Hegyi & Jesper Odde Madsen Sources Military Individuals usage of CAM in Hungary (Hegyi, Pfeiffenroth, Csutortoki) PTE CAM department, Hungarian Defensive University) 2011. I-CAM-Q summary of 105 individuals in Hungary (Hegyi G. in the framework of CAMbrella) 2011. Policy of CAM, 11/97 NM, 40/98 Governmental law, 1997, revised 2011. Opinion on CAM of Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1998, 2003, 2010), (Orvosi Hetilap) book, 2011. CAM usage in Hungary (Varga, Orsolya, Debrecen University), thesis, 2008. Arguments for Regulating the Practice of Complementary Medicine in Hungary (Hegyi G.) News of Medical Management, GMI, 2008. Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=158 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=162 Closer to the final goal From September 7 to 9 the members of Work Package 7 gathered for a workshop in Castellaro Lagusello, close to the lake of Garda, Italy. The Work Package leader, Benno Brinkhaus from Berlin, had invited seven guests, partly members of CAMbrellas Advisory Board and partly external experts from Ireland, USA, UK, Finland and Germany. The purpose of this very intense and fruitful meeting was the discussion and preparation of WP 7´s central task: the roadmap for future CAM research in Europe. Each CAMbrella Work Package reported on its current status in order to consider their findings for a future research strategy. Another input to the discussion was the findings of a systematic literature review on methods for the investigation of CAM presented by Felix Fischer from the Berlin group. The input given by the invited speakers was extremely helpful. Due to their outsider perspective they were able to judge our project from the exterior and as a whole project. Their contributions helped the workshop in condensing all our findings from different parts of the project into key messages. All the CAMbrella participants would like to take the opportunity and thank them for their important guidance as well as for the effort they took to join this meeting. A detailed report on the meeting will be part of the next CAMbrella newsletter in December 2011. The workshop was hosted by CAMbrella member Francesco Cardini and took place in the beautiful surroundings of Castellaro Lagusello. Text: Meike Dlaboha & Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=162 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=161 European Commission – Workshops with focus on future health research “Health, demographic change and well-being” was the issue this summer at two workshops, arranged by the European Commission, DG Research & Innovation. The workshops are a part of the discussion and consultation process that will finally open out in the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation “Horizon 2020”. The two very interesting workshops in July 2011 give a lot of CAM compatible ideas and we hope that interested researchers let themselves get inspired. You can read about the two workshops here: http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/index_en.cfm?pg=workshops&workshop=the_health_demographic_change_and_wellbeing_challenge Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=161 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=160 HORIZON 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020 will, in the context of Europe 2020 strategy, cover the FP funding for research as well as other financial instruments of the European Union: CIP (competitiveness and innovation program), EIT (European Institute for Innovation and Technology) and structural funds. This means that FP, CIP and EIT and structural funds will be merged to form one single research program. The objective will be to increase impact and simplify the rules in order to support common strategic priorities of the EU, focusing on societal challenges, competitiveness and research excellence, and to support projects and organizations across all the innovation cycle from research to retail. The ultimate aim is to maximise the contribution of EU funded research and innovation to sustainable growth and jobs and to tackling the grand challenges facing Europe – for example climate change, energy and food security, health and our ageing population. This will be achieved by creating a coherent set of instruments, along the whole “innovation chain” starting from basic research, culminating in bringing innovative products and services to market; and also to support non-technological innovation, for example in design and marketing. For the research community this could show the path how calls might be outlined in the future: with a focus on interdisciplinary layouts, with stronger SME and/or industrial participation and a focus on the economic utilization of the emerging results of the research projects. Innovation management will certainly become a key issue in the programme. The funding On 29 June 2011 the European Commission presented the Multiannual Financial Framework which translates into financial terms the Union’s political priorities for the period 2014-2020. Investment in research and innovation in the next seven years will be significantly increased. The common EU strategy “Horizon 2020” is worth Euro 80 billion. This amount of Euro 80 billion is not yet confirmed, the budget still has to be approved by the European Parliament. Simplification Currently, there is a risk of overlap and duplication between programmes. For example, SMEs are targeted by both FP7 and the CIP. HORIZON 2020, unifying these different programs, will lead to greater impact by streamlining the support offered, while maintaining flexibility. Furthermore, the variety and complexity of rules and procedures across the different programmes is causing confusion and has been criticised by stakeholders; HORIZON 2020 is said to allow simpler, more consistent and more predictable rules. And it will make it easier for participants to find out where they can obtain funding for their activities. Text: Meike Dlaboha Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=160 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=159 Legal status and regulations – CAMbrella Work Package 2 There are major differences between countries with regard to whether or not CAM is regulated by a separate act. These differences influence the practice of CAM in Europe, so CAMbrella is to find out how CAM is regulated and governmentally supervised in the individual countries. The status of reimbursement for CAM (including non-pharmacological medicinal products) in Europe will also be reviewed. The number of countries to be investigated was expanded to 39 after a thorough re-appraisal of the inclusion criteria. Collection of relevant information from each country is currently still ongoing, including personal visits to selected countries. The findings will eventually be described in three reports. Report 1 addresses the “Legal, regulatory, supervisory and reimbursement status of CAM in Europe”, building on a report published by NAFKAM (National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway) in 2005. The current and previous regulatory system will be described based on current and previous EU rules and regulations in the area, supplemented by information from personal interviews with bureaucrats responsible for this area in the EU system. The regulatory status of CAM medicinal products will be addressed in Report 2. The description of EU-wide regulation and potential obstacles to such regulation (Report 3) will be built partly on the NAFKAM report mentioned (“How are European patients safeguarded when using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) Jurisdiction, supervision and reimbursement status in the EEA area (EU and EFTA) and Switzerland”, NAFKAM 2005) and partly on other published work in the area. The work in Work Package 2 is coordinated with WP1 with regard to terminology, with WP5 with regard to models of care, and with WP 6 on the global situation to compare the legal status of CAM in Europe with that in the rest of the world. A final two-day workshop will be held in the beginning of 2012 to complete WP2. Participants of WP2 are also represented in WP 4, 6 and 7. NAFKAM, as responsible for WP2, will establish contact with WP5 to ensure harmonisation of the work. The Work Package leader is Vinjar Fønnebø, University of Tromsø, Norway. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=159 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=165 Towards the roadmap The relevance of future CAM research depends on its success in meeting the needs of the involved stakeholders, like patients, treatment providers, research funders and politicians and other decision makers. If research is to be successful, it is necessary to apply a broad variety of research methods, taking different types of evidence into consideration. The above was part of a long and fruitful discussion about future CAM research, which took place during a three-day workshop held by CAMbrella Work Package 7 (WP7) in Castellaro, Italy, on September 7-9, 2011. The purpose of the meeting was i.a. to identify and discuss key issues of upcoming WP7 report and to determine the future steps of WP7. Workshop participants also included two members of the CAMbrella advisory board and invited experts from the field of CAM research. The task of WP7 is to develop a consensus-based research road map for future clinical and epidemiological research on CAM, and at the workshop, the essential first step was made: To develop recommendations as a first draft of the road map. The work includes the analysis of currently used research methods and a discussion of general research issues in the field of CAM, presented as a literature review. In collaboration with CAMbrella Work Packages 3, 4, 5 and 6, special emphasis is placed on research strategies and on prevalence research with regard to citizens', patients' and providers' needs, including a global inventory of previous CAM research strategies. During the three days´ workshop, each session was opened by an expert in the field who gave an introductory lecture covering the most important issues regarding the session’s topic. At the end of the workshop, the participants were asked to suggest additional important topics, which were discussed in the session on “various topics”. The group of external experts was joined by Wayne Jonas, Klaus Linde, Charlotte Paterson, Harald Walach, Claudia Witt and Hugh MacPherson. The Advisory Board had sent Seamus Connolly and Peter Zimmermann. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen and Work Package 7 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=165 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=168 CAM in Switzerland Despite a long tradition of natural healers throughout the landscape the typical Swiss CAM user is a middle-aged, well educated woman with two children, living in urban areas. On a yearly basis, thirty percent of the adults are using CAM – comprising doctors’ “complementary” and “alternative” therapies and treatments provided by non-medically qualified practitioners, according to Swiss terminology. Homeopathy (6.4%), osteopathy (5.4%), acupuncture (4.9%), shiatsu (4.8%), phytotherapy (herbal medicine, 2.7%), and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, 1.7%) are the most used therapies. Anthroposophical medicine (used by 0.9%) and neural therapy (0.5%) are provided by physicians only. Approximately 3.000 CAM certified doctors and additionally 20.000 registered therapists provide more than 160 different CAM therapies. The picture of provision is totally different from the one of CAM use: The most provided certified physicians’ methods are manual medicine (1191), TCM including acupuncture (655), homeopathy (255), neural therapy (118), anthroposophical medicine (95) and phytotherapy (50). For non-medical practitioners the situation is much more difficult: Many method specific associations with several requirements and many training institutes makes it difficult to get an overview, as well as different curricula and cantonal demands for registration through lack of national (federal) regulations. These regulations are to be expected in 2013. Five CAM therapies provided by doctors were reimbursed by the NHS in 1999-2005. Four therapies will be preliminarily reimbursed in 2012-2017 and have to be evaluated regarding efficency, utility, safety, and cost-effectiveness. In 2006-2011 these CAM treatments had to be paid out-of-the-pocket or were financed by additional insurance in the same manner as therapies provided by non-medical practitioners. (Further information on the reimbursement issue can be read here in our previous newsletter:) The first Swiss professor of CAM Due to a public vote in 1995 a chair of complementary medicine was implemented at the University of Bern, comprising four of five physicians’ therapies represented by doctors with additional CAM qualifications. Recently Ursula Wolf (anthroposophic medicine) has qualified as the first professor of complementary medicine in Switzerland. Phytotherapy as the fifth complementary therapy is represented with a chair at the University of Zurich held by Reinhard Saller. Since 2008 chiropractors have financed a foundation chair in Zurich, by offering 0.5% of their salary. KIKOM is an institution at the University in Bern, combining conventional medicine and complementary medicine in patient care, research and teaching. The fields of research are depending on the particular discipline, comprising basic research, epidemiology, diagnosis related studies, randomized controlled trials and medicinal product surveillance. Lessons and lectures are held according to the Bologna (Bachelor/Master) model: In Zurich CAM lessons do not belong to core curriculum, whereas at the University of Bern CAM has been implemented in medical students' compulsory curriculum since 2009 under overall charge of Martin Frei-Erb. Text: Klaus von Ammon, Martin Frei-Erb, Ute Daig and Jesper Madsen. References: Swiss Health Survey (Schweizerische Gesundheitsbefragung 2007, Bundesamt für Statistik, 2/2009) Swiss CAM Evaluation Report (2005) PEK-Schlussbericht (24.4.2005) available at: http://www.bag.admin.ch http://www.unioncomed.ch http://www.fmh.ch http://www.emr.ch http://www.kikom.ch http://www.naturheilkunde.usz.ch http://www.med.uzh.ch/Chiropraktik Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=168 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=166 CAM in Horizon 2020 In 2014 the next EU Research Programme, called Horizon 2020, will be launched. One of the major topics already identified is “Health, demographic change and wellbeing”. CAM seems to have the potential to contribute to this notion as three main areas of activity are outlined that reflect potential strong points CAM treatments might claim: prevention, treatment and healthcare sustainability. The issue CAM an Horizon 2020 was discussed at the very interesting third meeting of the “MEP CAM Interest Group” in the European Parliament, on October 11th 2011 in the Parliament. “The need for research into health promotion and CAM” – the header for the meeting – made clear a greater openness to research related topics in CAM. DG Research seems to adapt to a broader and more holistic approach to Health and Health care issues, according to Mr. Ole Olesen, DG Research and Innovation, who gave a presentation named “CAM and the Research Framework Programmes”. But also barriers for CAM research at EU level were mentioned at the meeting. The selection criteria for projects, the traditional orientation of conventional reviewers and the role of the Programme Committee (national governments) will still be able to make it difficult to include CAM research projects in Horizon 2020. Reading the protocols of this meeting may well be worth for anyone who is pondering a follow up project of CAMbrella or any other approach to CAM related issues within Horizon 2020. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen and Bettina Reiter Source: European Committee for Homoeopathy, http://www.homeopathyeurope.org/media/news/newsletter-6-december-2011/meeting-in-european-parliament-on-cam-research Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=166 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=167 Making CAM visible At November 18th, The German Medical Association for Acupuncture, DÄGfA, celebrated its 60 years anniversary. In 1951 a small group of dedicated doctors gathered in Munich to form “Deutsche Ärztegesellschaft für Akupunktur”, DÄGfA. Since then, DÄGfA has developed into a major professional society, working in all areas of Chinese medicine, including research, teaching and medical practice. Throughout the years DÄGfA has been trying step by step to achieve an official recognition of acupuncture. Especially Austria, Germany and France have been working hard in the first period. We have made a lot of progress, but also today the official recognition by health authorities is the major challenge for DÄGfA. In Germany, acupuncture has been recognized in many ways, but it is not yet fully included in the curriculum at the German universities, says Dr. med. Walburg Maric-Oehler, DÄGfA president of honour and General Secretary of the International Council of Medical Acupuncture and Related Techniques, ICMART. She is also a member of the CAMbrella Advisory Board. Today nearly 10.000 members are involved in the activities of DÄGfA, and the organization has been setting new standards in the CAM field with training programs as well as the promotion of university teaching following the strategy of becoming part of medicine. Long before the start of CAMbrella, DÄGfA as a member of ICMART cooperated with several European CAM organizations to enhance the public awareness about the contributions of CAM to European Health Policy at large – and later on to support the efforts to get funds into the field. This group included CAM umbrella organizations of medical doctors from all over Europe. Non-medical practitioners joining During the starting years the organization was working on a very informal basis, but since 2006 the co-operation has been established on a more formal basis, getting closer to a common strategy in CAMDOC Alliance. In the meantime, also non-medical CAM practitioners’ umbrella organizations have joined, and today the whole initiative gave itself the name of EUROCAM. There are grate plans for the future: In 2012, EUROCAM will host a conference in co-operation with EU commission: “The added value of CAM to the Health of European Citizens”. The openness in the EU Commission for this joint effort is a positive trend – “it is important that there is a closer co-operation between CAM people and the official Europe”, says Walburg Maric-Oehler. And she goes on expressing her expectations from the CAMbreall project: “Lately, and in parallel with the work in EUROCAM, CAMbrella has been generating a growing interest for CAM, and it is very important that CAMbrella will be followed up after the termination in December 2012. We must continue the co-operation between EUROCAM, CAMbrella and the EU. It is my hope that in the future CAM will be seen as a normal part of medicine, and that also non-medical CAM practitioners will be part of public healthcare – but I know that this is going to happen in small steps. The major challenges will be the dialogue with MEPs and EU officials, the health policy issues at national levels and the status of CAM within the scientific community. These issues are interrelated, and we will have to handle them in parallel in order to achieve the best outcome”, says Walburg Maric-Oehler. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=167 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=121 CAM in Norway – a brief overview The use of CAM in Norway has increased during the recent years. The last major survey on the use of CAM was carried out by NIFAB (the National Information Centre on CAM) in 2007. The results showed that nearly every second Norwegian had used CAM in one form or another that year. In Norway, CAM is mainly used complementarily, in that Norwegians see doctors and alternative practitioners at the same time. When Norwegians fall ill, the majority of them still go to their doctor first. They rarely stop conventional medical treatment in favour of CAM to treat an illness or condition. The state does not reimburse expenses in connection with the use of CAM, except when such treatment is provided by the public health service. Many public hospitals offer CAM to their patients; acupuncture is, for example, offered as pain relief to women in labour. The range of methods that patients can choose from, however, varies between hospitals based on what they deem safe to offer and what is available at the hospital. Some Norwegian health personnel have education in complementary and alternative medicine and practice various methods. Voluntary national register Anyone can practice CAM, as long as the treatment is not given to cure serious or contagious illnesses. The law primarily distinguishes between treatment that aims to directly treat and cure serious illnesses and treatment that aims to alleviate and ease the symptoms or consequences of an illness. You do not require any qualifications or documented competence in order to call yourself an alternative practitioner or practice CAM. Those who practice CAM have fewer obligations and less responsibility than authorised health personnel. When non-authorised personnel provide CAM outside a public hospital, they are legally bound by a separate Act relating to the Alternative Treatment of Disease, Illness, etc. In the Act, the patient is deemed a consumer and a buyer of services and is only entitled to lodge complaints with the Consumer Ombudsman or the practitioner’s trade union. Practitioners, however, are not required to join a trade union or to register anywhere to practice CAM. This also explains why it is difficult to put an exact figure on the number of alternative practitioners in Norway. In conjunction with the efforts to professionalise the practice of CAM and to strengthen patients’ rights, the authorities have established a national register in which CAM practitioners can enter their activities. To make this more attractive, it has been proposed that registered practitioners could be given a financial incentive (VAT exemption) for their services, but this has yet to be approved. NAFKAM – an interdisciplinary research centre Although there is no strict or detailed regulation of complementary and alternative medicine in Norway, the Norwegian authorities take its existence seriously, both as a sales product and a health service. The authorities appreciate for Norwegians to make a good, personal, informed choice with respect to their health. This means that research and dissemination of objective facts about CAM is required. Norway therefore has a separate, interdisciplinary research centre for CAM: The National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NAFKAM) was established at the University of Tromsø in 2000 ( http://www.nafkam.no ). The centre’s research and projects cover a wide range of topics, from clinical studies to studies of patients’ use of CAM. In 2007, the National Information Centre on CAM (NIFAB) was established as part of NAFKAM. Specialised editorial staff run the website www.nifab.no, where Norwegians can find objective, research-based information about CAM. NAFKAM also keeps a Registry of Exceptional Courses of Disease (RESF) in connection with the use of CAM. This research project constitutes a foundation that can contribute to explaining which factors influence exceptional disease courses. This may make it easier for patients and treatment providers to choose knowledge-based treatments. In 2008, the World Health Organisation selected NAFKAM as its first Northern-European partner on popular medicine and CAM. Text: NAFKAM and Jesper Odde Madsen Further information: http://www.nafkam.no Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=121 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=119 “Research in Complementary Medicine – Research – Practice-Perspectives”  has launched a debate how to define the sort of medicine that is “non conventional”, “alternative”, “complementary” or “Integrative” – each notion entailing consequences of its own… The “age-old debate, on what our scope actually is” (Forsch. Komplementmed. 2010; 17: 215-220) – as the introduction to this round of short essays states it – is a crucial one for CAMbrellas Workpackage 1 (see CAMbrella Newsletter – summer 2010). The editorial board explicitly welcomes commentaries and contributions! Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=119 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=115 The meeting point for European CAM researchers To make progress in research, international collaboration is a must. Therefore, a regional interest group focusing on the European perspective (European Chapter) within ISCMR (International Society for Complementary Medicine Research) was established in November 2008 at the First European Congress for Integrative Medicine in Berlin. “Since then we have launched a pan-European project to illustrate the situation of education, and we encourage our members to contact us with their needs and ideas. We think that our function as a platform will become really important in the long run, i.e. when the CAMbrella project will be finished in late 2012”, says Dr. phil. Corina Güthlin, Institut für Allgemeinmedizin, Frankfurt. Dr Güthlin is a member of the steering committee of the ISCMR European Chapter. CAMbrella and the European Chapter share a common history. In Vienna in 2004, EURICAM, the “European Research Initiative on Complementary and Alternative Medicine”, was launched by Bettina Reiter and Susanne Schunder-Tatzber from “Wiener Internationale Akademie für Ganzheitsmedizin (GAMED)” in Austria. The aim of EURICAM was to persuade the European administration to make CAM one of the relevant subjects for research in the upcoming framework research programme, FP7, as well as in future programs. Up to 17 researchers participated in the five EURICAM meetings, representing 8-10 countries. Besides, EURICAM also made an effort to include countries which were not well-known to the other participants, which was important as well. “We had many discussions about e.g. legal procedures or how CAM is integrated or not integrated into the health system in the different countries. But when the Swiss participants presented an idea for a European approach in 2006, we were able to become concrete, as having a concrete proposal at hand facilitated the whole discussion a lot”, Corina Güthlin says. “EURICAM psychologically did the right thing by bringing together all the different CAM people, but also by being physically present at all the important places to lobby. Besides other people, Wolfgang Weidenhammer (now the CAMbrella coordinator) also went to Brussels to make a potential CAM project known and to get advice on how to proceed. I am convinced that without these joined efforts, CAMbrella would never have become a reality”. The EURICAM initiative became obsolete after CAMbrella was established, but it is still present on the web http://www.euricam.net and is now linked to the European Chapter of ISCMR. The aim of the Chapter is to promote networking and joint research initiatives, being an umbrella platform for all ISCMR members within Europe. But today it only takes a minute to find a fellow researcher at another institution via the internet, and a lot of research data are online too. Thus, does it make sense to set up an organisation in order to bring colleagues together – in the age of Web 2.5? “I have been working in CAM research for 14 years, but I had never before crossed the path of a researcher from the Netherlands. With the European Chapter I easily became aware of the fact that indeed there are CAM researchers in the Netherlands! So, it is all about knowing each other, both from the list which can easily be consulted, but also in person from the annual meetings”, Corina Güthlin points out. The address list of the European Chapter counts about 130 people, which is approximately half of the ISCMR members, and between 30 and 50 members gather regularly for the annual meetings. The general meetings of the Chapter take place once a year, and the steering committee meets over the phone at least twice a year. The steering committee consists of Nicola Robinson, Wolfgang Weidenhammer, Ursula Wolf and Corina Güthlin. The next meeting of the European Chapter will be in 2011. To participate in the education project, please visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S2HB9NL . Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=115 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=116 CAM in Sweden – a brief overview In Sweden (Stockholm County, 2000), the most commonly used CAM therapy is massage, with 57% of the respondents reporting ever-use, followed by natural remedies (including herbs such as ginseng and Q10 remedies, etc.), chiropractic, and acupuncture (26%). Sweden does not have a coherent policy on CAM, but certain steps during the past 30 years indicate that the country is getting closer to such a policy. Back in 1984, acupuncture was approved as a pain relief method by The National Board of Health and Welfare, naprapathy (similar to chiropractic) was approved in 1994, and chiropractic in 1999. In 2000, Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm) initiated the first courses in CAM for physicians and students, and in 2005, the institute received a private donation of 43 mill. SKK (4.5 mill. €), which was used to establish “Osher centrum för integrativ medicin”: http://ki.se/ki/jsp/polopoly.jsp Very little written legislation explicitly regulates CAM practitioners in Sweden. Health personnel are not allowed to practice CAM without an evidence base, neither inside nor outside their profession. There are a few exceptions, though: if a patient initiates the request for it, no alternative conventional treatment options exist, and the treatment is given in conjunction with normal care. It is also required that no risk associated with the treatment be expected. The paradox Sweden is an example of a WHO member country with national health legislation that contradicts practice. According to a survey, health personnel have been recommending 19 different complementary methods, six of which are considered evidence-based in Cochrane Collaboration reviews. Although there is a policy–practice paradox and a legal separation between CAM and the biomedical community in Sweden, the country has made small steps towards reconciling the two: a proposed government-supported CAM registry, courses on CAM provided at universities around the country, and the establishment of CAM research units at medical universities. One of the objectives of the registry was to create an official checklist of certain standards to be met by the practitioners. Like in Norway and Denmark, only a few CAM practitioners are medical doctors, and within the medical society, interest in CAM has not been very popular in the past. The attitude, though, seems to be changing, and a growing number of doctors are showing their interest in CAM publicly. “Svensk Läkarförening för Komplementär Medicin” (Swedish Association for Complementary Medicine) was formed in 1977 and has approx. 200 members. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Sources: Use of complementary and alternative medicine in the Scandinavian countries. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care. Borghild Hanssen et al. Emerging Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy Initiatives and the Need for Dialogue. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Kjersti E. Knox et al. Complementary and Alternative Medicine, research, development and education. Motzi Eklöf and Anna Kullberg. Vårdguiden: http://www.vardguiden.se/Sa-funkar-det/Lagar--rattigheter/Komplementar-och-alternativ-medicin/Komplementar--och-alternativmedicinens-utveckling/ by David Finer Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=116 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=122 Access, quality and information EU citizens need equal access to CAM health services, reads one of the conclusions, when members of CAMbrella met with stakeholders from across the EU to explore citizens’ needs and attitudes towards CAM. Besides, it was concluded that citizens need independent, reliable and easily accessible information about CAM – based on the strength of available evidence – in order to make informed decisions. The third important point was the need for quality of care – regarding services, practitioners and products. The workshop, which took place on June 24 and 25, 2010, was organized by CAMbrella Work Package 3 (WP3) and hosted by GAMED (Wiener Internationale Akademie für Ganzheitsmedizin – International Academy for Integrative Medicine). GAMED is situated on the premises of Otto-Wagner-Spital on the outskirts of Vienna, thus providing for very special surroundings. To reflect the diversity of EU countries, WP3 had invited experts from Denmark, Croatia, Latvia, and Italy (Tuscany), complementing the WP3 partners, who are based in Denmark, Germany, Austria and France. The invited experts also represented the diverse organisations with concerns and interests in CAM, such as academia, a non-governmental organisation, a CAM practitioner umbrella organisation and a public health service with some CAM integration. Leader of the workshop was Helle Johannessen, University of Southern Denmark. Lively discussions On the first day, the 11 participants from all over Europe met for shared lunch, after which Susanne Schunder-Tatzber, member of GAMED and WP3, opened the workshop, which had three key aims: To identify how to explore EU citizens’ needs and attitudes towards CAM To facilitate the sharing of relevant sources of information about CAM that exist across the EU To help identify how citizens’ needs and attitudes to CAM can be measured and compared across the many EU countries. After a brief outline of CAMbrella and the specific tasks and aims of WP3, the group set to work and straightforwardly entered into lively discussions, discussing different understandings of the key terms ’citizen’, ’needs’ and ’attitudes’, and stressing, for the first but not the last time, the need for shared definitions. Later, the consumer perspective was addressed. Based on her experience as a policy advisor to the Danish Consumer Council, Sine Jensen contextualised CAM consumer needs within the wider field of consumer demands and needs. Safety issues emerged as the most prominent area, with possible solutions including legislation to prevent harm, consumer information and consumer guides, as well as more EU wide research and EU wide inspections. As a close to the busy day, the participants met for dinner in a restaurant in the centre of Vienna and used the opportunity to engage in further discussions on various aspects of their respective fields of work. Collaboration needed On the second day, the situation of CAM in individual EU countries was presented, showing the differences between the countries. Vija Sile, Professor of Bioethics at Riga Stradins University, provided an overview of CAM in Latvia, elaborating on aspects such as cultural heritage, modern history, legal status, professional and educational context, as well as available statistics on citizens’ needs and attitudes. She concluded that while there is currently little collaboration between biomedical and CAM practitioners in Latvia, patients would certainly benefit from such collaboration. An example of integration was presented by the Italian participants. On behalf of the Tuscan General Directorate of Health, Elio Rossi, and Sonia Baccetti from the Tuscany Network for Integrative Medicine provided information on the legal situation of CAM practice in Tuscany. Relying on the results of an as yet unpublished survey conducted in the Tuscan region – where complementary medicine is integrated in the public health system – they also presented information on the use of CAM, citizens’ attitudes towards and citizens’ needs regarding CAM. Eventually, the group split up in two parts to brainstorm on the workshop’s remaining aims. Among other issues, the need for a common language with shared definitions was stressed, showing a strong dependency on the CAMbrella Work Package 1 (terminology and definitions). After the workshop some of the attendants explored a unique example of architecture designed to “fulfill citizens’ needs”: Susanne Schunder-Tatzber had arranged for a tour around the hospital premises, including the church ’Kirche am Steinhof’, a masterpiece of Art Nouveau. Text: Helle Johannesen, Jesper Madsen, Monika Schagerl Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=122 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=120 Combining western medicine with complementary methods “The Future of Comprehensive Patient Care” is the overall theme of the 3rd European Congress for Integrative Medicine (ECIM), taking place in Berlin, December 3-4, 2010. The main topics of the congress will be: – Cancer – Pain – Mental Disorders – Atopic Diseases – Patient and Physician Relationship and Placebo – Primary Care – Education – Various topics The congress offers a platform for medical practitioners and healthcare professionals as well as scientists, sponsors, and health politicians. The aim is to actively influence the development of the best possible health care. Besides international renowned experts in the field of Integrative Medicine, medical practitioners from outpatient and inpatient settings are invited to participate in a lively exchange of ideas. Integrative Medicine combines conventional Western medicine with complementary methods of treatment such as naturopathy, homoeopathy, and acupuncture. By overcoming the ideological divides between these systems, Integrative Medicine has the potential to provide the best possible medical care to each individual. The 2nd European Congress for Integrative Medicine in November 2009 was another step to further establish Integrative Medicine. More than 1,000 participants engaged in a lively exchange over 3 days. Excellent speakers, high quality contributions and a fruitful networking of science and medical practice were a prolific condition to continue the congress in the future. More than 600 scientists from various areas of expertise, medical practitioners, as well as health policy officials from 26 countries discussed the future of optimal health care, which can essentially be improved by expanding Integrative Medicine. Text: Benno Brinkhaus, Congress President Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=120 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=123 European Council of Doctors for Plurality in Medicine – ECPM ECPM is a federation of medical doctors’ associations and national doctors’ federations or associations, counting more than 50,000 members practicing CAM – all in EU member states. The 45 medical associations include e.g. homeopathy, anthroposophic medicine, acupuncture and ayurvedic medicine. The aim of ECPM is to promote plurality in medicine at a European level and to work on the official recognition of CAM at an EU level as well as in the different member states of the EU. In order to make pluralism become a reality, ECPM works to achieve the following objectives: To promote freedom of medical practice and patients’ free choice. To ensure that European laws and regulations as well as the laws and regulations of the EU member states will guarantee freedom of medical practice and patients’ free choice. To communicate with EU politicians and representatives of health authorities and agencies at international level on such matters. To make sure that medicinal products prescribed by CAM providers are available on the market. To participate in adequate evaluation of CAM medical practices and of the therapeutic quality and effectiveness of CAM medicinal products. To promote quality education and training for CAM practitioners. To provide practitioners and patients with the information they need in order to make well informed choices. More and more doctors throughout Europe attend CAM medical training courses (mostly provided by private institutions) because they feel the need to extend their ’art of healing’ and are convinced that the nature of mankind extends far beyond its mere biomolecular existence. “It is necessary that patients can freely choose therapies. This is why we consider it essential that CAM modalities have official recognition within EU Official documents. In this connection, let us recall that the proposed Directive on ’the status of non-conventional medicine in Europe’, voted in 1997 by the European Parliament in Brussels, required the European Commission (Paul Lannoye Report) to pass legislation on this subject.” ECPM states its principles on the organisations’ website. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Source: ECPM Further information ECPM Türkheimerstrasse 20 CH 4055 Basel T +41 61 303 23 66 F +41 61 303 23 67 office@ecpm-europe.ch http://www.ecpm.org Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=123 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=146 CAM methods included in basic health insurance Anthroposophic medicine, classic homoeopathy, neural therapy, phytotherapy and traditional Chinese medicine will be paid for via the compulsory health insurance in Switzerland from 2012. This decision was taken by Health Minister Didier Burkhalter on 13 January 2011. The methods will be included for a limited period of six years. During this period the scientific evidence of their effectiveness, appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of the five methods must be updated. The decision was taken on the basis of the provision in the Swiss Constitution for Complementary Medicine which was passed by 67 percent of Switzerland’s voters on 17 June 2009. Swiss DaKoMed (Dachverband Komplementärmedizin, Umbrella Organisation for Complementary Medicine) is delighted with the decision. The conditions imposed, essentially updating the scientific basis for these disciplines, can be met, they say in a press release. According to his statements the Health Minister, in collaboration with the complementary medicine sector, will continue to strive to implement the article in the Constitution in concrete terms: - CAM is to be integrated into the training objectives of the health related study courses. - The marketing authorisation of CAM and traditional remedies is to be simplified. - Creation of national diplomas for natural health practitioners and therapists. - Access to research funds, provided that the relevant applications meet the quality criteria of the funding agencies. - Creation of institutes / professorships in CAM. The Health Minister will set up a Steering Group which will be responsible for the implementation of these specific points and in particular will include representatives from the complementary medicine sector. Further information: Walter Stüdeli, Spokesperson of DaKoMed - Dachverband Komplementärmedizin, +41 79 330 23 46 / walter.stuedeli@dakomed.ch Text: Dachverband Komplementärmedizin and Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=146 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=147 In each newsletter we are presenting a stakeholder - an organisation which in one way or the other is important to CAMbrella. Kneipp-Bund - supporting voluntary activities related to health Kneipp-Bund is a non-profit grassroots organisation promoting and supporting voluntary activities and exchange of information related to health - in particular natural therapies, which are a core part of the organisation's history. - We are members of the CAMbrella Advisory Board because we find it important to exchange data, to network and to share our knowledge within the European CAM community. We want to co-operate with other stakeholders, who have an interest in implementing a holistic approach into medical care, says Kneipp-Bund President Marion Caspers-Merk (Germany). The organisation is part of an international confederation, Kneipp Worldwide, including Kneipp confederations in Germany, Switzerland and other European countries, as well as associations, institutions and single members from 40 countries altogether. Kneipp-Bund counts 250,000 members in Europe, 160,000 of those in Germany. - We want to strengthen CAM research, including the Kneipp therapies, in order to enhance the level of scientific proof. And addressing this task, I think CAMbrella can make a difference. Research requires funding - Scientific co-operation across the borders is important, and we should be careful not to accept any kind of division with respect to ideas or type of treatment. The challenge these days is also that we need more research on CAM – we want to know what is working and what is not. - A lot of people say that there is no scientific proof for CAM therapies – but nobody is willing to invest in the research. Thus, in order to obtain this scientific evidence we need to establish a stronger financial structure for the research. Marion Caspers-Merk is optimistic regarding the future position of CAM within the scientific community. - We need more focus on the relationship between mind and body if mankind is going to have a healthier future, and this opinion is shared by a growing number of people. And these days it seems that quite a few younger scientists are realising that we can benefit and learn from CAM therapies and theories. Kneipp-Bund was founded in 1897 by the German priest Sebastian Kneipp. He cured himself from tuberculosis by bathing in the River Danube, and from this experience he later developed a holistic health concept, including the invention of hydrotherapy and phytotherapy. More information at http://kneippworldwide.kneippbund.de Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=147 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=148 CAMbrella meets in Berlin After working on their "pan-European research network for complementary and alternative Medicine" for almost a year, the members of CAMbrella decided that it was time for the group to meet again in person. As a high-profile conference that is a must for the entire CAM community, the 3rd European Congress for Integrative Medicine was the perfect occasion. The CAMbrella working groups scheduled their meetings for December 2, 2010, the day before the conference opening. All meetings were neatly arranged to fit into a tight but manageable schedule, and CAM experts from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and the UK headed off to Berlin in due time. The weather gods, however, had other plans: they cast an icy spell on Europe around that time, and air travel was severely hampered or halted altogether. Once in Berlin, getting to Charité Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics was another challenge as the weather conditions had stopped suburban trains, too. Anyone who made it to the seminar room in Luisenstrasse was greeted with a very warm welcome – quite literally, as the CAMbrella group had decided to stay together and not split up until the missing members had arrived. The time was used to discuss potential overlaps between work packages, e.g. Work Package 2 and WP 5, both of which deal with legal issues – national health legislation on the one hand, regulations on education and professional conduct on the other – and thus needed to decide where to draw the line. By early afternoon, all members had finally arrived (although their luggage had not, in some cases). The tight schedule was revised to account for the lost hours, and the CAMbrella group split up to work on the various tasks: WP 1 (Terminology and definitions) discussed the content of its first deliverable and distributed some final tasks among the members; WP 3 (Citizens' needs and attitudes) recapitulated the procedure of literature search and decided on study inclusion criteria; WP 4 (The patients' perspective) discussed the implementation of their review protocol and aspects of a questionnaire; WP 5 reviewed the figures gathered so far on the provision of CAM in the various EU countries and discussed strategies to account for the differences in the availability of data; and WP 7, in preparation of the roadmap for future CAM research, dealt with review protocols and concepts in CAM research methodology. All groups worked through their agenda, and by evening, concluded Thursday's meetings on time – probably the only precision landing that day. Friday morning saw the opening of the Congress on "The Future of Comprehensive Patient Care" and more CAMbrella meetings in the conference hotel rooms: WP 6 (The global perspective) met to review the results of the interviews with global stakeholders in CAM research; WP 2 held part 2 of its workshop and discussed the challenges of getting valid and up-to-date information on the legal regulation of CAM in the various EU member countries. Having concluded these morning meetings, the members of CAMbrella ventured out to join the congress sessions, hold a lecture in some cases, meet the numerous healthcare experts present, and look at the posters displayed. The Congress offered a wealth of high-profile contributions on cancer, pain, mental disorders, atopic diseases, patient-physician relationship and placebo, primary care and education, so deciding where to go was a difficult task. For the members of WP 8 (Dissemination and communication), however, the choice was an easy one in the afternoon. They gathered for the last of the CAMbrella meetings, reviewed the past year's dissemination activities and discussed strategies to inform stakeholders and the general public on CAMbrella. The second day of the ECIM was filled with just as many interesting sessions, workshops, symposia and case conferences as the first one, so the CAMbrella members again used the opportunity to hear about and discuss recent developments and latest results of CAM research. By Saturday afternoon, the last pieces of missing luggage had finally arrived, too, just in time to be taken home by their owners. So after a third busy day in Berlin, the members of CAMbrella eventually prepared for the journey home. This time, the weather gods were in their favour: traveling home was smooth and easy, and Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and the UK got their CAM experts back safely - and on time. Text: Monika Schagerl Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=148 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=149 CAM use, the providers’ perspective - CAMbrella Work Package 5 The aim of WP5 is to identify the different modalities of CAM provided by registered physicians and practitioners within public health systems in Europe in order to describe the European situation. Also, WP5 will act as an evaluation platform providing vital information about the practice of CAM among certified physicians and practitioners in the EU. Specifically, WP5 will review literature addressing the providers' perspective of CAM use in Europe; how many providers offer CAM, which different CAM methods are provided. The WP5 members will also identify the health problems for which CAM is utilised and will describe the impact of research results on health care practice. Finally, it is important to explore how CAM research and the relevant evidence base are integrated into CAM practice. After collecting data from websites, WP5 held two internal workshops to present the resulting data. Currently, a questionnaire is being designed to collect data in a systematic manner, identifying representatives and stakeholders and inviting them to cooperate with CAMbrella. WP5 will contact the relevant national bodies for each specific CAM method in order to identify their areas of interest, training and requirements for the continuing registration. Later, a map of nationally based activities will be developed to inform the other WPs, as well as the public. The present situation of CAM in Europe shows a lot of variation. Even the definition and the provision of different types of CAM vary from country to country. To give an example: the provision of chiropractic is very much a part of routine medical care in Scandinavia, whereas in other countries it has historically been “outlawed”. CAM treatments are provided by a large number of physicians in Europe, but also by non-medical therapists in some countries, and almost exclusively by non-academic providers in others. For both groups, the training varies widely in quality and extent. It is important that this multifaceted area is mapped and investigated in order to improve safety for the citizens and facilitate co-operation between researchers and providers. Seven participants represent six countries in WP5: Denmark, Hungary, Italy (2), Romania, Switzerland, UK. The work of WP5 will be finished by the end of 2011. The Work Package leader is Klaus von Ammon, KIKOM, University of Berne, Switzerland. Text:  Klaus von Ammon and Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=149 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=150 CAM in Romania - a brief overview In Romania, people in urban areas, especially in Bucharest, are more likely to use treatment with natural products. Natural products are used as first choice treatment primarily “because they are natural". In 2009, seven percent of the population had used CAM within the last 12 months. This can be read in one of the relatively few studies done in Romania on attitudes towards CAM: "Habits and attitudes towards treatments in Romania". The study was developed as part of a “GfK Omnibus”, a survey on a national representative sample of 1636 respondents from urban and rural areas aged 15 years and over, conducted between 12th and 23rd January 2009. CAM treatments are used mostly by women of medium and higher education; drug treatments, by comparison, are used mostly by women of low education (8th grade or less) older than 60 years of age. The respondents state e.g. that CAM treatments are “trustworthy” and “have few adverse effects”. Homeopathic treatments are used mostly by residents of the capital Bucharest, but only few people choose homeopathy as first choice treatment. However, the main reason why they are chosen as first choice treatment is that they are considered natural and reliable. Previous experience with these products is also taken into account. Romanians prefer to use homeopathic treatments mainly for diseases such as colds and digestive disorders because they strengthen immunity. In Romania the legislation regarding the practice of different therapies is very permissive, even though there are no accredited trainers and no official certification for many CAM therapies. Citizens' rights and access to CAM therapies are regulated by law (118/2007). Patients under CAM treatment must receive written information, accessible and easy to understand, in order to know the benefits and risks. People who consult a CAM practitioner should consent to the CAM treatment in writing, and they are assured confidentiality regarding their health problems. Doctors only The practice of acupuncture, homeopathy, apitherapy, phytotherapy, chiropractic, osteopathy and TCM is allowed only to MDs, dentists and pharmacists and is regulated by the Ministry of Health. Within the CAM Medical Practitioners Order, specialised committees for certain areas of practice (e.g. acupuncture, herbal therapy, homeopathy, apitherapy) are bound to regulate professionals. Between 1990 and 2010, 1,600 MDs participated in certified acupuncture training at the National Center for Training in Bucharest, 1,400 did so for homeopathy, 500 for apiphytotherapy and 90 for ayurveda (continuous medical education only). As an example, in Timis county, 203 out of 3,860 registered physicians (5%) are accredited for CAM practice. Practitioners without a diploma of MD, dentist or pharmacist are authorised to practice all CAM therapies (except those allowed only to MDs) after a short special training accredited by the Ministry of Health. Both MD and non-MD practitioners of CAM are organised in professional societies and associations, and they arrange annual congresses and meetings where best practices and opinions are shared. In medical schools or faculties of pharmacy, students can take optional courses in homeopathy, phytotherapy or acupuncture, but none of the CAM modalities is taught in the core curriculum. Attempts are being made to arrange postgraduate courses in integrative medicine, accredited by the Romanian College of Physicians and addressed mainly to general practitioners. Text: Simona Dragan and Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=150 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=151 Between art and nature – CAMbrella Meeting in Italy, March 23-25, 2011 Almost halfway through the project, the CAMbrella members met for a second full meeting. Since the Kick-off Meeting in January 2010, the group had coordinated its work largely via e-mail and phone contacts and in teleconferences or meetings of individual working groups. Thus, it was high time for all participants to meet again in person and discuss their progress, but also to put faces to the names of new CAMbrella members and get to know each other a little better. CAMbrella member Paolo Roberti di Sarsina, who hosted this so far largest project meeting, had provided for a very special venue: CAMbrella was invited to meet at Ca’ la Ghironda Modern Art Museum outside of Bologna. Prof. Francesco Martani, a dedicated humanist and philanthropist, dentist, as well as artist and patron of arts, kindly reserved the premises of his Art Foundation for the CAMbrella group during these days. Prof. Martani very much approved of the idea of CAMbrella and, in his welcome address, encouraged the group to enjoy the surroundings and draw inspiration “fra arte e natura”. True to this motto, the participants used not only the impressive exhibition rooms, but also the large park to meet for their working sessions, and spent the short breaks strolling around the sculpture garden. The first day of the meeting was dedicated to an overview of CAMbrella: Coordinator Wolfgang Weidenhammer, Monika Schagerl and Administrative Project Officer Meike Dlaboha reviewed the activities during the past 15 months and outlined the tasks for the remaining project time. They informed the group of changes in personnel, summarised the reports and deliverables prepared thus far, and reported on the meetings, workshops and conference activities that had taken place in various countries across Europe. The results of the first internal evaluation were presented by Jesper Madsen, Work Package 8 (Dissemination and communication): the CAMbrella members had rated their communication and cooperation within the project. The answers showed that communication and cooperation are considered to be good. Some suggestions for improvement, which had also emerged as a result of the survey, fed into the subsequent debate on inter-Work Package cooperation. In mid-2011, the CAMbrella Coordinator is to submit the periodic report, a document setting out all project activities for the European Commission. The Management Board thus needs to collect information on working results, as well as financial and administrative issues, from all beneficiaries. To ensure a smooth procedure, the timeline and proceedings relating to the preparation of the report were outlined to the group. With respect to the second half of CAMbrella, the group discussed how to best arrange their work packages' meetings and workshops within the remaining project time, taking into account the deadlines for the individual deliverables. With respect to the future beyond CAMbrella, Wolfgang Weidenhammer encouraged a debate on further CAM research projects. Based on documents outlining the general framework conditions, the group gathered first ideas on how to capitalise on the results of CAMbrella in the future. In the evening, all CAMbrella members gathered again for the trip to Bologna. Guided by Paolo Roberti di Sarsina, the group took a walking tour around the centre of town, marvelling at the beautiful buildings and drawing on the wealth of information provided by their host, who, after displaying in-depth knowledge of history and architecture, also showed a fine taste for eating style: the busy day ended in a small trattoria, where typical Bolognese food of excellent quality was served in large quantities. On the second day, the group met for a mutual update: all Work Packages presented their current status of work for the other group members’ information. Chaired by Helle Johannessen and Torkel Falkenberg this morning session offered all groups an opportunity to outline working procedures, challenges, preliminary results and upcoming steps. At the end of the update session, it was clear that the time for the full meeting had been well chosen. After the initial consolidation and planning phase, the Work Packages needed a period of concentrated work to draw their first conclusions and had now reached a point at which consultation and coordination with the other working groups was essential and productive. The discussions that evolved during the plenary session were continued in many individual conversations throughout the meeting. A further session, chaired by Scientific Technical Manager Benno Brinkhaus, then addressed the procedures of communication rather than the content. To enable more in-depth discussions, the group split up to deal with individual aspects of communication in smaller teams. The teams returned from their workshops with suggestions on how to improve the flow of information within and between Work Packages, and from the Management Board and the Communication Work Package in particular. After this session, the group welcomed the delegates of the CAMbrella Advisory Board, who had in the meantime arrived to join the afternoon session and attend the Scientific Steering Committee Meeting the next morning. On behalf of the 12 Board members, Seamus Connolly (EFCAM), Peter Zimmermann (IVAA) and Nand de Herdt (ECHAMP) met with the members of Work Package 8 to discuss their involvement in the project and ideas for further cooperation. Starting out from the information gathered from all Board members by way of a questionnaire, the participants of the session were soon engaged in a lively discussion on how the Advisory Board could provide further input to CAMbrella – here, too, the personal meeting proved highly beneficial. The last day in Bologna saw the annual meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee. Together with the Advisory Board delegates, the Committee worked through an extensive agenda, covering issues relating to the midterm report, internal communication, deliverables and publications, public relations, plans for further project meetings and the final conference, as well as future research projects. Based on the detailed information gathered during the full meeting, the Committee was well prepared to fulfil the important task of guiding CAMbrella on behalf of the whole group and found amicable solutions to any challenges encountered along the way. After shared lunch on the sunny terrace, the members gathered in “Sala Contemporanea” once again. In a short closing session, the Coordinator summarised the main points of the meeting and thanked Prof. Martani and Paolo Roberti di Sarsina for their hospitality. Then, after three intense days of exchange and lots of lessons learned, the CAMbrella members finally said goodbye and prepared for the journey home. They packed their suitcases to return to their home countries, all across Europe – but in a common spirit perfectly appropriate for the members of pan-European network. Text: Monika Schagerl Fri, 15 Apr 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=151 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=130 CAM in Spain – a brief overview The most important challenge for the CAM community in Spain is to develop a reliable and high quality education system that can facilitate the regulation of CAM within the Public Health System. With some exceptions, CAM is considered a private activity, and there is no specific regulation regarding training and qualifications of CAM providers in Spain. Some Spanish universities provide post-graduate education in acupuncture, homeopathy and naturist medicine for medical doctors (MDs), veterinaries, psychologists and pharmacists – and shorter courses for nurses (e.g. technical acupuncturists). Most CAM practitioners in Spain do not have a degree in health sciences, but have been trained by private centers or professional organisations. They provide a broad range of CAM techniques, such as yoga, pilates, tai chi and massage. Also, CAM is provided by health professionals as e.g. veterinaries, psychologists, physiotherapists and nurses. MDs provide mainly acupuncture, naturopathy and/or homeopathy. There are several professional CAM organisations, most of them composed of undergraduate practitioners. Regarding graduate professionals, the most important ones are the medical organisations: SAME (Spanish Medical Acupuncture Society), FEMH (Spanish Medical Homeopathy Federation) and AEMH (Spanish Medical Naturist Association). Only limited data are available on the number of CAM practitioners in Spain. The most reliable are from the medical associations and medical colleges: Spanish Medical Acupuncture Society: 200 members Spanish Medical Homeopathy Federation: 240 members Spanish Medical Naturist Association: 235 members The only major CAM research centre is 'Servicio Andaluz de Salud' in Sevilla, which participates in CAMbrella. For the moment they have three active projects: Exploring the effect of acupuncture in fibromyalgia, the effect of acupuncture in migraine, and the effect of acupressure in low back pain – all of them using randomised controlled trials. Most CAM centres without MD Public health care is under the responsibility of the 18 Spanish regional governments. Despite national government attempts to create a common health care policy, there are still differences between the Spanish regions, including in the field of CAM. Andalucía is the Spanish region with the highest number of CAM centres/units. Out of a total of 470 centres in the region, there are 59 authorised CAM centres (with an MD in charge). See „Situación actual de las Terapias No Convencionales (TNC) en Andalucía”: http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/salud/servicios/contenidos/nuevaaetsa/up/seminario%20TNC%201%201_def.pdf Some of the CAM units in Andalucía are part of Public Health Service – some in hospitals, others in primary care centres. This is an exception in Spain, as CAM treatments are not reimbursed by the Regional/National Health Service. There is no specific regulation regarding health care centres (public or private) which provide CAM, but a state regulatory framework refers to centres where some kinds of “special therapies” can be provided. Most centres that provide CAM in Spain are not “health centres” but “non sanitary centers” or “para-sanitary centers”, where there is no need of an MD providing therapies. The centres for non-conventional therapies are considered as health centres (public or private) if the person performing the acupuncture, homeopathy or herbal medicine is an MD and as such approved by the regional government. Yoga and acupuncture Most people in Spain (95.4%) have knowledge of at least one alternative treatment. The most popular ones are yoga, acupuncture/TCM, tai chi, massage and homeopathy, with all of them mentioned by more than 50% of the studied population. 12.9% of the population have used CAM during the past year (2007). 23.6% of the population has ever used CAM, especially yoga, acupuncture and chiropractic, although there are geographical differences. The figures are: yoga 32.5% acupuncture / TCM 31.5% chiromassage 28.4% homeopathy 23.0% podal reflexology 16.1% tai chi 13.3% flower therapy 12.0% lymphatic massage 9.1% naturopathy 8.8% reiki 8.4% osteopathy 8.2% shiatsu 3.9% kinesiology 2.1% CAM is used primarily by women of upper middle class or higher, aged between 36 and 45 years and living in metropolitan areas. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Source: A quantitative/qualitative study performed by the Observatorio de Terapias Naturales (Natural Therapy Centre of Spain) published online, May 2008 http://www.cofenat.es/_pdf/observatorio_2009.pdf Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=130 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=129 CAMbrella's first year – The coordinator’s perspective The EU FP7-funded project CAMbrella – A pan-European research network for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) has been underway since the beginning of this year. It was officially launched at the Munich kick-off meeting on January 21-22, 2010, which brought together the complete Consortium for the first time. Nearly 30 Consortium members from 12 different European countries and a representative of the European Commission, Ms Anita Kucharska from DG Research, met on the premises of Nymphenburg Castle to initiate the project work. The Management Board described the background and history of CAMbrella, outlined the working structure to all project partners and gave information on administrative and financial issues. After gathering as a whole, the CAMbrella group split into the separate working groups addressing the project's different tasks. On the second day, several members of the CAMbrella Advisory Board were welcomed to the group and joined the dialogue right away. Lively discussions took place, with everybody eager to breathe life into the project. At the end of the two busy days, the group members had established a sound basis for the CAMbrella network. After the kick-off meeting, the leaders of the individual Work Packages returned to their respective “headquarters” and consolidated their working groups. They converted the individual objectives of their work plans into manageable tasks and employed qualified staff. Many conference calls took place to coordinate the activities of all group members. Another crucial step in a project involving such a broad range of participants – researchers, stakeholders, external experts and onlookers inquiring about CAMbrella – was to establish rules for both internal and external communication. To take into account the diverse interests proved to be a big challenge. The corresponding efforts resulted in a Consortium Agreement signed by all Beneficiaries, and in two further documents providing guidance on how to cooperate and communicate. The aspects covered include definitions of the different bodies involved, distribution of responsibilities, documentation, management of potential conflicts, exchange of information, publication issues and the like. As an important means of external communication, the project website www.cambrella.eu was established and launched in the spring of 2010, showing for the first time the unique corporate design developed for CAMbrella. Together with the quarterly newsletter, it provides up-to-date information on CAMbrella and other topics from the CAM sector. The website has since become a frequently visited platform, with around 700 subscribers to the project’s newsletter. Like the members of the Consortium, the members of the Advisory Board had to go through the process of finding their role within the coordination project. Based on their respective foci of interest, the different Board members assigned themselves to the working groups’ individual topics to facilitate cooperation between the numerous partners. After consolidating their respective teams, the Work Package leaders initiated dialogue with the representatives of the Advisory Board. The Board members show great interest in the progress of CAMbrella and have kindly offered to share their views and provide support. The major challenge now is to elaborate on the ways of coordinating these efforts and find out how to make the best possible use of their expertise. The 5th International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research (Tromsø, May 19-21, 2010), presided by CAMbrella member Vinjar Fønnebø, provided an ideal opportunity to present the project to the international scientific community for the first time. Around 400 researchers from all over the world gathered to hear about and discuss the latest projects and results in CAM research. Dr Jan Paehler, Scientific Officer of DG Research at the European Commission and supervisor to the project, was invited to join the CAMbrella Scientific Steering Committee meeting held during the Congress. A delegation of the Advisory Board also participated in the meeting. Furthermore, a special working group of the European chapter of ISCMR (International Society for Complementary Medicine Research) discussed strategies to place CAM in future calls of EU framework programmes, especially FP8. After Tromsø came the summer holiday season, which in an EU-based project virtually spans from June to September. Due to the different national holiday traditions, out-of-office replies went to and fro, until finally all parties were back to continue the project at full throttle. Conference calls were held, meetings were planned, and preparations for the first deliverables were made. In early November, CAMbrella group member Gabriella Hegyi hosted the 25th Congress of the Hungarian Medical Acupuncture Association (Pécs, November 5-7, 2010) and had organised a CAMbrella Forum on that occasion. Three delegates of the group travelled to Pécs, the beautiful 2010 European Cultural Capital, to join the Congress and present CAMbrella and related research results to the expert audience. Only four weeks later, the 3rd European Congress for Integrative Medicine (Berlin, December 3-4, 2010), co-presided by CAMbrella member Benno Brinkhaus, was an ideal opportunity to meet again. Despite adverse weather conditions, almost all CAMbrella members made it to Berlin to attend the Congress and hold Work Package meetings in conjunction with the latter. Due to delayed flights, the schedule for the Work Package meetings was rather tight, but everyone was pleased to meet face to face again and jointly take stock of their results. The Congress itself of course brought together the full range of international CAM researchers and thus provided ample opportunity for discussion and academic exchange. From the coordinator's perspective, it was a successful and promising first year, and the pan-European network for future CAM research has begun to span Europe like a web. To strengthen the ties and prepare the midterm report, which is due middle of next year, another big meeting will take place in the spring of 2011. This time, the CAMbrella group will gather in Northern Italy – in hopefully better weather conditions… Text: Wolfgang Weidenhammer and Monika Schagerl Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=129 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=132 ECHAMP – European Coalition on Homeopathic and Anthroposophic Medicinal Products “The most important challenge for the CAM community in the frame of 'a better Europe in 2020' is the integration of CAM in health policy, so that the patients are able to find safe and efficient treatments of their choice everywhere in Europe,” says Nand de Herdt, President of ECHAMP. ECHAMP is an E.E.I.G. (European Economic Interest Grouping), a non-profit organisation formed by manufacturers of homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products, advocating for an appropriate legal and regulatory environment for these products in Europe. It represents the majority of European manufacturers of homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products. The organisation is a member of the CAMbrella Advisory Board. “In Europe there is good co-operation between CAM stakeholders – patients, MDs and??? practitioners, and at our 'umbrella meetings' ECHAMP played a role as the practical coordinator of the field. In the meantime a CAM stakeholders group has been set up in Brussels, as well as a CAM Interest Group within the European Parliament. A growing number of European deputies are currently joining this interest group.” Different study designs “Until now, CAM has had the role of a 'minority' that was kept outside the academic discussions, but now CAM is slowly finding its way into the universities, which is what we have been missing,” says Nand de Herdt. “Discussions have to be started on the evidence of CAM, and they must take place on an academic level. This is why I think CAMbrella is extremely important – as it is aimed not only at investigating the status of CAM, but is also important for academic networking.” “It is my hope that this work might lead to different and more real-life study designs and to a broader understanding of evidence of CAM approaches which should show a so-called 'therapeutic system evidence base'. The randomised controlled trial should not be the only acceptable design, and we should also be using the comprehensive WHO definition of health, including the mental, physical, social aspects of health.” “The major challenge for ECHAMP today is to find a regulatory system and legislation which can be applied to medical products that are not only considered as pure substances, but are considered as therapeutic tools in connection with a certain approach to health and illness,” Nand de Herdt underlines. More than 110 million users ECHAMP was established in 1999 by 25 founder members. Today, it has over 50 full members, as well as various associated and corresponding members (national manufacturers’ associations and practitioners’/patients’ organisations, respectively). The full members come from 17 different EU Member States plus Norway. The European homeopathic and anthroposophic medicine industry has an annual turnover of more than 1,000 million euros and employs over 8,000 people. The medicinal products are used by more than 110 million active users throughout the EU Member States. The industry for these products represents just around 1% of the European pharmaceutical market and 7% of the European non-prescription market. “ECHAMP endorses the rights of patients and consumers to have easy and comprehensive access to homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products which meet the highest standards of quality, safety and effectiveness”, says Nand de Herdt. “An appropriate legislation and regulatory framework is considered the main prerequisite to achieve a harmonised environment for these medicinal products in the European Union.” Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Website: http://www.echamp.eu Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=132 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=133 Europe 2020: the new “Innovation Union” Initiative The European Commission issued a new strategic paper that paves the way towards an Innovation Union in October 2010. The overall strategy behind it is to boost the research and innovation performance, because this is seen as the only way for Europe to support sustainable growth and to create good and well-paid jobs that will withstand the pressures of globalization. The Innovation Union focuses on major areas of concern for citizens such as climate change, energy efficiency and healthy living. It includes public sector and social innovation as well as commercial innovation. But what is “innovation” – generally speaking? The European Commission defines it as change that speeds up and improves the way we conceive, develop, produce and access new products, industrial processes and services. This new approach will be implemented by setting up European Innovation Partnerships. They will each tackle a specific societal challenge that is shared across the EU, and where there is a large new market potential for EU businesses. The Commission proposes to launch a pilot project on active and healthy ageing by the beginning of 2011. Its aims should be, by 2020, to enable citizens to live longer independently in good health by increasing the average number of healthy life years by two. Achieving this target will improve the sustainability and efficiency of the social and healthcare systems and create an EU and global market for innovative products and services, with new opportunities for EU business. Active and Healthy Ageing was chosen as a pilot case because it involves a clear and balanced action plan for addressing a major societal challenge within the Europe 2020 strategy – one which affects every family and every citizen. As the baby-boom generation retires, the population of over 60 is increasing twice as fast as before 2007, i.e. by some two million people a year. If the current level of diseases in these age groups would remain stable, many millions more Europeans would suffer from disorders such as neuro-degenerative diseases (Alzheimer/Parkinson) and others such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases which are prevalent at an older age. This calls for stepping up the discovery and deployment of screening, detection and (non-invasive) diagnosis, of medicines and treatments to prevent and address these diseases. In addition, innovative solutions, including Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and other technologies have the potential to provide high-quality, personalized medicine and health/social care while increasing the efficiency of the European care systems. The active and healthy ageing partnership will: Have a strong research component, where possible, resulting in new medicines for the elderly, new treatments or diagnostic tools, new institutional or organisational approaches and new solutions allowing for a better life quality for the elderly. Use demonstration, pilots and large scale trials involving the elderly, patients, carers, health care facilities, community and home care facilities, ICT infrastructure, etc. to test out solutions of sufficiently large scale Develop new innovative policies and business models for more integrated health and social care systems for the elderly, improving home-based and self-care; as well as tailoring and deploying on a large scale new innovative (including ICT-based) solutions for long-term care of the elderly such as chronic disease management. This includes not only EU and Member States' authorities and regulators, standardsetters and procurement professionals, but also representatives from public health and social care authorities, from the medical profession and from health and ageing research institutes. Private sector involvement will include the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries, medical and assistive equipment manufacturers, ICT industry, the health and social insurance sector and the providers of (venture) capital. Representatives from elderly user groups and care organisations will also have to play an important role in the partnership. Impact on research infrastructure and its financing The Innovation Union will also change and redirect a rather large portion of the research infrastructure financing that Europe was used to. As national and regional research systems are still working along separate tracks, which leads to costly duplication, the Commission seeks to pool the efforts and focus on excellence. The aim is to create a true European Research Area ERA, which will enhance the quality of research. The European Innovation Partnerships are intended to achieve better and faster results compared to what happens now. They will streamline and simplify existing instruments and initiatives (e.g. Joint Programming of national research effort, Joint Technology Initiatives). Future EU research and innovation programmes will focus on Europe 2020 objectives and particularly the Innovation Union. In 2011, the Commission will define the path for future research and innovation programmes to focus more on societal challenges, streamline funding instruments, broaden access and radically simplify procedures through a better balance between a control-based and a trust-based system. There will be a full open consultation before the Commission comes forward in late 2011 with a formal legislative proposal for the Eighth Research Framework Programme. Text: Meike Dlaboha Commission en direct, Issue 570, page 1, published 6th Oct. 2010 Memo/10/473, European Commission, 6th Oct. 2010 COM(2010) 546 final, Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative Innovation Union, European Commission, 6th Oct. 2010 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=133 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=131 Needs and Attitudes of Citizens – CAMbrella Work Package 3 The task of WP3 is to identify the needs and attitudes of European citizens with regard to CAM. What are the general information needs regarding CAM, and what are the needs in terms of safety and quality control of CAM provision? Which attitudes might people have towards CAM in general? Also, the perspective of consumer rights will be addressed. As we are aware that it might be difficult to draw the line between WP3 and WP4, we will point out that while WP3 explores the perspective of citizens as the potential users of CAM, WP4 investigates specific issues of actual CAM use, e.g. the prevalence of different CAM treatments and the major conditions treated with CAM. During the first year, a peculiar research situation was revealed, relating to the difference between the two Work Packages: There are a lot of data on CAM use, but almost none on the needs and attitudes of the general citizen. At a WP3 workshop that involved organisations with concerns and interests in CAM, three essential issues were identified. EU citizens need: equal access to CAM health services independent, reliable and easily accessible information about CAM quality of care regarding CAM services, practitioners and products. A literature search verifies these conclusions and underlines the need for further research, because most studies are focused on specific CAM treatments, specific illnesses – and effectiveness. As only published studies will be found in a literature search, WP3 will be using the entire CAMbrella network of participants to identify people and institutions who might possess national reports and other relevant data on the citizens' perspective. The members of WP3 are collaborating with CAM experts, with civil servants involved in regulating CAM therapies, and with organisations addressing consumer rights or providing independent information about healthcare. Even though the work of WP3 is far from finished, it can already be concluded that one of the recommendations to the European Commission will be for a pan-European perspective on citizens’ needs and attitudes to be included in future research. A report on people’s needs and attitudes towards CAM in the EU will be published in early 2012. Four countries are represented in WP3: Austria, Denmark, France, and Germany . The Work Package leader is Prof. Helle Johannessen, University of Southern Denmark Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=131 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=155 Functional genomics approach to TCM Under the 7th Framework Programme, another EU project, called “GP-TCM”, is working on CAM related issues. The project is aiming to inform the best practice and harmonise research on the safety and efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) through interdisciplinary exchange of experience and expertise among clinicians and scientists. The core of the project is focused on the use of functional genomics methodology in research on the safety, efficacy and mechanisms of Chinese Herbal Medicine and acupuncture, and the participants count experts from 23 countries, including 15 EU member states, Australia, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Congo, Norway, Thailand and the USA. - 'GP-TCM is happy to collaborate with CAMbrella in identifying the state of the art, finding problems and solutions, proposing future research priorities, as well as disseminating good practice in these important areas,' says Dr. Qihe Xu, Coordinator of GP-TCM. Qihe Xu is Senior Lecturer in Renal Medicine at King's College London. - 'TCM is widely used in the European Union and attracts intense research interest from European scientists.' - 'Functional genomics is an approach combining “omics” (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) and functional analysis. We reckon that such an approach will allow high-content observations of whole profiles of molecules at different levels, thus enabling us to interpret and validate the scientific value of TCM in a holistic and function-oriented manner.' Human body as a functional system - 'TCM treats a patient as a “functional system”, aiming to identify imbalances in functions and restore this balance at the whole organism level. This holistic approach results in a primitive holistic medicine, seeing the forest (the whole body as a functional system) but not the trees (the details in the body).' - 'We hope that, based on the knowledge that we acquire from TCM, we can investigate into the detailed molecular changes at the “omics” levels, draw them all together using sophisticated computer tools, to achieve a holistic view at a much higher level, ultimately allowing us to see both the trees and the forest regarding human health and disease,' says Qihe Xu. - 'Through a collaboration among 6 institutions based in the UK and China, we identified a number of herbal entities with reproducible anti-scarring or pro-scarring activities. This convinced us that TCM is a rich resource for further drug development and an area that is important for the wellbeing of EU citizens, prompting us to work with more interested parties to address the safety, efficacy and mechanisms of action of TCM in a broader consortium, i.e, GP-TCM.' Good co-operation The co-operation in the consortium is based on fairly focused common interests, and it is not hard to bring them together to collaborate. Also, the management team gives priority to interdisciplinary, intersectoral and international collaborations, creating opportunities and new platforms for members to work together. - 'We run many face-to-face meetings, members-only web pages and monthly teleconferences to facilitate “crosstalk” and “sharing”, leading to mutual recognition and consensus among members, as well as collaborations in grant applications and existing laboratory research,' Qihe Xu says. The full name of GP-TCM is “Good Practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine Research in the Post-genomic Era”. The project officially started in May 2009 and by the time of its conclusion in April 2012 a Europe-based academic society or interest group dedicated to TCM research will be founded to carry on the mission of GP-TCM. For further information please visit the project website: http://www.gp-tcm.org or alternatively contact the GP-TCM coordinator at qihe.xu@kcl.ac.uk Text: Qihe Xu and Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 19 Jul 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=155 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=153 CAM research for non-scientific readers The European Information Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (EICCAM) aims to disseminate CAM research results via the internet. Decision makers and the media in Europe need understandable, objective and high-quality information on the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of CAM. But given that we can search databases and consult CAM experts or journals, why do we need EICCAM? - 'The style and language required to get a paper accepted by an international journal nowadays does not make it easy to read and understand,' says Dr. Susanne Schunder-TatzberChair of the EICCAM Management Board. - 'Our objective is to spread information on CAM research, to familiarise stakeholders and the public at large with interesting articles - and to make these more accessible to readers without scientific training.' - 'Through our fact sheets we provide the stakeholders with correct and easy-to-understand scientific evidence. Our main target groups are people in charge in public and private insurance companies, politicians at different levels, and the public at large. Those groups do not have the time, or the relevant background, to read long and complicated scientific papers.' EICCAM is not a research organisation, but it is obvious that EICCAM and CAMbrella share common interests. - 'We see CAMbrella as an important project to develop the whole CAM research community in Europe. Especially the part about the planning of further projects is interesting to us, as this might give us an idea of which articles might be expected in the future,' says Susanne Schunder-Tatzber. - 'EICCAM's main funding is a grant by the BOSCH Foundation, who made the first fact sheets possible. We would need more funds e.g. to make EICCAM more visible in Brussels, where a lot of decisions on health are taken.' Text: Jesper Odde Madsen For further information see www.eiccam.eu Tue, 19 Jul 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=153 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=154 CAM in Austria – a brief overview CAM has a long tradition in Austria. Homeopathy was introduced in the 19th century, soon after its development in Germany. Homeopathic hospitals have been founded such as the Hospital of the Sisters of Mercy in Vienna. CAM acceptance has been very low in the 20th century primarily due to the weak economic situation in Austria. During the last few years, the acceptance in the Austrian population has been growing. About 80 % of Austrians are using at least one CAM method per year. In 1996 for example there were 3.717 practice-based physicians in Vienna, of which 1.206 are general practitioners and 2.511 medical specialists. 339 of those had at least one additional training in a CAM method – this is equivalent to 9 percent of all general practitioners (GP). Comparing these numbers with those of 1998 an interesting aspect occurred: According to an inquiry in 1998 there were 801 GPs with at least one additional training in a CAM method. This amounts to 18 percent of all GPs in 1998, and compared to 1996 this is an increase of 136% within only 2 years. In 2007, the total number of physicians with a special training in CAM was 5,873 - a 66 percent increase compared to year 2000. 5,873 physicians had a diploma of at least one form of CAM. Acupuncture (2,999) was followed by Chiropractic manipulation (1,874), Homeopathy (593), Neural therapy (252), Traditional Chinese medicine (112) and Anthroposophical medicine (43). Most diplomas in acupuncture The Austrian Medical Board (in German: Österreichische Ärztekammer) recorded the number of awarded official diplomas (in German so called ÖÄK Diplom) on CAM since 1990. When all therapies were included, a total amount of 6,382 diplomas have been awarded from 1990 up to 2007. The highest contingent was found for Acupuncture (3,330 diplomas), followed by Manual medicine (1,967 diplomas), Homeopathy (641 diplomas), Neural therapy (275 diplomas), TCM (119 diplomas) and Anthroposophical medicine (50 diplomas). Also, “The Austrian Medical Association” was searched over the internet for training facilities of CAM diplomas. Furthermore the homepage of the “Dachverband der österreichischen Ärzte für Ganzheitsmedizin” ( http://www.ganzheitsmed.at ) acted as another additional source. The search for institutions of CAM revealed 29 hits. A clear majority was found in Vienna with 17 of 29 institutions. The facts in this article are based on a diploma thesis by Robert Strassl, 2008, and on information from Michael Frass, Robert Strassl and Lothar Krenner from Dachverband österreichischer Ärztinnen und Ärzte für Ganzheitsmedizin (Umbrella organization of Doctors for Holistic Medicine). http://www.ganzheitsmed.at Editing: Jesper Odde Madsen. Tue, 19 Jul 2011 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=154 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=111 An arbitrary division The separation between CAM and conventional medicine is not fruitful. CAMbrella could bring these two worlds closer together, particularly where the same research issues are addressed by both “CAM researchers” and “conventional researchers”. “I was quite impressed by the productiveness and the devotion in the CAMbrella group, and I am excited to see how CAMbrella will be moving forward,” said Dr Jan Paehler, Scientific Officer of DG Research at the European Commission. Dr Paehler was invited to join the Scientific Steering Committee meeting at the International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research in Tromsø, May 18, 2010. “The conference was very different from conventional conferences, and I was very inspired by having this opportunity to follow the work in CAMbrella,” he said. “I am working at my desk in Brussels most of the time, and it was very useful to see all the faces and have the opportunity to talk to people. I think it is a great idea to combine the meeting with the conference, saving time and money.” “I think we should change the way we define and talk about CAM. The definition so far has been negative, describing what CAM is not, e.g. non-conventional medicine. This is not fruitful, since it is maintaining an image of CAM as something different, outside the medical world.” “The research is of equal quality and rigor to that of other medical fields, but in CAM research a broader set of methods is being used. If we want to progress regarding the effectiveness of interventions, we should move beyond the narrow focus of the randomized controlled trial – not only in the CAM area, but in medical research in general,” Paehler said. Meaningful cooperation “The methodological problems in CAM also exist in conventional medical research, e.g. that the setting of the trial in many cases does not reflect reality. Besides, CAM treatments are sometimes being criticized for not being based on positive evidence from randomized controlled trials. However, in conventional medicine treatments are also regularly provided without such evidence, often only based on the physician’s clinical experience. So to me, the wall between CAM and conventional medicine is more political than scientific.” “We should not underestimate the outcome, if CAMbrella turns out to be successful. First of all this would prepare the ground for meaningful cooperation and create a comprehensive CAM research agenda. This will be very useful, especially if it attracts researchers from circles outside the CAMbrella group and from the conventional research community,” Paehler said. “In the future there might be Framework Programme calls focusing directly on CAM, but there will also be calls addressing broader issues like e.g. pain relief, where CAM could be relevant. In this case, CAM researchers will be competing with other researchers, which I would consider a positive development. We will continue to invite experts in CAM to evaluate the diversity of research proposals we receive.” “Now it is time to build bridges, and I think the separation between CAM and conventional medicine is arbitrary. CAM is here to stay, being used by millions of citizens, who are spending money out of the pocket, and we really need to increase the research effort.” Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=111 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=112 Conference close to the Arctic Sunrise and sunset were put on hold when 400 researchers of excellence gathered in Tromsø, Norway, for the 5th International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research. With two months of midnight sun, and only 2,000 km from the North Pole, it is no wonder that Tromsø is called “The Gateway to the Arctic”. The congress took place on May 19-21, and researchers from 35 countries took the opportunity to meet, network and participate in the sessions - a total of 50 hours were scheduled for the conference. More than 150 speakers addressed the issue of CAM research in different ways, and several workshops took place. One of the keynote speakers, Åke Wennmalm from Sweden, gave a lecture about “Steps on the road to sustainable therapy”, which attracted a big audience. Wennmalm is a physician and specialist in clinical physiology, and he has been working on classification and elimination of chemicals for many years, in Sweden as well as on a European level. “He pointed out an interesting perspective on medicine and health care by talking about sustainability, seen from several points of view. Among other things he drew the attention to chemical pollution from the use of health care pharmaceuticals,” the Norwegian conference host, Dr Vinjar Fønnebø, told NIFAB (www.nifab.no) after the conference. The concept and the work packages of CAMbrella were presented in a separate symposium, chaired by George Lewith. The Coordinator of CAMbrella, Wolfgang Weidenhammer, described the background and history, and Benno Brinkhaus, the project’s Scientific Technical Manager, outlined the individual work packages. Finally, work package 1 (Terminology) was presented by its leader, Bernhard Uehleke. In addition, work packages 1 and 8 (Communication and dissemination) used the opportunity to hold internal meetings during the conference. Scientific Officer joins CAMbrella meeting The Management Board of CAMbrella had scheduled the first meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee to take place in Tromsø. Accompanied by representatives of the Advisory Board, the Committee, which consists of the leaders of the different working groups cooperating in CAMbrella, meets routinely once a year to review the progress in all work packages with respect to the project’s overall scientific concept. Under the leadership of the Project Coordinator, the Committee discussed the reports from all working groups and adjusted the future steps to proceed with the project. Jan Paehler, the project’s Scientific Officer of DG Research at the European Commission in Brussels, joined the meeting, thus taking the opportunity to hear straight from the horse’s mouth about the progress of CAMbrella. After three intense days the participants left Tromsø, taking home lots of inspiration, contacts and knowledge - some of them, though, did not leave right away, due to the Icelandic ash cloud... Text: Jesper Odde Madsen The 6th International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research will be held in Chengdu, China, May 7–9, 2011. The theme of the conference will be “Evidence-based decision making for Traditional and Integrative Medicine”. http://eng.2011iscmr.org/ Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=112 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=113 In each newsletter we will present a stakeholder – an organisation which in one way or the other is important to CAMbrella. The International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations (IVAA) IVAA focuses primarily on safeguarding the legal status of anthroposophic medicine as an integrative medical system, on the availability of anthroposophic medicinal products (as a prerequisite for the anthroposophic medical approach), as well as on the accessibility of anthroposophic treatments including art therapies, eurythmy therapy, and other therapies belonging to the anthroposophic medical system. Anthroposophic medicine is a holistic and salutogenetic approach to medicine focusing on strengthening the patient’s organism and individuality. The self-determination, autonomy and dignity of patients are central themes. Therapies are intended to enhance a patient’s capacities to heal, and include anthroposophic medicines as well as various art therapies like painting and sculpture therapy, music, singing and speech therapy, physiotherapy and massage, psychotherapy, curative education and social therapy – and eurythmy therapy, where special body movements are used for therapeutic purposes. Based on the number of prescriptions it has been estimated that anthroposophic medicinal products are prescribed by more than 30,000 physicians in 21 of the 27 EU member states, as well as in Norway and Switzerland. A global organisation As an umbrella organisation, the IVAA represents and coordinates 31 national anthroposophic doctors’ associations in matters relating to political and legal affairs in Europe and at international level. In 2010 the IVAA has members in 15 EU member states, as well as in Norway and Switzerland and a further 13 countries worldwide. Anthroposophic doctors also practise in another 4 member states (Bulgaria, France, Hungary and Lithuania) and in several further countries worldwide. Currently there are about 4,800 trained anthroposophic doctors who are members of national associations of anthroposophic doctors. 
 Safeguarding and accessibility IVAA is an umbrella organisation for anthroposophic medical associations worldwide with regard to the representation of anthroposophic medicine in political and legal affairs at European and international level. In particular, IVAA focuses on safeguarding: 1. The legal status of anthroposophic medicine as an integrative medical system 2. The availability of medicinal products on the market, necessary for the anthroposophic medical approach 3. The accessibility of the whole spectrum of anthroposophic treatments, including art therapies, eurythmy therapy, and many others belonging to the anthroposophic medical system Furthermore, IVAA focuses on safeguarding pluralism in medicine with regard to: 1. The patients’ right to use the treatment of their choice 2. The physicians’ right to offer the best available treatment for their patients. Cross-organisational cooperation IVAA is engaged in political activities on behalf of anthroposophic medicine in the EU and in international institutions, it consults on educational, training and research issues in anthroposophic medicine, and it cooperates with other health organizations, especially in the CAM sector – in particular within the CAMDOC Alliance ( http://www.camdoc.eu ). IVAA advocates plurality in medicine and democratic, patient oriented health systems. IVAA is a founding member and supports the activities of the NGO ELIANT (European Alliance of Initiatives for Applied Anthroposophy, http://www.eliant.eu ). Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Source: IVAA Further information IVAA International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations Rue du Trône 194 B-1050 Bruxelles Phone: +32 2 644 00 20 contact@ivaa.info contact@ivaa.eu www.ivaa.eu www.ivaa.info Address in the Swiss Registry of Associations: Internationale Vereinigung anthroposophischer Ärztegesellschaften IVAA Rüttiweg 45 CH-4143 Dornach Switzerland Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=113 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=114 Terminology and definition of CAM methods – CAMbrella Work Package 1 The overall aim of this work package is to develop a Europe-wide acceptable and pragmatic definition of ‘Complementary and Alternative Medicine’ (CAM) which can be used to systematically research the prevalence and legal status of CAM in Europe, as well as to investigate the citizens’ demands and providers’ perspectives related to CAM in general and within the CAMbrella coordinating activities. Terminology in CAM is a very tricky thing. Due to different traditions and cultures there is a vast heterogeneity between CAM disciplines and methods used in various regions of the world as well as in Europe. There are so many local and regional specific treatments, methods and interventions that it is hardly fair to gather all of them under one roof that is called CAM, without any further specification of what CAM means in Europe.The definition of CAM commonly used in the United States is a recent and very pragmatic concept, but it might ignore the long and fascinating history of this area in Europe. For instance in the United States you usually include Prayer when you talk about CAM, since it is - in the view of the distinguished NCCAM (http://nccam.nih.gov) – a self-healing practice and thus part of an alternative and complementary medical approach. In Europe, prayer is regarded as belonging to religion and therefore to another dimension exceeding healing and medicine, and there are also historical reasons for not mixing medicine and religion. So the US American notion can hardly be expected to go unchallenged - from many different angles and reasons, not only religious ones. Integrative Medicine, Alternative Medicine, Holistic Medicine, Medicine douce, Ganzheitsmedizin, Naturheilkunde (Naturopathy), Traditional European Medicine (TEM), Erfahrungsheilkunde (experience based medicine) - these are just a few of the general expressions for the whole field, and each of them of course comes along with further definitions as to what it consists of and what it excludes, and also as to what associations, expectations, explanations and view of healing it involves. Even the understanding and translation of these expressions themselves could differ from country to country. Same term – different meaning When looking at the main disciplines, the situation might be even more complicated: would it be accurate to summarise all relevant relaxation techniques and also certain psychotherapeutic procedures under a term like ‘mind and body therapy’, or should it be the old German term ‘Ordnungstherapie’? Even if there is some overlap between the two terms (and many other in that field), they do not express exactly the same, and their meaning might differ from country to country and depending on whether they are used by medical doctors, healers, or the general population. One of the first goals of CAMbrella will therefore be to establish a consensus-based list of CAM terminology for the European context. This is not as easy as it sounds, and the working group has to meet various challenges to achieve this goal that will eventually result in a European CAM glossary. The most challenging questions right from the start are: How to gather the relevant information on the use of CAM terms (headline and most important disciplines) in the member countries? How to make sure that no relevant information is omitted? How to make sure that the terms’ local and regional meanings are translated correctly and brought into context with the other regional and local definitions and practices? Actually, the CAM terminology will already be established by the middle of CAMbrella’s running time – i.e. by the summer of 2011, thus providing the other working groups with a tool they can rely on. The members of the work package represent those EU countries in which CAM methods have strong historical roots, and they will be supported by further members of the CAMbrella group and external experts with respect to other countries. Six countries are represented in WP1: UK, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, France, Spain. The work package leader is Bernhard Uehleke, Universität Zürich, Switzerland. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen, Bernhard Uehleke, Bettina Reiter Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=114 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=106 CAM in Italy – a brief overview In Italy, CAM treatments are not reimbursed by the public health service, so CAM therapies and remedies are usually paid for by the citizens. One out of eight have used CAM within the preceding three years: 13.6% of the Italian population. (1) Homeopathy is the most used therapy (7.0% of the population), manual treatments (2) are chosen by 6.4% of the population, while herbal remedies and acupuncture are used by 3.7% and 1.8% of the Italian population respectively. The typical Italian CAM user is an adult between 35 and 44 years, with post-high-school qualifications, and women use CAM more than men: 4.7 millions (15.8%) against 3.16 millions (11.2%). The highest prevalence is among people living in the North-Eastern regions (21.9%), followed by the North-Western regions (17.9%), the Central regions (13.6%), the Islands (7.0%) and the Southern regions (5.4%). In Italy today there are almost 3,000 MDs who practise acupuncture, more than 8,000 homeopaths, about 20,000 MDs with homeopathic training and approximately 160 MDs who have completed the three-year residential course in anthroposophic medicine. There are more than 20,000 Italian practitioners (physicians, dentists, veterinarians) who prescribe homeopathic and anthroposophic medicines. Many are doctors and veterinarians who have completed years of post-graduate training to acquire specific skills in homeopathy, anthroposophic medicine and homotoxicology, which are the three sectors that use homeopathic medication. There is no official list of medical doctors practising CAM, and Italian universities do not have professionalising courses in the CAM field. Research activities are mostly focused on observational and clinical studies, and they are carried out at a few university departments (such as University of Florence, University of Verona) and in some instances outside the universities. In 2002, the Italian National Federation of Medical Doctors and Dentists (FNOMCeO) approved the “Guideline for Non-Conventional Medicines” in order to grant safety for citizens and appropriateness of treatments (FNOMCeO, 2002). The document recognised nine CAM disciplines: Acupuncture, Phytotherapy, Ayurvedic Medicine, Anthroposophic Medicine, Homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Homotoxicology, Osteopathy, Chiropractic. FNOMCeO considers these disciplines as a “medical act”, and for this reason only medical doctors and dentists may practise them. There is no national law regulating CAM status and practice - but The Supreme Court has stated that it is an abuse of the medical profession to practise CAM without a degree in medicine. According to the Italian Constitution, the central government shares the responsibility for public health care with the twenty regional governments. There are many differences between the Italian regions with respect to demographic aspects, economic development, healthcare infrastructures and expenditure; the main differences are between North and South. This has a great influence on the CAM situation in Italy. Several regions try to overcome the lack of legislation through different initiatives. Tuscany approved a regional law on CAM, introducing acupuncture, homeopathy and phytotherapy treatments into the regional services available for all citizens. This policy usually is the responsibility of the national government. In 2004, the Emilia-Romagna Region established the Regional Observatory for non conventional medicines (OMNCER), which has the task of planning and promoting research in this field through specific regional experimental programmes investigating the efficacy and safety of several non-conventional treatments and the possibility of their integration in the Regional Health Service. The 2nd Experimental Programme for Unconventional Medicines 2008-2009, recently approved and supported by the government of Emilia Romagna Region, includes 14 studies, whose 3 on homeopathic treatments, 3 on herbal treatments, 5 on acupuncture, and 3 on different non conventional treatments. Ten out of 14 studies are randomised controlled clinical trials. In 2003, the first Consensus Conference of CAM in Italy was promoted, and a related first Consensus Document on CAM in Italy was signed by the most important associations of CAM. “The Permanent Committee of Consensus and Coordination for CAM in Italy” (participating in CAMbrella) represents about 12 000 medical doctors and veterinarians and is Italy’s most representative nonprofit, independent and multidisciplinary CAM organisation. The coordinator is Paolo Roberti di Sarsina. The Italian participants in CAMbrella are Agenzia Sanitaria e sociale regionale Regione Emilia-Romagna Comitato Permanente di Consenso e Coordinamento per le Medicine Non-Convenzionali in Italia Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Footnotes 1) In 2007, the Italian National Institute for Statistics (ISTAT) published its latest multipurpose survey, “Condizioni di salute e ricorso ai servizi sanitari” (Health conditions and the use of health care services), with a brief chapter dedicated to “Le terapie non convenzionali in Italia” (Non conventional therapies in Italy). 2) Manual treatments include osteopathy and chiropractic. Sources Stefania Florindi, Agenzia Sanitaria e sociale regionale Regione Emilia-Romagna. http://www.regione.emilia-romagna.it/agenziasan/mnc/index.html Paolo Roberti di Sarsina, M.D., The Permanent Committee of Consensus and Coordination for CAM in Italy. http://www.fondazionericci.it/comitato Further references Cardini F., Lesi G., Lombardo F., Van der Sluijs C., The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by women experiencing menopausal symptoms in Bologna, BMC Women’s Health. 10: 7. FNOMCeO, Linee guida della FNOMCeO su Medicine e Pratiche Non Convenzionali. Consiglio Nazionale, Terni, 2002. France G., Taroni F., Donatini A., The Italian health-care system. Health Econ 2005; 14: 187-202. ISTAT, Le terapie non convenzionali in Italia. Anno 2005. Indagine multiscopo, 2007. Roberti di Sarsina P., Iseppato I., Non-conventional Medicine in Italy: The present situation. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 1 (2009): 65-71. http://www.europeanintegrativemedicinejrnl.com/article/S1876-3820(09)00022-5/abstract Roberti di Sarsina P., Iseppato I., Looking for a Person-centred Medicine: Non Conventional Medicine in the Conventional European and Italian Setting. eCAM, 2009. http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/nep048 Sun, 11 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=106 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=105 CAMbrella at the 5th International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research The coordinator, Wolfgang Weidenhammer, and Benno Brinkhaus will jointly present the general outline of the project and invite the international colleagues to discuss and give their input. The CAMbrella Scientific Steering Committee also will profit of this largest gathering of CAM researchers and hold its first meeting during the congress. The SSC is the decision making body of the project as a whole. It has to establish the rules of cooperation within the group of 16 partners and provide all parties involved with an outline of the project’s principles and objectives and the work to be done. Its first annual meeting will take place in close connection with the ICCMR Congress in Trømsø, which will be attended by almost all CAMbrella partners, as it is the most important research-oriented CAM event, and which therefore seemed to be a good time and cost-effective opportunity to meet. ICCMR 2010 is organised and hosted by one of the CAMbrella partners, Prof. Vinjar Fønnebø. Prof. Fønnebø is the director of NAFKAM http://www2.uit.no/ikbViewer/page/ansatte/organisasjon/artikkel?p_menu=42374&p_lang=2&p_document_id=85253&p_dimension_id=88112 , the Norwegian National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. In CAMbrella he leads the working group on the “legal status and regulations” of CAM in Europe. ICCMR 2010 http://www.iccmr2010.com/ Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=105 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=107 Yes, we CAM! Or: Europe, here we come! * Congratulations to the initiating groups! For many years a team from the Internationale Akademie für Ganzheitsmedizin in Vienna and other enthusiasts in Berlin, Bern and Munich strived for an organized dialogue towards Europe. The explicit aim was to integrate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) into the 7th European Framework Programme. Due to the persistence, diligence and support of the initiating groups, the most important success in European CAM-research thus far was achieved: CAM-research was officially included in the 7th European Framework Programme. This achievement was reached due to the commitment primarily of Wolfgang Weidenhammer (with particular support by Benno Brinkhaus) in managing and writing the proposal. In January 2010 another important step was taken: the Kick-Off Event for the CAMbrella project took place in Munich, headed by the coordinator Wolfgang Weidenhammer (Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at Klinkums rechts der Isar, Munich). As an EU-coordinating project, CAMbrella will not conduct its own research, but build a network of different European research institutions in the field of complementary medicine and foster international cooperation. Different working groups will examine, among other issues, CAM terminology, legal frameworks for the application of naturopathic methods and the needs of patients, in order to establish the significance of these methods in the health care systems, as well as questions of research methodology. The aim is to draw a comprehensive picture of the current situation of complementary medicine in Europe which will serve as a starting point for future research activities. In order to reach this goal the CAMbrella project will ultimately develop a list of recommendations in the form of a roadmap. The EU-strategy not to support a single research project but rather to explore which topics in research of complementary medicine will be the important ones for the near future in the current European situation (and how these topics should be approached) is very logical even in times of limited financial resources. However, the joy is shadowed with irritation. Was it necessary to have this project attacked right at the starting point by “insiders”? This of course does not mean fair criticism regarding the structure of the program or the published results (if there had been any at this early stage). It is rather the opinion brought to a general public that the consortium of scientists cooperating in this project was exclusively composed of proponents (1). An accusation between colleagues that cannot go unanswered. Is it allowed to place oneself above all other colleagues in complementary medical research by claiming to be the only “non-supporter” or “neutral” researcher, regardless of all personal achievements and high reputation that the colleague in question has duly earned internationally with his critical scientific point of view? From an intellectual point of view this is not honest! It’s a shame for the subject itself, a shame for the collegiality! Presumably in the course of the present controversy on homeopathy in the UK the reproach could also connote that by funding the CAMbrella project, the European Commission was supporting only a lobbying group (2). The criticism of the European Commission’s call in the field of health in the 7th Framework Programme was extended to encompass National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in the US: both were judged to be ‘a waste of money’. Nonetheless, the joy over this achievement should outweigh the irritation. I am convinced that this start is a very important step for us, the researchers in this field, as well as for the process of the development of the political will in Europe. Until recently I would not have imagined this to be possible. In this sense I proudly proclaim – by analogy with Obama’s slogan – Yes, we CAM! Text: Dieter Melchart Translation from German by Meike Dlaboha and Doreen McBride Footnotes * Editorial. Forsch Komplementmed 2010; 17, 60, published online March 8, 2010; courtesy of Karger Publishers, Freiburg, Germany. 1) Zoë Corbyn: Alternative medicine plan is ‘waste of money’. www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=410186 2) Gibney E: Complementary medicine: research network needs more critical voices. Research Europe, 28 Jan 2010 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=107 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=99 CAMbrella was born in Munich On a cold Wednesday night, a group of people from all over Europe got together at a Munich restaurant. They wanted to meet and get to know each other, as the next morning they would participate in the official launch of CAMbrella. On Thursday morning, January 21st, 2010, the Kick-off Meeting started with a welcome address by the coordinator, Wolfgang Weidenhammer. The key objectives of the meeting were to bring together the complete consortium for the first time, to initiate the actual work, to inform on administrative and financial issues, and to introduce the Advisory Board. The meeting took place at the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation, located in the impressive surroundings of Nymphenburg Castle. Wolfgang Weidenhammer presented the current status regarding the Grant Agreement, pre-financing, and the Consortium Agreement. Bettina Reiter (leading WP8 Communication and dissemination) presented a draft of the CAMbrella logo and the basic graphical concept of the project web-site http://www.cambrella.eu . Future meetings were planned and discussed, and it was agreed that meetings of the Scientific Steering Committee and meetings of the Work Package groups should be combined as often as possible in order to save time and costs. The international ICCMR conference in Tromsø, May 19-21, 2010, was discussed as a possible date for the first annual meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee. For most of the 37 participants, this was the first opportunity to meet people they only knew from E-mail or Skype. The conversations during the coffee breaks were lively and intense, and the room was buzzing with French, Swedish, Spanish, German, etc. - everybody excited to exchange information and begin working. That morning, work in the individual Work Packages started. Vinjar Fønnebø moderated the first session on WP1 - CAM terminology and definitions, and WP leader Bernhard Uehleke presented a basic working concept, which was discussed by all CAMbrella partners as this issue is relevant to all Work Packages. The logo and the website are part of the CAMbrella communication concept, and a comprehensive policy on internal and external communication is being developed by WP8. A collective platform for internal communication is provided by an internet tool http://www.projectplace.com , and all working groups have access to this tool. Meike Dlaboha (Beneficiary 16, BayFor, WP9 Management) gave a presentation on the financial guidelines relevant for CAMbrella, concerning e.g. travel costs, time sheets and personnel costs. Lunch was taken in a nearby restaurant, followed by a short walk round the ancient buildings of Castle Nymphenburg. In the afternoon, 3 consecutive sessions of Work Package meetings took place. During each session, 2 groups met in parallel. In a final plenary session all WP leaders reported briefly on the results of their group meetings, and from 7 to 10pm, CAMbrella partners relaxed and enjoyed a buffet provided by Siemens Foundation. This event also had the purpose of facilitating dialogue between researchers and different CAM stakeholders, as the members of the Advisory Board were invited to join the reception. The second day convened a combined meeting of the CAMbrella consortium members and the Advisory Board. Prof Dieter Melchart, leader of the hosting Munich Centre for Complementary Medicine Research, opened the meeting with a welcome address. All members of the CAMbrella group and the attending members of the Advisory Board introduced themselves to become acquainted with each other. The functions and the role of the Advisory Board were discussed, and so was the need to extend the Advisory Board. The Board members’ knowhow is very important to the CAMbrella consortium, but the role of the Board mainly consists in giving advice upon request of the Scientific Steering Committee or individual Work Package leaders. As a deputy to the project’s Financial Officer Maria Psimenopoulou, Mrs Anita Kucharska from Unit F6 of DG Research gave a presentation on administrative and financial issues of EU FP7 funded projects. After lunch break, selected Work Package meetings were continued on Friday afternoon at the office rooms of the hosting Centre for Complementary Medicine Research. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Thu, 15 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=99 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=102 The stakeholder: In each newsletter we will present a stakeholder – an organisation which in one way or the other is important to CAMbrella. The first one is associated with the needle: International Council of Medical Acupuncture and Related Techniques (ICMART) In Europe, approximately 80 000 registered physicians practice acupuncture, most of them being members of national acupuncture organisations. In order to support international cooperation, ICMART was founded in Vienna, Austria, in 1983. It was registered in Brussels as a non-profit umbrella organisation comprising medical acupuncture societies worldwide, and today ICMART represents the only truly international medical acupuncture organisation. The main objectives of ICMART are to develop and standardise acupuncture practiced by medical doctors and to integrate it into modern medicine and modern healthcare. ICMART embraces the two main approaches in acupuncture: The scientific (Western) approach through evidence-based medicine - and the traditional (Eastern) approach, both with respect to efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness. (See Acupuncture Charter Berlin 2001). Membership is only open to medical associations of acupuncture and related techniques. At present (March 2010), ICMART has 83 medical acupuncture societies worldwide as members: 73 European societies, incl. 18 East European acupuncture societies, and 10 non-European acupuncture societies. These members represent 44 countries and about 35,000 medical doctors. Many researchers from different ICMART member societies have been involved in important acupuncture research programs over the last two decades. They have presented their results at the annual ICMART congresses, and this year the annual world congress is held in Riga, Latvia, in May. ICMART’s Education Chapter is working on e.g. Western anatomy, physiology and neuroscience relevant to medical acupuncture, different ways of point selection, adequate training, testing and evaluation. And a project in progress in the Chapter is the ICMART Lexicon of Medical Acupuncture. The European Chapter is working for the official recognition of acupuncture as a part of CAM in European Health policy. And since 2006, ICMART has been part of the CAMDOC Alliance (www.camdoc.eu), whose mission is “to develop and facilitate the integration of the well established and respectable CAM methods into European Health Policies - with the aim to provide the European citizens with the added value to medicine that CAM can provide”. ICMART has joined different actions of CAMDOC Alliance, some of them in cooperation with other CAM stakeholders. ICMART is member of EPHA, The European Public Health Alliance, representing over 100 non-governmental and other not-for-profit organisations working in support of health in Europe. Also, ICMART has established a global network of medical acupuncture, and ICMART is the contact address for medical acupuncture worldwide. Dr. Isabel Giralt (Spain) was elected as president in Budapest in 2008, and Dr. Walburg Maric-Oehler (Germany) is the ICMART representative in the CAMbrella Advisory Board. Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Source: ICMART For further information www.icmart.org ICMART Headquarter Rue de l’Amazone 62 1060 Brussels, Belgium Baron Francois Beyens, MD fbeyens@arcadis.be Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=102 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=31 Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=31 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=104 New CAM chair in Munich The Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at the University Hospital ‘rechts der Isar’ of Technische Universität München can look back on more than 20 years of history. Effective January 1, 2010, a chair of naturopathy and complementary medicine was established by the Faculty of Medicine, and Dieter Melchart, the longstanding leader of the centre, was appointed. It is the only position of this kind at the Bavarian universities and is funded by the Erich Rothenfußer Foundation. Due to restructuring of the organisation, the centre will be referred to as “KoKoNat” - Kompetenzzentrum für Komplementärmedizin und Naturheilkunde (competence centre for complementary medicine and naturopathy), and the existing out-patient unit for complementary medicine now also offers services in the field of health promotion. This development clearly signals the acknowledgement of CAM on a university level. Contact info Zentrum für naturheilkundliche Forschung (ZNF) der II. Medizinischen Klinik und Poliklinik Technische Universität München Kaiserstrasse 9, D-80801 München T +49-89-72 66 97-0 F +49-89-72 66 97-21 ZnF@lrz.tu-muenchen.de Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=104 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=103 The patients’ perspective – Work Package 4 This part of CAMbrella will focus on CAM use and reasons for CAM use among European citizens. WP4 will explore the prevalence of CAM use in Europe, taking into account regional and national variations, and create a summary of current information about the prevalence of CAM use. Also, the group will identify the major conditions treated with CAM and explore the reasons why patients choose CAM - all of this based on survey material and existing databases. The second task of WP4 is the development of a standardised patient questionnaire on CAM use in at least three European languages – and thus creating a research instrument to be used in the EU in the future. During the initial phase of CAMbrella, WP4 has identified future interested parties who may wish to join the WP, and two sub-groups were set up to work on a) the prevalence topic and b) the planned questionnaire. The groups started working at an initial workshop at the CAMbrella Kick-off Meeting in January 2010, and they will communicate through two-monthly telephone meetings. They will meet again for their second workshop in September 2010, focusing on reviewing progress and refining the plans. WP4 will terminate with a final workshop in December 2011, finishing the final report: CAM use – the patients’ perspective: current status and future needs. The report will consist of: A protocol describing a high quality, rigorous approach to identifying and extracting data about the prevalence of CAM use, the conditions which are most widely treated, and the reasons for use. This will form the basis of a specific methodological peer review publication already in progress and underpin the strategic report of this WP; A strategic document (report) that will identify current status, future needs and “evidence gaps” with respect to prevalence; A consensus-based and piloted patient questionnaire concerning CAM use in 3 European languages; this will be the main instrument that could be operated on an EU wide basis. The above activities will result in peer review publications, as well as a detailed report for the EC which will contribute to the final roadmap. Nine countries are represented in WP4: UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Romania, Italy, Spain, Hungary and Norway. The Work Package leader is Prof. George Lewith (UK). Text: Jesper Odde Madsen Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0200 http://www.cambrella.eu/home.php?il=103