Complementary health care models: a neglected component in the health care systems reform
Nigenda, G.; Lockett, L.; Manca, M.C.; Rodríguez, B.
Revista Medica de Chile 125(11): 1399-1404
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0034-9887 PMID: 9609065 Document Number: 471337
Complementary health care models represent a neglected and scarcely studied area of the health services structure. Within them a myriad of medical therapies of various origins are included. Lately, their importance has grown by means of the increase in demand for such services, both in industrialized and developing countries. It is urgent to reinforce research in the area aiming at understanding the processes through which the population demands these services and the processes through which complementary practitioners are able to maintain their presence in a market environment where the forces of supply and demand are significant. The context created by the health services reform should be used to review the therapeutic value of these models, to promote its regulation, and to amplify the availability of therapeutic options for the population.