Canadians Spend $3.8 Billion on Alternative Medicine to Cure What Ails Them
Contact:
Cynthia Ramsay, Consultant
(604) 708-6306 or (604) 726-3724Release Date: 12 March 1999
Vancouver, BC>>> Canadians are spending $3.8 billion a year on alternative medicine according to a new study Alternative Medicine in Canada: Use and Public Attitudes, released today by The Fraser Institute.
According to the study, 50 percent of Canadians use alternative therapies in the course of a year, and 73 percent have used alternative therapies within their lifetimes. "The increasing popularity of alternative medicine proves that we must broaden the focus of the healthcare debate. Healthcare doesn’t include just doctors and hospitals any longer, it’s whatever people use to stay healthy," says Cynthia Ramsay, the study’s co-author.
Alternative therapies include largely mainstream treatments such as chiropractic and acupuncture, to more exotic therapies like healing touch and hypnosis. These therapies are neither widely taught in North American medical schools, nor generally available in North American hospitals.
Of these alternative therapies, the most frequently used over the 1500 surveyed individuals’ lifetimes were chiropractic (36 percent), relaxation techniques (23 percent), massage (23 percent), prayer (21 percent), and herbal therapies (17 percent).
Use of alternative therapies varies substantially across Canada. Residents of British Columbia were most likely to have used such therapies during their lifetimes (84 percent), while Quebec residents were least likely (66 percent). "Given the differing patterns of use and attitudes across the country, we obviously have ten different healthcare systems at work in Canada. Any reforms need to be undertaken on a province-by-province basis," says Ramsay.
Canadians afflicted with common medical problems often seek alternative assistance. Most often reported ailments were back or neck problems; 71 percent of that group use alternative therapies in the course of a year, including 32 percent who see an alternative therapy provider. Sixty-five percent of those with frequent headaches, 60 percent of allergy sufferers, and 60 percent of arthritis/rheumatism sufferers also use alternative therapies in a given year.
Even children under 18 are fairly frequent users of alternative therapies. In a given year, 39 percent use chiropractic, 29 percent use herbal therapies, 21 percent use homeopathy, 17 percent use relaxation techniques, and 17 percent use folk remedies.
In spite of these numbers, doctors remain the principal healthcare providers in Canada. Forty-nine percent consulted a doctor before seeing an alternative therapy provider, versus 17 percent who saw an alternative provider first. Interestingly, users of alternative therapies are reluctant to discuss these practices with their doctors - 56 percent did not discuss their alternative medicine use with their doctor.
Much alternative medicine spending is out-of-pocket; while 75 percent of chiropractic expenses were covered among those surveyed, only 41 percent of acupuncture costs were covered, and only 7 percent of homeopathy and 5 percent of aromatherapy costs were picked up by insurance plans. The average per-person annual amount paid out-of-pocket to alternative medicine providers users in a year is $60, but these payments to providers are only 47 percent of the total average per-person cost of alternative therapies. On average, individuals also spent $35 on vitamins and diet programs, and $33 on books, classes, and equipment. Thus, total average per-person annual spending is $128. This means that in a given year, Canadians spend $1.8 billion on alternative providers and an additional $2 billion on related expenses (herbs, vitamins, books, etc.), for a total of $3.8 billion.
Despite the prevalence of alternative medicine and substantial out-of-pocket expenditures, 60 percent of surveyed individuals believed that it should be covered by private insurance, not provincial public health plans.
Established in 1974, The Fraser Institute is an independent public policy organization based in Vancouver.
For further information, or for a copy of Alternative Medicine in Canada: Use and Public Attitudes, contact:
Suzanne Walters, Director of Communications,
The Fraser Institute, (604) 714-4582,
Email suzannew@fraserinstitute.ca
info@fraserinstitute.ca
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