Acupuncture in Het Parool

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Opinion: 'Alternative therapy can contribute to cost control in healthcare'
With this headline, the writer of this opinion piece, Kees Ruig from Malden, advocates the use of, among other things, acupuncture to control the ever-increasing healthcare costs.

‘Acupuncture has proven its worth in the thousand years of its existence and, like a number of other alternative treatments, should play a more prominent role in the discussion on controlling healthcare costs.’ This text is located below the acupuncture photo above* and effectively captures the essence of the opinion piece.

Prevention
Last month, Het Parool paid attention to healthy nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, as well as prevention in medical care to prevent extra healthcare costs. Kees Ruig misses one aspect to reduce costs: acceptance of complementary medicine, which can be used in addition to conventional medicine with good results.

Causes of marginalization of acupuncture
He mentions a number of causes of the marginalization of acupuncture, for example.

• Many physicians still do not fully appreciate complementary therapy.
• Heavy lobbying in Brussels and The Hague by the pharmaceutical industry has resulted in unfair regulations that hinder the application of these therapies.
• The stance of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, which refuses to recognize foreign studies, needlessly delays and obstructs various matters.

Frugal health insurers
We would like to add that the frugal attitude of the health insurers also does not benefit the sector. The premium for supplementary packages is high, the reimbursement usually not very generous. Especially for patients with a chronic condition, the costs of complementary treatments are largely for their own account and not everyone can afford that. As a result, there is an increase in regular care and medication use, leading to higher costs.

Active professional association and acupuncturists
This opinion piece is close to our hearts. The NVA and its acupuncturists will not hesitate to emphasize the benefits of acupuncture for healthcare in the Netherlands. Preventive, curative, cost-effective!

SOURCE: Het Parool dated 4 March 2022

* photo: GETTY IMAGES/EYEEM