Plantas medicinais e políticas públicas de saúde: novos olhares sobre antigas práticas / Medicinal plants and public health policies: new perspectives on old practices

Resumo As plantas medicinais são utilizadas nos cuidados a saúde desde a Antiguidade, mas apenas na década de 1970 a OMS se manifestou sobre sua importância para a saúde da população. Este artigo teve por objetivo identificar a sequência temporal e evolução dos marcos legais associados às políticas públicas de plantas medicinais, discutindo as implicações dessa evolução, bem como sua inserção no sistema de saúde, e apresentar essa evolução no Brasil. Foram identificados e analisados os conteúdos de Leis, Decretos, Resoluções, Políticas, Portarias e Instruções Normativas relacionadas ao tema. Apesar do longo histórico de uso da flora nacional, as primeiras legislações sobre seu emprego no campo da saúde são recentes. O Brasil, país com maior biodiversidade do planeta, aprovou, apenas em 2006, a Política Nacional de Práticas Integrativas e Complementares e a Política Nacional de Plantas Medicinais e Fitoterápicos. Necessita-se, entretanto, ampliar o investimento em pesquisas científicas para que haja segurança, qualidade e eficácia no seu uso.

Abstract Medicinal plants have been used in health care since Antiquity, but it was only in the 1970s that the WHO expressed its importance for the health of the population. This article aimed to identify the temporal sequence and evolution of legal frameworks associated with public policies on medicinal plants, discussing the implications of this evolution, as well as its insertion in the health system, and to present this evolution in Brazil. The contents of Laws, Decrees, Resolutions, Policies, Ordinances and Normative Instructions related to the topic were identified and analyzed. Despite the long history of using the national flora, the first legislation on its use in the health field is recent. Only in 2006, Brazil, the country with the greatest biodiversity on the planet, approved the National Policy on Integrative and Complementary Practices and the National Policy on Medicinal Plants and Phytotherapeutics. It is necessary, however, to increase investment in scientific research so that there is safety, quality and effectiveness in its use.

Comprehensive study on the administrative, economic, regional, and regulatory prospects of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Introduction: Due to the high cost, low effectiveness, and adverse effects plus the life-long nature of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and misconception on safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), the market demand for CAM has risen over the past decades. A critical review of patients' and physicians' attitudes, market drivers, economic aspects, regulatory roles, and regional distribution is lacking.Areas covered: Through relevant databases, the existing English language literature concerning the association of CAM use with IBD was collected over the past two decades. Data was then analyzed, comprehensively summarized in tables/figures, and justified concerning administrative, organizational, regional, economic, and regulatory perspectives.Expert opinion: Although CAM utilization is more prevalent among younger, female, and high-educated IBD patients, issues concerning weak study designs, limited-time period/regional distribution of recent surveys, and lack of economic evaluations on CAM make it entirely unfeasible to draw a firm conclusion. Regulators are lagging in meeting the dire need of IBD patients, especially the elderly. Lack of legislation regarding registration, sales monitoring, licensing, insurance coverage, efficacy/safety assessments, post-marketing surveillance, quality assurance, and reference pricing alongside the limited support for CAM research are the main matters that should be urgently addressed.

International policies and challenges on the legalization of traditional medicine/herbal medicines in the fight against COVID-19.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has now rapidly spread around the world, causing an outbreak of acute infectious pneumonia. To develop effective and safe therapies for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 has become the major global public health concern. Traditional medicine (TM)/herbal medicines (HMs) have been used to treat multiple epidemics in human history, which brings hope for the fight against COVID-19 in some areas. For example, in China, India, and South Korea with traditional medication history and theory, the governments issued a series of guidelines to support TM/HMs in the medication of COVID-19. In contrast, other countries e.g. North American and European governments are typically silent on these practices, unless to warn of possible harm and overselling. Such difference is due to the discrepancy in culture, history and philosophical views of health care and medication, as well as unharmonized policies and standards in the regulation and legalization of TM/HMs among different areas. Herein, we reviewed the responses and scientific researches from seven selected countries on the policies and legalization of TM/HMs to treat COVID-19, and also analyzed the major challenges and concerns to utilize the traditional knowledge and resource.

Moção de apoio nº 007, de 09 de novembro de 2020: manifesta apoio à permanência da Política Nacional de Práticas Integrativas e Complementares no SUS no âmbito da Secretaria de Atenção Primária à Saúde do Ministério da Saúde / Supporting motion No. 007, of November 9, 2020: expresses support for the permanence of the National Policy of Integrative and Complementary Practices in SUS within the scope of the Secretariat of Primary Health Care of the Ministry of Health

Manifesta apoio à permanência da Política Nacional de Práticas Integrativas e Complementares no SUS no âmbito da Secretaria de Atenção Primária à Saúde do Ministério da Saúde.

Webpalestra COVID-19 (Coronavírus): PICS no SUS em tempos de pandemia. E eu com isso?

Assista mais vídeos sobre COVID-19 no link abaixo: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... Acesse os slides das nossas palestras na Biblioteca Virtual do Telessaúde ES! Confira a data da exibição e encontre o material desejado. Faça download e tenha o material preparado pelos nossos palestrantes. https://telessaude.ifes.edu.br/biblio...

The effect of legislation on the treatment practices and role of naturopaths in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: In South Africa naturopaths have been practising for over half a century. Over this period, changes in legislation have resulted in different levels of training and registration processes - which has impacted on the profession in various ways. This paper explores the effect of legislation on the treatment practices and role of naturopaths in South Africa. METHODS: This was a qualitative study which used an exploratory approach. Participants were sampled from the list of naturopaths registered with the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA). A set of 15 open-ended survey questions were emailed to 59 naturopaths. Twenty one naturopaths participated: 13 responded via email and eight were interviewed. Responses were coded and thematically analysed. RESULTS: It was found that despite differences in training and years of practice experience, four core treatment practices of diet therapy, lifestyle medicine, supplementation and physical therapies were common to all participants with the older, more experienced naturopaths using a wider range of treatment practices. There is a shared common vision of wanting the profession to have greater participation in the public healthcare system. This research has found that legislation influences the treatment practices and role played by naturopaths in South Africa. The findings of this paper acknowledges the limiting impact of state legislation on naturopathic and other complementary medicine professions. CONCLUSION: Naturopathy has to operate within the legislative framework and this appears to be one of the key factors which has contributed to the lack of growth of naturopathy in South Africa. Findings thus highlight the need for new legislation to reflect the changes in society to ensure that the emergent healthcare needs of the population are met.

Parens Patriae and Parental Rights: When Should the State Override Parental Medical Decisions?

Alfie Evans was a terminally ill British child whose parents, clinging to hope, were desperately trying to save his life. Hospital authorities disagreed and petitioned the court to enjoin the parents from removing him and taking him elsewhere for treatment. The court stepped in and compelled the hospital to discontinue life support and claimed that further treatment was not in the child's best interest. This note discusses the heartbreaking stories of Alfie and two other children whose parents' medical decisions on their behalf were overridden by the court. It argues that courts should never decide that death is in a child's best interest and compel parents to withdraw life support from their children. Such a decision is outside the scope of the judiciary. Furthermore, it argues that even in those instances when the court may or must intervene, a new framework is necessary because the current framework used by the court to determine the best interest of the child ignores fundamental realities of child psychology. Too often, as a result of the court's mistaken framework, the court illegitimately trespasses into the parental domain. By adopting a new framework, the court will intervene only when actual abuse or neglect is suspected. In all other cases, judicial restraint will be practiced and the court will show greater deference to the parents' wishes.

"Then I went to a hospital abroad": acknowledging implications of stakeholders' differing risk understandings related to use of complementary and alternative medicine in European health care contexts.

BACKGROUND: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a rather novel issue within public healthcare and health policy-making. CAM use in Europe is widespread, patient-initiated, and patient-evaluated, and the regulation across countries has been evaluated as disharmonized. CAM users are left in an uncertain position, and patient safety may be threatened. How "risk" is understood by individuals in health policy-making and clinical encounters involving the use of CAM has not yet been much debated. The aim of this article is to explore and discuss the existence and possible consequences of differing risk understandings among stakeholders maneuvering in the complex landscape of CAM practice and CAM regulation contextualized by European public healthcare systems. METHODS: Qualitative data were derived from two studies on CAM in European healthcare contexts. Findings from the EU project CAMbrella on legislation and regulation of CAM were mixed with data from an interview study exploring risk understandings, communication, and decision-making among Scandinavian CAM users and their doctors. In a secondary content analysis, we constructed the case Sara as a typology to demonstrate important findings with regard to risk understandings and patient safety involving European citizens' use of CAM in differing contexts. RESULTS: By combining and comparing individual and structural perspectives on risk and CAM use, we revealed underexplored gaps in risk understandings among individuals involved in European CAM regulation and legislation, and between CAM users and their medical doctors. This may cause health risks and uncertainties associated with CAM use and regulation. It may also negatively influence doctor-CAM user communication and CAM users' trust in and use of public healthcare. CONCLUSION: Acknowledging implications of stakeholders' differing risk understandings related to CAM use and regulation may positively influence patient safety in European healthcare. Definitions of the concept of risk should include the factors uncertainty and subjectivity to grasp the full picture of possible risks associated with the use of CAM. To transform the findings of this study into practical settings, we introduce sets of questions relevant to operationalize the important question "What is risk?" in health policy-making, clinical encounters and risk research involving European patients' use of CAM.

The present state of complementary medicine regulation in Saudi Arabia.

The prevalence of use of traditional and complementary medicine in the Saudi Arabia population has reached 75%. The most used therapies are religious healing, herbal medicine and cupping therapy. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is the Saudi national reference for all activities regarding complementary medicine. This article briefly highlights the current state of complementary medicine regulation in Saudi Arabia.

Regulating Alternative Healing in France, And the Problem of 'Non-Medicine'.

This article explores the ambiguities of the legal system that, in France, regulates 'alternative healing', and determines the boundaries of legitimate medical care. While the law suggests that the delivery of therapeutic care should be the monopoly of biomedically-trained professionals, alternative healers operate very widely, and very openly, in France. They practice, however, on the verge of (il)legality, often organising their activities, individually and collectively, so as to limit the likelihood of state intervention. This creates a high degree of precarity for both practitioners and, crucially, for patients. Efforts to change the system are being deployed, but while healers themselves have increasingly organised to seek recognition by the state, alternative healing occupies an uncertain policy space: they are not fully constituted as a social and policy matter by the state, and occupy a liminal position between medicine and spirituality that "unsettles" republican ideals of scientific rationality, and of secularism. This article explores some of those tensions, at the crossroad between law, science, and medicine. It reflects on why tensions seem to persist around the regulatory questions at stake, and suggests that ways forward may depend on moving away from science as a sole arbiter in drawing boundaries of legitimate and illegitimate care in regulation.

Complementary and integrative therapies in the scope of nursing: legal aspects and academic-assistance panorama / Prácticas integradoras y complementarias en el ámbito de la enfermería: aspectos legales y panorama académico-asistencial / Práticas integrativas e complementares no âmbito da enfermagem: aspectos legais e panorama acadêmico-assistencial

ABSTRACT Objective: to carry out a documentary study on the legal aspects that support the nurses' performance in the Integrative and Complementary Practices (PIC) and to discuss the panorama of teaching, research, extension and nursing activities in front of PICs. Method: documentary study, whose units of analysis were normative, guidelines, recommendations and clarification notes (n = 17). The data were organized into two categories: "Legal aspects of nurses' performance in ICP and acupuncture" and "Overview of the use of ICPs by nursing in the areas of teaching, research, extension and assistance activities". Results: nurses stand out in the implementation of PIC since the principles of training are congruent to the paradigms of this science, besides having legal support for acting in public and private services in Brazil. There is an incipient movement of nurses working in research and extension in universities, which contributes to the diffusion of knowledge and application of therapies in the community. Conclusion: the institutionalization of PICs in the Unified Health System has increased access and contributed to the provision of comprehensive and multidisciplinary health services. Implications for practice: with ICPs, nurses have achieved autonomy and the possibility of expanding their performance, aiming at a better quality of care.

RESUMEN Objetivo: realizar un estudio documental sobre los aspectos legales que respaldan la actuación del enfermero en las Prácticas Integradoras y Complementarias (PIC) y discurrir sobre el panorama de la enseñanza, investigación, las actividades extensionistas y asistenciales de la Enfermería frente a las PIC. Método: estudio documental, cuyas unidades de análisis fueron normativas, directrices, recomendaciones y notas de aclaración (n = 17). Se organizaron los datos en dos categorías: "Aspectos legales de la actuación del Enfermero en las PIC y en la acupuntura" y "Panorama de la utilización de las PIC por la enfermería en las áreas de enseñanza, investigación, actividades extensionistas y asistenciales". Resultados: los enfermeros se destacan en la implementación de las PIC, ya que los principios de formación son congruentes a los paradigmas de esta ciencia, además de poseer respaldo legal para actuación en servicios públicos y privados en Brasil. Hay un movimiento incipiente de enfermeros actuando en investigaciones y extensión en las universidades, lo que contribuye a la difusión del conocimiento e implementación de terapias en la comunidad. Conclusión: la institucionalización de las PIC en el Sistema Único de Salud amplió el acceso y contribuye a una disponibilidad de servicios de salud integral y multidisciplinar. Implicaciones para la práctica: con las PIC los enfermeros han alcanzado autonomía y la posibilidad de expandir su actuación, con vistas a una mejor calidad del cuidado.

RESUMO Objetivo: Realizar estudo documental sobre os aspectos legais que respaldam a atuação do enfermeiro nas Práticas Integrativas e Complementares (PIC) e discorrer sobre o panorama do ensino, pesquisa, atividades extensionistas e assistenciais da Enfermagem frente às PIC. Método: Estudo documental, cujas unidades de análise foram normativas, diretrizes, recomendações e notas de esclarecimento (n=17). Os dados foram organizados em duas categorias: "Aspectos legais da atuação do Enfermeiro nas PIC e na acupuntura" e "Panorama da utilização das PIC pela enfermagem nas áreas de ensino, pesquisa, atividades extensionistas e assistenciais". Resultados: Os enfermeiros se destacam na implementação das PIC uma vez que os princípios de formação são congruentes aos paradigmas dessa ciência, além de possuírem respaldo legal para atuação em serviços públicos e privados no Brasil. Há um movimento incipiente de enfermeiros atuando em pesquisas e extensão nas universidades, o que contribui para difusão do conhecimento e aplicação das terapias na comunidade. Conclusão: A institucionalização das PIC no Sistema Único de Saúde ampliou o acesso e tem contribuído para disponibilização de serviços de saúde integral e multidisciplinares. Implicações para prática: Com as PIC os enfermeiros têm alcançado autonomia e possibilidade de expansão de sua atuação, com vistas à melhor qualidade do cuidado.

How are complementary health professions regulated in Australia? An examination of complementary health professions in the national registration and accreditation scheme.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to provide an empirical examination of how complementary medicine practice in Australia is actually regulated under the current national registration model. METHODS: Data was obtained from Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Annual Reports for the years 2011/12-2014/15 and supplemented by the Chinese Medical Registration Board of Victoria (CMRBV) Annual Reports in 2011/12 for Chinese Medicine complaints. The data analysed includes complaint statistics, stage of closure of complaints and the outcome of complaints concerning Chinese medicine, chiropractic and osteopathy under the National Law. RESULTS: During 2014-2015 the number of complaints per 100 registrants for was highest for the medical board (4.4), while much lower for the chiropractic (1.5), osteopath (0.7) and Chinese medicine (0.5) boards. For conventional boards, 58% of complaints were closed at the assessment stage, while 57%, 29% and 16% of complaints to the osteopath, Chinese medicine and chiropractic boards respectively were closed at the assessment stage. The decision to suspend or cancel registration of health professionals was 17% from the Chinese medicine board, 14% from the Osteopathy Board, 1.5% from the chiropractor board and 0.6% from the medical board. CONCLUSION: It appears that complementary medicine practitioner regulation works at least as well as conventional regulation, and at most complementary medicine boards take a stricter interpretation of misconduct though more research would need to be undertaken to state this definitively. Our findings indicate that the public are using the statutory complaint mechanisms available to them with respect to the three CM groups.

Which risk understandings can be derived from the current disharmonized regulation of complementary and alternative medicine in Europe?

BACKGROUND: Many European citizens are seeking complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). These treatments are regulated very differently in the EU/EFTA countries. This may demonstrate differences in how risk associated with the use of CAM is perceived. Since most CAM treatments are practiced fairly similarly across Europe, differing risk understandings may influence patient safety for European CAM users. The overall aim of this article is thus to contribute to an overview and awareness of possible differing risk understandings in the field of CAM at a policymaking/structural level in Europe. METHODS: The study is a re-analysis of data collected in the CAMbrella EU FP7 document and interview study on the regulation of CAM in 39 European countries. The 12 CAM modalities included in the CAMbrella study were ranked with regard to assumed risk potential depending on the number of countries limiting its practice to regulated professions. The 39 countries were ranked according to how many of the included CAM modalities they limit to be practiced by regulated professions. RESULTS: Twelve of 39 countries generally understand the included CAM treatments to represent "high risk", 20 countries "low risk", while the remaining 7 countries understand CAM treatments as carrying "very little or no risk". The CAM modalities seen as carrying a risk high enough to warrant professional regulation in the highest number of countries are chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, homeopathy and osteopathy. The countries understanding most of the CAM modalities in the study as potentially high-risk treatments are with two exceptions (Portugal and Belgium) all concentrated in the southeastern region of Europe. CONCLUSION: The variation in regulation of CAM may represent a substantial lack of common risk understandings between health policymakers in Europe. We think the discrepancies in regulation are to a considerable degree also based on factors unrelated to patient risk. We argue that it is important for patient safety that policy makers across Europe address this confusing situation. This could be done by applying the WHO patient safety definitions and EU's policy to facilitate access to "safe and high-quality healthcare", and regulate CAM accordingly.

Statutory Regulation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners and Practices: The Need for Distinct Policy Making Guidelines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for the increased statutory regulation of traditional and complementary medicine practitioners and practices, currently implemented in about half of nations surveyed. According to recent WHO data, however, the absence of policy guidelines in this area represents a significant barrier to implementation of such professional regulations. This commentary reviews several key challenges that distinguish the statutory regulation of traditional medicine practitioners and practices from biomedical professional regulation, providing a foundation for the development of policy making parameters in this area. Foremost in this regard are the ongoing impacts of the European colonial encounter, which reinforce biomedicine's disproportionate political dominance across the globe despite traditional medicine's ongoing widespread use (particularly in the global South). In this light, the authors discuss the conceptual and historical underpinnings of contemporary professional regulatory structures, the tensions between institutional and informal traditional medicine training pathways, and the policy challenges presented by the prospect of standardizing internally diverse indigenous healing approaches. Epistemic and evidentiary tensions, as well as the policy complexities surrounding the intersection of cultural and clinical considerations, present additional challenges to regulators. Conceptualizing professional regulation as an intellectual property claim under the law, the authors further consider what it means to protect traditional knowledge and prevent misappropriation in this context. Overall, the authors propose that innovative professional regulatory approaches are needed in this area to address safety, quality of care, and accessibility as key public interest concerns, while prioritizing the redress of historical inequities, protection of diverse indigenous knowledges, and delivery of care to underserved populations.

Community pharmacists' views on the regulation of complementary medicines and complementary-medicines practitioners: a qualitative study in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVES: To examine community pharmacists' perspectives on CMs regulation in New Zealand, where proposals for CMs regulations had recently been suspended and where, currently, CMs are only weakly regulated. METHODS: Qualitative, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with New Zealand practising community pharmacists are identified through purposive and convenience sampling. Data were analysed using a general inductive approach. KEY FINDINGS: Participants held mixed views regarding harmonisation of CMs regulations across Australia and NZ; some supported an NZ national regulatory framework for CMs, based on the Australian system. Participants recognised the current CMs regulatory framework in NZ as inadequate, that regulation was required to some extent, and that mandatory regulation was not necessarily required. A key reason given in support of CMs regulations was the need for greater assurances around quality of CMs. Participants also supported a regulatory framework that incorporated assessment of the safety of CMs, but were less convinced of the need for, or feasibility of, requiring evidence of efficacy from clinical trials. Participants believed that regulation of CMs practitioners, such as herbalists, and CMs retailers was important, although there were mixed views as to whether regulation should be statutory or whether self-regulation would be adequate. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of these findings, pharmacists would be expected to welcome proposals for national regulations for CMs in NZ: such regulations should address concerns regarding product quality, inappropriate health claims and supporting evidence, and therefore should support pharmacists in meeting their obligations under the NZ Pharmacy Council's Code of Ethics.

Integrative medicine or infiltrative pseudoscience?

Evidence-based medicine, first described in 1992, offers a clear, systematic, and scientific approach to the practice of medicine. Recently, the non-evidence-based practice of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been increasing in the United States and around the world, particularly at medical institutions known for providing rigorous evidence-based care. The use of CAM may cause harm to patients through interactions with evidence-based medications or if patients choose to forego evidence-based care. CAM may also put financial strain on patients as most CAM expenditures are paid out-of-pocket. Despite these drawbacks, patients continue to use CAM due to media promotion of CAM therapies, dissatisfaction with conventional healthcare, and a desire for more holistic care. Given the increasing demand for CAM, many medical institutions now offer CAM services. Recently, there has been controversy surrounding the leaders of several CAM centres based at a highly respected academic medical institution, as they publicly expressed anti-vaccination views. These controversies demonstrate the non-evidence-based philosophies that run deep within CAM that are contrary to the evidence-based care that academic medical institutions should provide. Although there are financial incentives for institutions to provide CAM, it is important to recognize that this legitimizes CAM and may cause harm to patients. The poor regulation of CAM allows for the continued distribution of products and services that have not been rigorously tested for safety and efficacy. Governments in Australia and England have successfully improved regulation of CAM and can serve as a model to other countries.

Review: Statutory regulation of invasive complementary therapies, such as hijama and acupuncture, is the only effective way of ensuring both patient safety and good practice.

The development of statutory regulation of healthcare professionals first emerged in the 15th century in the UK. However, it was not until the 20th century that statutory regulation of complementary therapies emerged with the Osteopath and Chiropractors Acts. However, during that period, acupuncture failed to gain statutory regulation but was rather subject to the equivalent of trading standards. This review explores the background to this failure and the present need for statutory regulation. It draws comparisons with the need for regulation of hijama, another invasive therapy, for which there is at present no regulation. The benefits of the negative licensing model developed in Australia are considered.

Complementary medicine products: interpreting the evidence base.

Many patients use complementary medicine (CM) products, such as vitamins, minerals and herbs as part of self-care without professional advice or disclosure to their doctors. While use of CM products is gaining awareness by the medical community and there is mounting evidence for their safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness, there is also the potential for adverse events from inappropriate use and/or withdrawal, as well as interactions with other medicines. Due to the unique and complex properties of many CM products, research evidence is specific to individual preparations and this can lead to confusion when assessing label claims and interpreting the results of clinical trials and systematic reviews. While the Australian regulatory environment for CM products is the same as for prescription medicines and is based on risk, there is a great need for consumers and clinicians to have access to easily understood, evidence-based information to facilitate informed decision-making.