Alternative Healing is Not Quackery

Quackery is a health scam that brings to the noses of unlooking and desperate persons seeming solutions that are most likely to purloin their health―the most priceless of all gifts and almost always, death comes decisively.

In healthcare management, many have tagged Alternative Medicine as quackery but Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu, a Professor of Alternative Medicine at the Da Vinci College of Holistic Medicine, debunks such claims.

According to him, an alternative medicine practitioner with the right qualification, knowledge and the right license is not a quack.

Drawing succour from the Supreme Court of India, in the matter titled: “Poonam Verma versus Ashwin Patel, CA, the doctor said, “A person who does not have knowledge of a particular System of Medicine but practices in that System is a Quack and a mere pretender to medical knowledge or skill, or to put it differently―a Charlatan.”

He said it was imperative that alternative practitioners understand this definition and improve themselves with the right qualification and knowledge in the field to be able to practice without fears.

Dr. Nyarkotey posited that it was unfortunate for people to think that practitioners of alternative medicines were not well-trained or do not even also go to medical schools.

He noted that training depended on jurisdiction and varied accreditation of schools.

In Ghana, Alternative Medicine is regulated by the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) of the Ministry of Health.

Don’t Abandon Alternative Treatments

Dr. Nyarkotey is confident that with professionalism and enough publicity, holistic medicine would get the attention it deserves.

He therefore advised that “the scientific enterprise”   should not be abandoned recalling that twenty years ago, not many physicians would have asked patients to take medications such as folic acid, vitamins or minerals but today, these medications prerequisite for boosting the immune system.

“Thirty years ago, acupuncture and mind-body healing were considered taboo. Now, in clinics and hospitals around the country, non-traditional therapies are becoming more acceptable, as many studies prove them to be successful in treating some chronic diseases, which could not be cured by conventional medicine,” he recalled.

Dr. Nyarkotey College of Holistic Medicine

In ensuring that professionals like him are not grouped in the same vessel as charlatans, Dr Nyarkotey Obu established the Dr. Nyarkotey College of Holistic Medicine.

This he said would help the public and the government with the right policies and definition in the field.

The college which is affiliated to the Da Vinci College of Holistic Medicine, aims at training practitioners in the field of holistic medicine.

It would also focus on research into evidence-based alternative medicine in order to bring the discipline to public domain and to build and restore public trust in the feared medical intervention.

The college would also educate practitioners on the importance of product patents and the process by which alternative medicine doctors can get exclusive rights over their products.

The college is expected to launch the first Ghana Holistic Medical Journal soon to publish works in alternative medicine and would also organise scientific papers writing methods for traditional and alternative medicine practitioners.

“The college will be bringing international experts in the field for public lectures in alternative medicine and job opportunities in this field,” he said.

In addition, he said the college would be used as a centre for public and institutional information regarding alternative medicine and would also provide the Da Vinci College of Holistic Medicine accredited courses in all fields of holistic medicine.

By: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]