“$2.5 Billion spent: no alternative medicine cures” screamed the headline two weeks ago. “You expect scientific thinking” one expert was quoted as saying, claiming that it’s become “politically correct to investigate nonsense.”

So what’s the real issue here? Better yet, is there a way to bridge the gap between Western and Eastern philosophies so that the constituent that matters most in this paradigm — the patient — wins?

I believe that when it comes to comparative effectiveness research (CER, i.e. the efficacy/superiority of one drug or modality compared to another), the heart of the West vs. East battle is two-fold and until we find ways to overcome philosophical barriers, never the twain shall meet.

First, we must examine the funding factor. Notably, most Western studies have been and continue to be privately funded and simply fade away with little fanfare if findings are negative or inconclusive. Conversely, a majority of studies that examine “unconventional” or alternative treatments have had the taxpayers footing the bill. Consequently, let’s ask what we can do to engage institutional and pharmaceutical interests so that the funding conundrum is more equitable?

Second, (and more importantly) are Western researchers attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole? Does ‘one size fits all’ work? Eastern research has long been based on an inductive method that relies on direct observation of the individual and his/her relationship to environmental insults. On the other hand, Western research is reductive (or deductive) with general observations evolving into a statistical design that leads to certain conclusions. Although there has been a movement within the Eastern research community to incorporate traditional Western methodologies (e.g. control groups, randomization) one must wonder if by doing so (and thereby eliminating the subjective element that has driven data collection for centuries) the modality under investigation becomes diluted in terms of quality of practice?

Rather than screaming ‘foul” and “nonsense,” shouldn’t we be encouraging innovation in scientific methodology and CER in ways that integrate Eastern inductive approaches into Western reductive strategies so that the researchers can truly measure efficacy? A new paradigm is a win-win for all.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 6:59 am and is filed under Comparative Effectiveness Research, Innovation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.