GPs who have training in complementary therapies enjoy some success in limiting use of antibiotics, according to an analysis published today.
The offering of complementary therapies on the NHS has been controversial.
But, according to the study in BMJ Open, practices which offer these therapies are 22% less likely to prescribe antibiotics than others.
The researchers say that the finding might suggest new strategies for reducing antibiotic use.
However one possible explanation is that patients who are averse to taking conventional pharmaceutical products gravitate towards complementary therapists, offering so-called “integrative medicine.”
They may also reflect extended consultation times for complementary therapies, which typically require sessions of at least 30 minutes.
The research compared nine practices offering these therapies with more than 7,000 others.
The practices offered therapies such as osteopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy and anthroposophic medicine.
The researchers, led by Dr Esther van der Werf, of Bristol Medical School, UK, say: “For the majority of respiratory tract infections, it is recommended that antibiotics should be avoided or delayed, so that this is an area where the desired reduction in prescribing could take place.
“Additional treatment strategies for common primary care infections used by practices with GPs trained in integrative medicine should be explored to see if they could be used to assist in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.”
Do NHS GP surgeries employing GPs additionally trained in integrative or complementary medicine have lower antibiotic prescribing rates? Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of national primary care prescribing data in England in 2016. BMJ Open 20 March 2018
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