The use of medicine and alternative treatments (e.g. herbal) are a controversial topic in health workers’ daily basis since patient differences in belief. The changes of option are usually made by patient’ idea with a bit of consideration of non-experts opinion. This essay will elaborate on why these changes are valued as a negative development, supported with real fact and current paradigm.
Back in 2015, there was a well-known alternative expert that can be found online in order to cure the pain named Mrs. Ponari. There used to be a 6-hours long queue in her home with various patients’ backgrounds coming from all around Indonesia, and the majority of the patients’ feedback felt better with the massage and herbal drink she gave. However, even though there is a development in patient condition, Mrs. Ponari did not provide any medical assurances, enabling her to do malpractice without any legal punishment.
Additionally, for the suburban society that lacks health facilities, herbal drugs and treatments done by unprofessional experts are common things to use due to the close exposure they had. For example, depression patients are asked to join religion-training or consultation classes rather than being referred to the psycholog, showing the uneducated and unmatched solution given. This solution likely will not solve the problem and may potentially lead to other risks or negative development, such as loss of identity and belief in god.
In conclusion, while there are still some alternative treatments occurring resulting in better conditions, the risks and consequences are bigger than the effect that they offer, leading into negative development on disbelief of medical knowledge and expertise.