Regulation Of Alternative Medicine
Because of the uncertain nature of various alternative therapies and the wide variety of claims different practitioners make, alternative medicine has been a source of vigorous debate, even over the definition of "alternative medicine". Dietary supplements, their ingredients, safety, and claims, are a continual source of controversy. In some cases, political issues, mainstream medicine and alternative medicine all collide, such as in cases where synthetic drugs are legal but the herbal sources of the same active chemical are banned. In other cases, controversy over mainstream medicine causes questions about the nature of a treatment, such as water fluoridation. Alternative medicine and mainstream medicine debates can also spill over into freedom of religion discussions, such as the right to decline lifesaving treatment for one's children because of religious beliefs. Government regulators continue to attempt to find a regulatory balance. Jurisdiction differs concerning which branc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are generally not part of evidence-based medicine. Unlike modern medicine, which employs the scientific method to test plausible therapies by way of Guidelines for human subject research, responsible and ethical clinical trials, producing repeatable evidence of either effect or of no effect, alternative therapies reside outside of mainstream medicine and do not originate from using the scientific method, but instead rely on testimonials, anecdotes, religion, tradition, superstition, belief in supernatural "Energy (esotericism), energies", pseudoscience, fallacy, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, or other unscientific sources. Frequently used terms for relevant practices are New Age medicine, wikt:pseudo-medicine, pseudo-medicine, unortho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Dentistry
Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the mouth, most commonly focused on dentition (the development and arrangement of teeth) as well as the oral mucosa. Dentistry may also encompass other aspects of the craniofacial complex including the temporomandibular joint. The practitioner is called a dentist. The history of dentistry is almost as ancient as the history of humanity and civilization, with the earliest evidence dating from 7000 BC to 5500 BC. Dentistry is thought to have been the first specialization in medicine which has gone on to develop its own accredited degree with its own specializations. Dentistry is often also understood to subsume the now largely defunct medical specialty of stomatology (the study of the mouth and its disorders and dis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by controlling entry to the register, and suspending or removing members when necessary. It also sets the standards for medical schools in the UK. Membership of the register confers substantial privileges under Part VI of the Medical Act 1983. It is a criminal offence to make a false claim of membership. The GMC is supported by fees paid by its members, and it became a registered charity in 2001. History The Medical Act 1858 established the General Council of Medical Education and Registration of the United Kingdom as a statutory body. Initially its members were elected by the members of the profession, and enjoyed widespread confidence from the profession. Purpose All the GMC's functions derive from a statutory requirement for th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in order to dispense them safely to the public and to provide consultancy services. A pharmacist also often serves as a primary care provider in the community and offers services, such as health screenings and immunizations. Pharmacists undergo university or graduate-level education to understand the biochemical mechanisms and actions of drugs, drug uses, therapeutic roles, side effects, potential drug interactions, and monitoring parameters. In developing countries, a diploma course from approved colleges qualifies one for pharmacist role. This is mated to anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology. Pharmacists interpret and communicate this specialized knowledge to patients, physicians, and other health care providers. Among other licensing ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Prescription Only Medicines
A prescription drug (also prescription medication, prescription medicine or prescription-only medication) is a pharmaceutical drug that is permitted to be dispensed only to those with a medical prescription. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The reason for this difference in substance control is the potential scope of misuse, from drug abuse to practising medicine without a license and without sufficient education. Different jurisdictions have different definitions of what constitutes a prescription drug. In North America, , usually printed as "Rx", is used as an abbreviation of the word "prescription". It is a contraction of the Latin word "''recipe''" (an imperative form of "recipere") meaning "take". Prescription drugs are often dispensed together with a monograph (in Europe, a Patient Information Leaflet or PIL) that gives detailed information about the drug. The use of prescription drugs has been increasing since the 1960s. Regula ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Directive 2001/83/EC
Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relates to medicinal products for human use in mainly countries that are part of the European Union. The Directive dealt with the disparities between certain national provisions, in particular between provisions relating to medicinal products, which directly affected the functioning of the internal market of the European Union. See also * EudraLex * Directive 65/65/EEC1, requires prior approval for marketing of proprietary medicinal products * Directive 75/318/EEC * Directive 75/319/EEC, requires marketing authorization requests to be drawn up only by qualified experts * Directive 93/41/EEC * Directive 2001/20/EC * Regulation of therapeutic goods * European Medicines Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the Europ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Medicines Act 1968
The Medicines Act 1968 (c. 67) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its official long title is "An Act to make new provision with respect to medicinal products and related matters, and for purposes connected therewith." It governs the control of medicines for human use and for veterinary use, which includes the manufacture and supply of medicines, and the manufacture and supply of (medicated) animal feeding stuffs. The act defines three categories of medicine: prescription only medicines (POM), which are available only from a pharmacist if prescribed by an appropriate practitioner (including, but not limited to doctors, dentists, optometrists, prescribing pharmacists and nurses); pharmacy medicines (P), available only from a pharmacist but without a prescription; and general sales list (GSL) medicines which may be bought from any shop without a prescription. The act controls supply of the drugs it covers, but does not define any offence of simple possession. P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Medicines And Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe. The MHRA was formed in 2003 with the merger of the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) and the Medical Devices Agency (MDA). In April 2013, it merged with the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) and was rebranded, with the MHRA identity being used solely for the regulatory centre within the group. The agency employs more than 1,200 people in London, York and South Mimms, Hertfordshire. Structure The MHRA is divided into three main centres: * MHRA Regulatory – the regulator for the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries * Clinical Practice Research Datalink – licences anonymised health care data to pharmaceutical companies, academics and other regulators for research * National Institute for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Efficacy
Efficacy is the ability to perform a task to a satisfactory or expected degree. The word comes from the same roots as '' effectiveness'', and it has often been used synonymously, although in pharmacology a distinction is now often made between efficacy and effectiveness. The word ''efficacy'' is used in pharmacology and medicine to refer both to the maximum response achievable from a pharmaceutical drug in research settings, and to the capacity for sufficient therapeutic effect or beneficial change in clinical settings. Pharmacology In pharmacology, efficacy () is the maximum response achievable from an applied or dosed agent, for instance, a small molecule drug. Intrinsic activity is a relative term for a drug's efficacy relative to a drug with the highest observed efficacy. It is a purely descriptive term that has little or no mechanistic interpretation. In order for a drug to have an effect, it needs to bind to its target, and then to affect the function of this tar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Herbs & Acupuncture
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distinguishes herbs from spices. ''Herbs'' generally refers to the leafy green or flowering parts of a plant (either fresh or dried), while ''spices'' are usually dried and produced from other parts of the plant, including seeds, bark, roots and fruits. Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, aromatic and in some cases, spiritual. General usage of the term "herb" differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs; in medicinal or spiritual use, any parts of the plant might be considered "herbs", including leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, root bark, inner bark (and cambium), resin and pericarp. The word "herb" is pronounced in Commonwealth English, but is standard among American English speakers as well as those from regions whe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Swiss Federal Constitution
The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; (BV); (Cst.); (Cost.); ) of 18 April 1999 (SR 101) is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons (states). The document contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights (including the right to call for popular referendums on federal laws and constitutional amendments), delineates the responsibilities of the cantons and the Confederation and establishes the federal authorities of government. The Constitution was adopted by a referendum on 18 April 1999, in which a majority of the people and the cantons voted in favour. It replaced the prior federal constitution of 1874, which it was intended to bring up to date without changing its substance. History Prior to 1798, the Swiss Confederacy was a confederation of independent states, not a federal state; as such it was based on treaties rather than a constitution. T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Therapeutic Goods Administration
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is the medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency of the Australian Government. As part of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the TGA regulates the safety, quality, efficacy and advertising in Australia of therapeutic goods (which comprise medicines, medical devices, biologicals and certain other therapeutic goods). Therapeutic goods include goods that are represented to have a therapeutic effect, are included in a class of goods the sole or principal use of which is (or ordinarily is) a therapeutic use, or are otherwise determined to be a therapeutic good through a legislative instrument under the ''Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.'' Goods that are therapeutic goods must be entered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), or otherwise be the subject of an exemption, approval or authority by the TGA under the ''Therapeutic Goods Act 1989'', ''Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990'' or ''Therapeutic Goods (Medical Dev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |