Complementary medicines – an Australian overview presented by Dr Joanna Harnett, PhD
A deep dive into what is going on with complementary medicines at the moment in Australia
This presentation by Dr Joanna Harnett, PhD covers the three-tiered regulatory system for complementary medicines, and specific evidence-based applications. Examples used were probiotics for conditions like Helicobacter pylori infection and herbal treatments like Iberogast for functional gastrointestinal disorders. Also addressed were safety considerations, drug-herb interactions, and the importance of strain-specific effects in probiotic therapy, concluding with a discussion of vitamin B6 safety concerns.
Learn about:
- The increasing use of complementary medicines alongside prescription medications
- The importance of knowing in what form the complementary medicine a client is taking eg peppermint oil – pure or an encapsulated product
- One of the most extensively studied probiotics is cost prohibitive for most clients
Dr Joanna Harnett is an Associate Professor of Complementary Medicines at the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health. She holds a PhD in Nutritional Pharmacology, a Bachelor of Health Science (Complementary Medicine – Naturopathy), a Master of Health Science (Complementary Medicine), a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Nutrition, and a Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies (Higher Education).
Her research focuses on the quality use of complementary medicines and clinical studies in gastrointestinal health, approached through an integrative physiology lens. Dr Harnett is a current board member of the International Society for Complementary, Traditional and Integrative Medicine Research and serves as Chair on the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Advisory Committee - Complementary Medicines, and member of the NHMRC NRV Expert Working Group for vitamin B6.