Novye Issledovaniâ Tuvy (Dec 2018)
Using methods of non-conventional medicine in a medical center in Yakutsk: a case study
Abstract
The article examines the experience of using traditional medical systems (more specifically, Tibetan and Chinese medicine) by Russian and foreign specialists at a specialized treatment faciity in Yakutsk - the center of complementary medicine and spa "Kanti". We provide a comparative analysis of hown non-conventional medicine is functioning in Yakutia and Tuva. The Kanti experience is presented as a special case, which is examined from different points of view. The article is based on the field materials collected by the author in Yakutsk in 2017, with the head of the center and one of its doctors acting as respondents. Also involved are the media materials and the legal base of the center’s operation. There are 25 private medical clinics and centres in Yakutsk now, most of them are multifunctional. The Kanti center employs 20 full-time workers and 8 part-timers, including 9 doctors and 7 professionals with secondary medical education. The centre has licenses for 10 types of medical activities. At the moment, some components of complementary medicine, which are in demand among the population of Yakutia (such as Chinese and Tibetan healing practices, the Ayurveda etc.), are being introduced. In this article, we provide biographies of the practitioners and describe their methods. The popularity of integrative clinics in Yakutsk is largely due to low access to free high-quality healthcare. Other contributing factors include advertising in the media, trust in the practices of Oriental medicine and its presence in local centers. In contrast to the situation in Tuva, the services of non-conventional medicine offered in Yakutia comply only with the federal legislation. In Tuva, the demand for traditional and folk medicine, including spiritual healing, has been taken into account, and a special regional legal instrument has been adopted, in accordance with Article 50 of the Law on the Health Protection in the Russian Federation. This instrument covering the use of "traditional medicine" is seen as important elements of constructing healthcare systems in different regions of the Russian Federation.
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