Want to know more, but can’t find it on nafkam.no?
Nafkam.no is the Norwegian health authorities' official information web site about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The web site shall provide the Norwegian population with evidence-based information about CAM, and is meant to contribute to higher patient safety. Nafkam.no is run by NAFKAM (Norway's National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine).
However, we regularly receive requests about health and treatment that is beyond what we can help with. Here is an overview of some such issues, along with reference to web sites or organizations that may provide the information or service you request.
I’d like advice about what CAM treatment I should use for my condition, or where I can find a CAM practitioner in Norway:
- We encourage that you first contact your MD/ GP or other authorized healthcare professional for advice about health treatment.
- The CAM Practitioner’s Registry is a Norwegian public registry and part of the official Brønnøysundregistrene. Listing here, indicates that a CAM practitioner meet certain requirements to his/ her business, but says nothing about the quality of the practitioner or treatment offered. The registry is open-access and searchable, but information is currently only in Norwegian.
- SABORG (The Association of Norwegian CAM Practitioners’ Organizations) have an overview of some Norwegian organizations for CAM practitioners. Some of these may list contact data for their members.
I want to read about other patients' experiences with a treatment:
- Patients Like Me (PLM) is an American web site with a discussion forum and a collection of patients' experiences. PLM is privately owned, and commercial ie. the information posted by and about registered users is for sale for purposes within research.
- The UK web site Health Talk Online holds a collection of British patients' experiences with different treatments. The project is governed by a research group at the University of Oxford.
- The Norwegian web site Erfaringskompetanse.no is a government-funded resource that collects and shares Norwegian patients’ experiences in the field of mental health.
I'd like to tell you about an unexpected change in my health condition, after using a treatment:
- NAFKAMs Register of Exceptional Courses of Disease (RESF) collects and records patients’ experiences with CAM products and therapies, whether it's about an unexpected improvement or worsening in your health condition. The registry is open to patients from all countries.
- NOMA (Norwegian Medicines Agency) is open to reports of adverse reactions to medicinal/ pharmaceutical drugs in Norway. This also applies to plant-based drugs, which are often used in CAM. If you wish to report side effects experienced from dietary supplements, must be done by a doctor, dentist or pharmacist at a pharmacy.
I want to tell about my experiences in the Norwegian health care system in the treatment of mental health problems:
- Contact the Norwegian government-funded resource Erfaringskompetanse.no, which collects and shares patients’ experiences in the field of mental health.
- If you have included CAM in your treatment of a mental health problem, you may also contact NAFKAMs Registry of Exceptional Courses of Disease (RESF).
I want to know more about the legislation and regulation of dietary supplements in Norway:
- The Norwegian Food Safety Authority (FSA) supervise the regulations concerning supplements, and those who should be contacted with questions.
I would like information about medicinal drugs in Norway:
- NOMA (Norwegian Medicines Agency) shall ensure that all drugs that are used in Norway have good quality, are safe to use, and have the desired effect. NOMA administers policies for both conventional drugs (medicines), plant-based drugs ("herbal medicines"), anthroposophic- and homeopathic drugs in Norway.
- RELIS (Regional independent drug information centers) aim to contribute to the correct use of medicines, providing vendor-independent drug information. Their service is primarily aimed at health professionals, who may ask questions to RELIS.
- The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is responsible for the scientific evaluation of medicines sold in Europe.
I would like information about a health service in Norway:
- Helsenorge.no is the Norwegian Directorate of Health’s official information web site, and contains information about the Norwegian health care system and the services provided.
I want detailed information regarding poisoning and poisoning hazard in food and nonfood in Norway:
- Giftinformasjonen is the Norwegian official advisory and expertise organ concerning acute poisonings and poisoning hazard. Their web site also contains information about the safety of plants, berries, mushrooms and more.
I am looking for case studies on CAM therapies and treatment products:
- PubMed is an American, public database of more than 23 million articles relating to research on various treatments. The information is organized for professionals.
- Clinical Trials is an American, public registry of public and privately funded clinical testing (individual studies) of treatments. The information is organized for professionals.
- PubMed Dietary Supplement Subset is part of PubMed which is specialized in research on herbs and supplements. The information is aimed at health professionals.
- BMJ Complementary and Alternative Medicine is a peer-reviewed journal and part of the British Medical Journal, specializes in research on alternative therapies. The information is organized for professionals.
- In addition to summarized research/ systematic reviews about therapies, The Cochrane Library hosts protocols and other study types as well.
I would like more information about CAM in English:
- NCCIH (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health – formerly NCCAM) is an American, public research center, which provides unbiased and high-quality information about CAM therapies. In addition to English, their information is accessible in Spanish.
- OCCAM (Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine) is an American, public center with information about cancer and treatment option. Their information is aimed at English-speaking health professionals, researchers and the public.
- CAM-Cancer is an open-access web library which provides peer-reviewed information in English, based on summarized research in cancer and CAM. The web site is run by NAFKAM. The information at CAM-Cancer is primarily aimed at health professionals.
- PedCAM (Pediatric Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research and Education) is a network between researchers, educators, clinicians and policy makers at the University of Alberta, which provides fact information about CAM on children.
- MedlinePlus has a special library on herbs/ supplements/ treatment products often used in CAM. MedlinePlus is a service from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
- The International Society for Complementary Medicine Research (ISCMR) is an international professional, multidisciplinary, non-profit scientific organization that is devoted to fostering research in CAM, and to provide a platform for knowledge and information exchange to enhance international communication and collaboration.
- The International Collaboration on Complementary Therapy Resources (ICCR) is an international collaboration forum between state and publically financed web sites that disseminate information about CAM (complementary and alternative medicine).