Many Norwegians put together their own healthcare system where CAM is included. To enable you to make the best choices for your health, we have put together the following list:
- Medicines, herbs and supplements can cause side effects when used alone and affect the effect of each other if you use them at the same time. Contact RELIS together with your doctor if you are unsure whether your overall use of health products is safe or not.
- Children are not "little versions of adults." They often have difficulty describing symptoms, and there is rarely research on how much children can tolerate. Therefore, be extra cautious when using alternative treatment on children.
- In Norway, medical knowledge is not required to provide alternative treatment. Alternative therapists' diagnostic and treatment methods may produce different results than you receive in the health care system, and alternative therapists may misinterpret or overlook important symptoms that require treatment.
- Your usage of alternative therapies and other treatments is not documented in your official patient journal (it is called kjernejournal in Norwegian) unless you tell your doctor about it, or even enter it yourself. Always talk to your doctor about any treatment you are using, so your health care providers can be informed.
- As a general rule, help, support and compensation from the public in case of patient injury does not apply when you go to an alternative practitioner, and only in certain cases if you receive such treatment from an authorized healthcare professional.
One should never replace or postpone necessary treatment from the doctor, hospital, or other public health services for the benefit of alternative therapies.
