Clearing the misunderstanding about Kampo medicine

Abstract

Of 627 physicians targeted by Japan Kampo Medicines Manufacturers Association (JKMA) as part of “Factual Investigation on Prescription of Kampo Medicines 2011,” 89% prescribed Kampo medicines on a daily basis. The department that ranked the highest in prescribing Kampo medicines was Obstetrics and Gynecology (97%), followed by Internal Medicine (96%), Surgery (95%), Neuropsychiatry (92%), and Orthopedics (90%). Thus, the majority of the departments ranked high (above 90%). However, the results of a questionnaire survey administered by Nikkei TRENDY to 1000 doctors asking, “Will you take Kampo medicines when you fall sick?” 31% of them take Kampo medicine positively, 39% - not basically, and17%- not at all. That is, majority of the doctors answered, “No, I do not take Kampo medicines.” The reasons were “poor evidence” and “ambiguous diagnoses.” Although Kampo is a traditional Japanese medicine, it is not completely appreciated owing to negative impressions such as “poor evidence”, “unscientific”, and so on. On the other hand, manufacturers often promote health foods or cosmetics, taking advantage of their positive impression such as “less side effects”, “mild effects”, and so on. In this review, the outline the details of Kampo medicine and highlight the accumulated evidence concerning Kampo in an attempt to clearing the misunderstanding about Kampo. It is required that doctors and pharmacists promote high-quality clinical practice and research by adopting a viewpoint on Kampo medicine to uphold this traditional medicine.