Natural Medicine Popularity on the Rise in Australia

Natural Medicine Week 21 – 27 May, 2018

Popularity of natural medicine and therapies in Australia continues to rise, with research showing more than 68 percent of Aussies have used at least one complementary medicine in the last 12 months[1], to support them with preventative health and wellbeing management.

The news comes on the eve of the third annual Natural Medicine Week 21 – 27 May (2018), an event organised by the leading association for natural practitioners, Australian Traditional-Medicine Society (ATMS).

As the only celebration of its kind in Australia, Natural Medicine Week will feature workshops, clinic open days and promotions countrywide, from more than 100 businesses throughout Australia, each focused on educating the public and policymakers on the three primary models of natural medicine: Ingestive Therapies, Bodywork and Massage, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

However, it is not just the health of Australians who benefit from their 69.2 million visits to a natural medicine practitioner every year[2], says ATMS CEO Charles Wurf, it is also “a major contributor to the economy”.

“Natural medicine has seen a massive 3.1 per cent growth in Australia over the last year[3]. We know there are over 28,000 small businesses in this sector which employ 36,487 people and contribute $4.7 billion to the economy annually[4].

“This is a burgeoning industry and major employer that is also supporting Australian’s choice to seek highly regarded preventative health and wellbeing management care.

Natural medicine has seen a massive 3.1 per cent growth in Australia over the last year.

ATMS consumer surveys during Natural Medicine Week 2016 and 2017 found 93.85 percent of survey participants consulted a natural medicine practitioner, while 96.61 percent of participants describe natural medicine as “effective or very effective”.

“Natural Medicine Week 2018 is a pivotal event of the year in which our 10,000-strong membership community band together to raise awareness of the work natural medicine practitioners do and to share their knowledge and experience with consumers who want to learn more,” said Mr Wurf.

This year ATMS are calling on consumers to share their personal success stories of using natural therapies via naturalmedicineweek.com.au/customer-survey

Find out more about Natural Medicine Week here.