Integrative medicine got a boost of greater public awareness
and funding after a landmark 1993 study.That study showed that one in three
Americans had used an alternative therapy, often under the medical radar.
Proponents prefer the term Integrative Medicine or complementary to emphasize
that such treatments are used with mainstream medicine, not as replacements or
alternatives. Integrative medicine is appealing and it is the preferred method
of treatment by most people worldwide. Advocates point to deep dissatisfaction
with a health care system that often leaves doctors feeling rushed and
overwhelmed and patients feeling as if they are nothing more than diseased
livers or damaged joints.
Integrative medicine seems to promise more time, more
attention, and a broader approach to healing one that is not based solely on
the Western bio medical model, but also draws from other cultures. Integrative
medicine is a neologism coined by practitioners to describe the combination of
practices and methods of alternative medicine with conventional medicine. Some
universities and hospitals have integrative-medicinedepartments. The term has
been popularized by, among others, Dr. D.Chopra, and Dr. Andrew Weil . Dr. Weil
says that patients should take the Western medicine prescribed by the doctor,
and then incorporate alternative therapies such as Natural Vitamins, minerals,
essential fatty acids, antioxidants, herbs and other spiritual strategies.
There is no doubt that modern medicine as it is now
practiced needs to improve its relations with patients, and that some of the
criticisms leveled against it by people such as Weil and by many more within
the medical establishment itself are valid. There also can be no doubt that a
few of the natural medicines and healing methods now being used by
practitioners of alternative medicine will prove, after testing, to be safe and
effective. This, after all, has been the way in which many important
therapeutic agents and treatments have found their way into standard medical
practice in the past. Mainstream medicine should continue to be open to the
testing of selected unconventional treatments. In keeping an open mind,
however, the medical establishment in this country must not lose its scientific
compass or weaken its commitment to rational thought and the rule of evidence.
There are not two kinds of medicine, one conventional and
the other unconventional, that can be practiced jointly in a new kind of
integrative medicine. Nor, as Andrew Weil and his friends also would have us
believe, are there two kinds of thinking, or two ways to find out which
treatments work and which do not. In the best kind of medical practice, all
proposed treatments must be tested objectively. In the end, there will only be
treatments that pass that test and those that do not, those that are proven worthwhile
and those that are not. Can there be any reasonable alternative.
Many people have never heard of integrative medicine, but this
holistic movement has left its imprint on many of the nation’s hospitals,
universities, health care budgets and medical schools worldwide. Treating the
Whole Person
Both doctors and patients alike are bonding with the
philosophy of integrative medicine and its whole-personapproach designed to
treat the person, not just the disease, Integrative Medicine depends on a
partnership between the patient and the doctor, where the goal is to treat the
mind, body, and spirit, all at the same time. While some of the therapies used
may be non conventional, a guiding principle within integrative medicine is to
use therapies that have some high-quality evidence to support them. Conventional
and Alternative Approaches
The Duke Center for Integrative Medicine is a classic model
of integrative care. It combines conventional Western medicine with alternative
or complementary treatments, such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage,
biofeedback, yoga, and stress reduction techniques-all in the effort to treat
the whole person. Proponents prefer the term “complementary” to emphasize that
such treatments are used with mainstream medicine, not as replacements or
alternatives.
Integrative medicine got a boost of greater public awareness
and funding after a landmark 1993 study. That study showed that one in three
Americans had used an alternative therapy, often under the medical radar.
In the past decade, integrative medicine centers have opened
across the country. According to the American Hospital Association, the
percentage of U.S. hospitals that offer complementary therapies has more than
doubled in less than a decade, from 8.6% in 1998 to almost 20% in 2004. Another
24% of hospitals said they planned to add complementary therapies in the
future. Patients usually pay out of pocket, although some services such as
nutritional counseling, chiropractic treatments, and biofeedback-are more
likely to be reimbursed by insurance.
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