Integrative Medicine
Integrative Medicine
Integrative medicine is about tapping from both conventional science-based Western medicine (henceforth referred to as conventional medicine) and alternative forms of medicine, and trying to get the healing benefits of both worlds.
Conventional medicine dominates health care in our country, and this is not purely by chance. Conventional medicine has and continues to benefit many patients with many conditions. Conventional medicine also continues to advance and offer new hope to patients and their families with complex ailments. Nevertheless, Western medicine is less than 200 years old and still a work in progress. There are conditions and syndromes about which we have very little understanding. At times, we might suspect a disease, but don’t have a reliable diagnostic test to prove it. At times, we might diagnose a disease, but we don’t have a way of healing that patient. And sometimes, the adverse effects of a treatment might be worse than the ailment itself. So in order to achieve the least harmful and most effective therapy for each patient based on his or her individual condition and circumstances, I encourage clients to keep an open mind to other “alternative” forms of healing.
Alternative medicine includes all the other forms of healing – herbology, acupuncture, reiki, and homeopathy, to name just a few. It seems to me that each form of healing has some benefit for some specific situation. That being the case, doesn’t it make sense to cultivate a World medicine that can catalog, understand, integrate, and offer patients the best of all forms of healing? That being said, not all alternative treatments are effective. Not all alternative treatments are safe. Natural does not equal harmless. Some may be effective, but are simply not practical for the patient in need. Some medicinal herbs, for example, are most effective when taken in generous quantities three or more times each day. And there are conditions for which there is no cure; no form of healing has conquered mortality. Therefore, I encourage clients to keep a sound mind when considering any form of healing.
There are many forms of health care on the planet. I do not profess to be an expert, or even familiar with all of them. As a compulsive seeker of knowledge, the good thing about World Medicine is that there is always something to explore.
I evaluate conventional and alternative treatments as objectively as possible by gathering what information is known about the treatment and then seeing how it matches the patient’s condition and needs. My three criteria for any treatment are:
It is not always easy to evaluate a treatment. Many alternative treatments are not validated by scientific evidence; it just hasn’t happened yet either though lack of interest, funding, or know-how. (Interestingly, once the efficacy of an “alternative” treatment is validated, the treatment tends to become adopted as more “mainstream.”) In my opinion, individual testimonials put forth through marketing and salespeople of a product are not alone reliable evidence of efficacy. I don’t want to shortchange patients any potential miracle cures; however, I also don’t like to contribute to lining the pockets of opportunistic marketers who prey upon ailing patients.