Is Your Doctor the Lone Ranger?
The combination of conventional allopathic medicine with complementary and alternative approaches in order to create a comprehensive treatment program is called integrative medicine.
Patients and providers in this growing field of medicine work together to develop a diagnostic and therapeutic program that draws on a variety of traditions, expertise and modalities to address each individual's particular needs.
Conventional medicine or allopathic medicine encompasses drugs and surgery. This is the kind of medicine the vast majority of Americans find in hospitals and clinics.
Although expensive and invasive, allopathic medicine is also very good at some things such as handling emergency conditions like massive injury or life-threatening situations. Focused on sickness, allopathic medicine devotes little attention to prevention or health and wellness. Some conventional medicine is scientifically validated. Some is not.
One of my friends, a diabetic with asthma, was in the hospital recently for triple-bypass heart surgery. Throughout the prep, surgery, and recovery at the hospital he was treated according to the standard allopathic medicine model.
After surgery, it was obvious that he would face a long and difficult recovery. The doctor explained the importance of the recovery period when he said that some people make it through the surgery but do not make it out of recovery.
Three days into the recovery period, on heavy doses of antibiotics, my friend developed a thrush infection in the mouth which spread downward into the esophagus. His mouth was so red and raw he could not ingest anything without severe discomfort. His digestive system wasn't working properly and his stomach began to swell up. He hadn't had a bowel movement since he entered the hospital.
Frequently patients have different specialists for different problems, and the whole picture may not be obvious. Integrative medicine can bring everything together and help to diagnose and treat the whole person, as well as benefit those who are well by keeping them that way.
In a more integrative medicine approach which draws upon the skills of a number of specialists working together to treat the whole patient, a gastroenterologist might have recognized what was causing the thrush infection and the digestive system problems. Better yet, these problems might have been anticipated and watched for.
The strong antibiotics my friend was on had virtually eradicated the beneficial bacteria in his system. What he needed was acidophilus, a family of bacteria that help human digestion and can help protect the body against harmful bacteria.
Integrative medicine seeks to draw on the best of "conventional" and "alternative" medicine.
Alternative and complimentary medicine includes therapy which is typically excluded by conventional medicine, and is known as "alternative" medicine because patients use it instead of conventional medicine. It includes old and new practices such as:
* Nutrition
* Acupuncture
* Chinese Medicine
* Supplements and Herbs
* Ayurvedic Medicine
* Mind/Body Medicne
* Energy Medicine
* Homeopathy
Alternative medicine espouses health, wellness, and prevention and allows people to be more proactive about their health.
Integrative medicine combines scientifically proven therapies from alternative medicine with those practiced by mainstream medical practitioners. With integrative medicine people have the ability to take a more proactive role in their health. Many favor integrative medicine because they can participate in their care and they want to do it as naturally as possible.
If more importance had been attached by his doctors to the integative medicine approach when my friend was first diagnosed with diabetes and asthma he might have avoided a lot of trouble by paying attention to his diet and other lifestyle factors.
Integrative medicine supports the body's natural ability to heal itself and takes a holistic approach. Both patients and health care professionals have more tools in their toolbox under this type of situation, and there are therapies for mind, body, and spirit.
Integrative medicine has been institutionalized at such places as Hope Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach and the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine as more and more conventional care facilities have begun to realize it's value.
The practice of evidence-based integrative medicine as a complement to traditional allopathic care will continue to be more common as people recognize it's value.
About the Author:
G.L. Hoffmann
For links to videos where Dr. Mimi Guarneri, MD, FACC, ABIHM, Co-founder and Medical Director of Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine and Dr. Sally McCann of Hope Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach discuss integrative medicine go to the author's blog article.
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