Integrative Medicine Topics

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE

Integrative medicine is a process of healthcare that uses both conventional diagnostic and treatment methods and alternative therapies. The following list characterizes my approach to integrative health care:

1. Patient-centered care
2. Personal responsibility for one’s own health
3. The goal is not just treating disease but of creating health, wholeness and the highest potential of each human being.
4. Creating harmony between mind, body, emotions and spirit
5. Being open to use of complementary and alternative therapies
6. Collaboration between the patient’s healthcare providers
7. Using natural and less invasive approaches whenever possible
8. Using research evidence of safety and effectiveness when combining alternative therapies with conventional therapies
9. Understanding that health and healing are individually determined and may be different for each person
10. A shift to a different view of health care which often requires a change in beliefs and attitudes

Recent studies by Dr. David Eisenberg MD of Harvard University that were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1993) and the Journal of the American Medical Association (1998) revealed that by 1998 over 42% of the American public had used at least one alternative therapy. Americans spent $27 billion of their own money in 1998 for alternative treatments, which is similar to the amount they spent for standard medical care. Clearly something is going on that shows a major shift in how many people are thinking about how to take care of their health needs. Research shows that most people are not rejecting traditional medical care but are using alternative approaches to help when the standard care is inadequate to meet their needs.

There is a great demand today among people for useful, practical and accurate information regarding how to take care of various health problems. Although the Internet has made access to information much easier than ever before, some of the information may be slanted toward a particular point of view. This includes both alternative and conventional websites.

As a well-trained Family Physician with a strong background in both standard medical care and numerous alternative systems of care, I can help guide you through the confusion by providing a reasonably balanced viewpoint of what each has to offer. I will write a weekly column in the Sierra Star that gives information on alternative therapies and that answers questions you have sent into the paper.

Remember to discuss your use of alternative treatments with your regular medical doctor so that they can be aware of any possible conflicts between the different treatments. If your doctor will not discuss this with you or dismisses all alternative therapies as useless or quackery, then you need to consider finding a more open-minded physician. There is a large amount of research literature that shows that many alternative treatments are safe and effective for many common conditions.

Peak health to you,

Daniel Blodgett MD