In our society, health is associated with simply the absence of disease, curing a cold or eliminating diabetes, rather than the state of complete prosperity and wellness. According to the World Health Organization,
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
I am not trying to disregard or discredit any of the incredible work that health practitioners do: I aspire to become one. But our healthcare system has been treating a single symptom rather than treating the patient as a whole being, placing a temporary band aid instead of questioning what led to the manifestation of the disease, and increasing the already high medical costs without dedication to effective, equitable, and accessible care that focuses on prevention.
In 2009, the Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public proposed that although there were enormous medical advances that benefited millions,
the disease-driven approach to medicine and health care has resulted in a fragmented, specialized health system in which care is typically reactive and episodic, as well as often inefficient and impersonal.
I was ten years old when I passed out on the floor of a restaurant. I was quickly administered to the emergency room and saw a physician who told me that my drop in blood pressure and heartbeat led to vasovagal syncope. He assured me that this was a common cause of fainting and most likely due to dehydration or stress. Fast forward, I would have several more episodes of vasovagal syncope in the following years under various circumstances. Every time I would go back to the hospital, I would receive the same prompt report: nothing seems to be wrong, you probably had a stressful situation, go back home and rest. I never got any definitive, deeper answers as to what was causing these fainting spells that I still, but very rarely, have.
Impersonal interactions with healthcare workers is common. After patiently waiting an hour in the waiting room, ready to express all your concerns and thoughts and ideas, you are quickly ushered out by an understandably busy doctor who has many more patients to see that day. I know that I am not the only one who has left the doctor’s office with a gut feeling that although your symptom was “cured”, there was still something off about you. Physicians and healthcare professionals are on a stringent time schedule that restricts their personal interactions with patients. But does it always have to be this way? Does it always have to feel impersonal and incomplete?
Integrative medicine aims to develop highly personalized treatment plans that emphasize doctor-patient relationships, a shift to patient-focused and patient-centered care that we all desire. This practice combines both traditional allopathic treatments with alternative therapies that have scientifically proven to be safe and effective. Rather than waiting until your health problems are too serious to ignore, or fatal, integrative medicine includes psychological, therapeutic, and mind-body methods that are clinically effective for more holistic healthcare. It treats the patient as a whole rather than a by-product of their symptom.
Duke’s Integrative Medicine center emphasizes that:
Integrative medicine puts the patient at the center of the care and addresses the full range of physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and environmental influences that affect a person’s health. Treating the whole person addresses both the patient’s immediate needs as well as the effects of the long-term and complex interplay between a range of biological, behavioral, psychosocial and environmental influences are addressed.
When care is individualized and comprehensively emphasizes the mind, body and spirit, people not only recover but remain at their optimal health. High quality healthcare cannot be accomplished without the input, control, and voice of the patient. We want our health care providers to not just hand a new set of prescriptions after a five minute conversation, but clearly explain and understand the root cause of the illness. There is so much more to us than a symptom, and we have a right to personalized care and attention. Most importantly, we all deserve to have health not just be the absence of illness, but complete and holistic well-being.
I agree with you, Jisu. It is essential for people not only to fix what is wrong but also to prevent illness from happening in the first place, the best you can. This cannot be done for everyone unless the availability of good health care becomes more accessible. I have always believed in the power of holistic healthcare. It gives you the ability to have peak health rather than just catching up and staying alive. Like I said before, this is not affordable or available to everyone. Health is wealth, and I think the government needs to step up its healthcare system.