Medicine Health

Integrative medicine is the new buzz word for medical care that complements mainstream medical care. It addresses the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of patients and families when many mainstream Doctors are scratching their heads where to go next.

It aims to provide information to patients about over the counter products and unproven medical treatments that may impact the disease process that they are facing. We often forget that mainstream medicine is still called the "practice" of medicine. All people are different when it comes to treatment and no treatment should be considered too far out.

Integrative Medicine Service focuses on quality of life. Experienced therapists are trained and certified. With skill and sensitivity, they provide satisfying healing experiences.

It combines the discipline of modern science with the wisdom of ancient healing. For people living with chronic or life threatening illness, it can transform the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of their lives as well as the families. Integrative medicine may also be valuable to those who are not ill but wish to increase self-awareness, enhance well-being, and help prevent health related problems.

In treating disease, complementary therapies are not substitutes for mainstream medical care and are used in concert with medical treatment to help alleviate stress, reduce pain, anxiety, manage symptoms, and promote a feeling of well-being.

People turn to integrative medicine for many reasons, but studies show that the majority do so because they consider it to be more aligned with their values, beliefs, and philosophies about health and life than a strictly conventional medical approach.

Many patients prefer the customized and personal care that comes with integrative medicine's whole-person perspective. Others believe it's only logical to incorporate health strategies into their lives from the widest array of proven approaches possible. They think an integrative approach will allow them to achieve or maintain the best health possible. It brings the body back to health so that the body and the immune systems are strengthened through specific treatments, such as diet, herbs and botanicals, acupuncture, energy medicine, and spirituality.

Integrative medicine practitioners include physicians of every specialty as well as doctors of osteopathic medicine, mental health professionals, mind-body specialists, and practitioners such as massage therapists and acupuncturists, their educational and accreditation requirements vary widely, as do the regulation of their fields. So don't hesitate to ask about a practitioner's training and experience.

Just this February 2009 the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pension held two historic hearings on Integrative Medicine, while the Institute of Medicine simultaneously held its Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public in Washington, DC. Integrative Medicine has never received such sustained and favorable focus in our nation's capital. The topic was "Integrative Care: A Pathway to a Healthier Nation".

Perhaps the time is now for everyone to focus on true HEALTHCARE and not simply playing catch up with the sick care of the past. The public is learning that Integrative Medicine treats the body in a holistic fashion using both allopathic medical treatments with traditional western medicine and its focus on research and drugs, and in addition, uses alternative medicine. This course is being seriously considered by the Government and the medical community as acceptable practice.