Harris Teeter - Dr Russ Blog - What is Integrative Medicine?

Dr Russ Blog - What is Integrative Medicine?

What is Integrative Medicine?
Created on 1/26/2010

J writes in that he hears a lot about Integrative Medicine, but asks, "Isn't that just another way of saying alternative medicine?"

Thanks for your question, J - it gives me the opportunity to clear things up.

Integrative Medicine is not alternative medicine, a term I don't like because it implies we're using anything except conventional medicine to help a person be healthy.

Complementary medicine is another term you might hear, but that again implies something different from Integrative Medicine (to my mind it suggests that complementary and alternative therapies might be added to a conventional treatment regimen, but more as an afterthought).

Integrative Medicine is defined as healing oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person (body, mind and spirit, family, community and environment), including all aspects of diet and lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship, and makes use of all appropriate therapies, conventional and alternative.

Integrative Medicine offers important perspectives on health and wellness:
- The patient and practitioner are partners in the healing process.
- Appropriate use of both conventional and alternative therapies facilitates the body's own innnate healing system.
- Integrative Medicine neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts alternative therapies uncritically.
- Good medicine is based in good science.
- Alongside the concept of treatment, the broader concepts of health promotion and the prevention of illness are paramount.

Integrative Medicine is my passion. The focus is on the individual, on preventing illness, and on optimizing health and wellbeing. There is a true partnership between patient and practitioner born of trust and caring, and treatments offered are based in good science.

Mine is but one voice, but in the debate on healthcare reform I would like to see the discussion turn to the content of healthcare.

And I would like to see our system of healthcare focus more on preventing illness and optimizing health through dietary and lifestyle means. This way we can take more control of our own health.

And that is just one of many reasons why I am grateful to partner with Harris Teeter in sharing health information with you. Because healthcare reform really starts with each one of us individually.

To support our good health we each need access to good information about health and wellness.

And I sincerely hope this blog and the Harris Teeter yourwellness program proves to be one of your trusted health resources in being and staying well.

Thanks for your question, J.

By the way - I've received a lot of questions from you readers lately, all of them very good! I will be addressing issues of cholesterol, herbal remedies like ginkgo, healthy aging, high blood pressure, and gluten intolerance in the coming weeks along with more good questions that come my way.
Be well.
Dr. Russ

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