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Holistic Medicine
Becoming a Partner in the Healing Process
by Ronald R. Parks, M.P.H., M.D.
The notion of Holistic Medicine has been around for many years. But why, now,
has interest in this area skyrocketed, grabbed center stage so to speak, and
attracted so many new adherents and supporters? I think that the move towards
holistic medicine was begun by a few conscious souls rebelling against health
care which was high tech, un-personal, authoritarian, and increasingly
bureaucratic and commercial. We desired a more caring, humanistic approach -
encompassing the mind, body, emotions; to be nurtured and empowered, treated
with respect, and made a partner in the healing process.
With the growing interest in holistic medicine, there has become an increasing
number of practicing holistic physicians and health care providers who have
increasingly put into practice some of these sought-after ideals. They have
preferred the safer, less costly, more effective and natural treatments, along
with an emphasis on empowerment of the person, as a partner in their own health
care and healing. As more of the treatment outcomes of holistic practitioners
are getting reported in the scientific literature as showing efficacy, safety,
and positive benefits, a greater degree of acceptance and acknowledgment by
conventional medicine is being seen. There has been great reluctance to give
full support, however, as much of the conventional health care establishment is
so wedded to many approaches and technologies that have not proven their merit
or superiority to holistic medicine practices.
Financial issues have also been a factor, as hospitals, for example, have
become so heavily vested in certain technologies, such as bypass surgery and
angioplasties for coronary artery therapies. There is, however, a growing
literature showing that, in many cases, more conservative
management--especially holistic oriented approaches--work as well, with a
tremendous added safety factor. An example would be the impressive heart
research study done by Dean Ornish, M.D. He used a holistic approach and showed
reversal of coronary artery blockage with arteriography studies, using a
nutritional low fat diet, exercise, yoga, and group support. There is also
growing body of evidence that chelation therapy, which involves the
administration in the vein of a medication called EDTA, improves symptoms
associated with coronary artery disease and circulation problems, in a safe,
and less costly way than traditional, invasive and surgical procedures for the
same problems.
Informed consumers of health care services have been seeking out and switching
their health care to holistic health care providers in greater numbers than
ever before, because of several more recent factors. One has been the recent
major shift in the health care system to corporate medicine, or managed care,
with profits and cost saving being the bottom line. These large-sized
businesses were initially begun on an ethical basis. The goal was to match good
patient care with cost effectiveness, monitored clinical outcomes, and
collaborative relationships between providers of care. Managed care providers,
however, have often degenerated into what I see as unethical businesses, that
lack clinical leadership. They attempt to reduce cost by keeping out sicker
patients, tangling medical care and clinical decision-making into a maze of
bureaucratic red tape, and providing, in some cases, incentive to clinicians to
provide less care. There have also been the large commercial drug companies
that have developed and marketed drugs which are less safe and less effective
than the more natural alternatives, such as botanical, nutritional, or other
holistic approaches used by holistic health care providers.
A recent positive trend has been in the medical schools, which are beginning to
invite holistic physicians to lecture or to develop programs in the schools to
complement their more conventional curricula. The National Institute of Health
has developed an office to support and research holistic and alternative
medicine practices. Some states are now passing laws to protect and support the
practices of holistic providers, as they have sometimes been the subject of
harassment by their more conservative colleagues, for their different
orientation, techniques, and approaches to health care. With these current
trends, the changing needs and perceptions by a more informed public, and the
increasing scientific validation of holistic approaches, I see the holistic
paradigm coming of age--the new frontier of health care and human awareness.
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Author: Ronald R. Parks, M.P.H., M.D. Originally presented in Baltimore
Resource Journal, Vol 9, No. 2, Summer 1995, Baltimore Maryland. Ronald R.
Parks, M.P.H., M.D. has completed medical and specialty training in internal
medicine and preventive medicine, is board certified in psychiatry, and is a
certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist. His current practice specializes in
nutritional, preventive medicine and holistic psychiatry, and can be reached at
(410) 486-5656.