Integrative Medicine
Integrative medicine combines the best of conventional Western medicine (the medicine most people grew up with), with the best in complementary and alternative therapies (methods of care that are becoming more mainstream). Its focus is on prevention, wellness, and addressing root causes, always in partnership with the patient.
A patient-centered integrative medicine practitioner is committed to spending the time required to get to know the patient, and understands that the patient's role in the healing process is vital, not passive. Integrative medicine is a healing-oriented medicine that calls on all aspects of a person's being - mind, body and spirit, to facilitate healing and to promote balance in one's life. To achieve these goals the practitioner works to understand the whole patient taking into consideration the patients' relationships, life events, personal beliefs, while also attending to their biochemical and genetic individuality. In this way the doctor and patient promote the bodies natural ability to heal, and to honor the healing process as one that is unique to each individual.
Integrative medicine employs the tools of the ancient healer - compassion, intuition, healer as teacher, and remains grounded in sound scientific principles. An integrative practitioner is trained to navigate the world of complementary and alternative therapies and to judge how such therapies might best augment, or complement, an individual's healthcare regimen.
Some of the benefits of using integrative medical care include: reduced reliance on pharmaceuticals; reduced instances of surgery; reduced hospital stays; and a more comprehensive management of chronic pain and disease. Integrative Medicine is currently being incorporated into the education and training programs at top U.S. medical schools including, Harvard, Duke, Columbia, Georgetown, and others. (Definition contributed by Dr. Ronald Stram, MD and Dr. Ann Tobin, MD.