What is Integrative Medicine?

There are many paths to health and vitality. Today, an increasing number of people are choosing integrative medicine to achieve their health and wellness goals. It’s easy to understand the appeal when you take a closer look at what lies at the heart of its philosophy.

So what exactly is integrative medicine and what are the benefits of using an integrative approach?

Integrative medicine explores the many factors that can impact a person’s health including physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and environmental factors. It’s a collaborative approach to healthcare in which doctors not only partner with their patients but also coordinate care with other providers. That way, you get the benefit of having multiple perspectives and treatment options that all complement each other.

Think of it as a synthesis of modalities that is used to diagnose and treat the whole person, not just a collection of symptoms. The idea behind integrative medicine isn’t about replacing or rejecting conventional medicine, but rather to view conventional medicine as one modality among a spectrum of complementary modalities that can be combined and used in conjunction with a patient’s treatment plan.

For example, if you have hypertension, an integrative medicine provider may recommend acupuncture, yoga, dietary changes, and meditation in addition to conventional medication to lower your blood pressure.

Unlike many aspects of conventional medicine, integrative medicine is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Integrative medicine providers spend a lot of time with their patients during appointments, taking in-depth histories that include information about the patient’s lifestyle, stress levels, and nutrition in addition to information about the physical illness, disease, or injury that may be the chief complaint. Armed with that information, a provider can then create a treatment plan with the goal of achieving the best possible results for that individual patient. It’s rare that two different patients will get the exact same treatment plan—even if they have the same condition.

Perhaps the best reason to embrace this model of care is the long-term positive outcomes. Individuals who choose integrative medicine are more likely to be actively involved in their care and more likely to adopt healthy habits in the long-term.  This kind of preventative health is invaluable because it has the potential to significantly reduce the patient’s risk of illness or disease over the course of a patient’s lifetime.

The bottom line is that integrative medicine combines the best of both worlds to not just prevent symptoms, but to make sure the patient achieves optimum health in as many areas of their life as possible.