The Missing Link in the Health Care System
Written by Debra Kirchhof-Glazier
Our current health care system is like a broken chain. The United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world, and yet the World Health Organization ranks us 37th out of 191 countries in overall performance and 72nd in overall health. We are also one of the few industrialized nations in the world that does not guarantee access to health care. Sixteen out of every 100 Americans has no form of health insurance. Taken together, this bleak picture more accurately describes a “disease care system”.
The factors that broke the chain are complex, but I believe there are four that play a major role. First, our health care system is focused on curing disease rather than on prevention. Second, health care in the U.S. is largely drug-based, which comes with high cost, side effects, and political repercussions. Third, there is widespread lack of personal responsibility for health, either due to lack of education or poor choices. And fourth, poverty is widespread and becoming worse, which results in poor nutrition with serious health consequences and postponement of health care until there is dire need, which incurs greater expense.
In my opinion, the missing link that would fix our broken chain is CAM (complementary and alternative medicine), and the complete chain would consist of CAM and conventional medicine in a comprehensive form of health care known as integrative medicine.
The forté of CAM is on promoting wellness and in non-toxic management of chronic conditions, whereas the forté of conventional medicine is on treating acute conditions and accidents. We need both approaches to effect a true health care system, and integrative medicine is an emerging paradigm dedicated to implementing this vision. In the health care sector, the Planetree system is a non-profit organization that partners with hospitals, nursing homes, and health centers to promote a healing environment in which patients receive the best of conventional and CAM care. Winder Medical Center in Windber, PA is one of over 70 Planetree facilities in the U.S. There is also a Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine that consists of 39 medical schools, including Harvard, Stanford, Georgetown, and the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, and Jefferson Medical College in Pennsylvania.
True health care would focus on not only preventing disease but cultivating wellness and vitality. We would treat the cause of illness by naturally stimulating the body’s ability to heal itself and by administering drugs and surgery when appropriate. We would also view health from a holistic perspective- not just the mind-body-sprit approach to patient care but also from the viewpoint of the larger physical and social environment. A clean earth, social justice, and a shift in awareness to understand the connectedness that underpins true health would make a major difference in the health of our nation.
Integrative health care would make medicine more affordable, due to the emphasis on wellness and disease prevention, and would be more effective, since there would be a much broader range of modalities that could be used in patient care. Integrative care would also likely decrease the costs associated with litigation in health care, since much of medical practice would be done in a manner that is less likely to cause harm. Ultimately, implementation of integrative care could lower the overwhelming burden of illness that plagues this country so that the resources for high tech care could be available for everyone who needed them.
How might we move toward an integrative model of health care? On the national level, I believe that the first step is widespread education about integrative medicine and research into CAM modalities. In terms of CAM research, the National Institutes of Health has a branch known as NCCAM, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which helps determine the most effective CAM practices. Another step is expand insurance coverage to include more preventive medicine and CAM treatments. And finally, we need to translate vision into political action. One of the most effective ways to forge the missing link in our health care system is to license naturopathic physicians, who are trained in the use of CAM modalities and food as medicine in four year medical schools. Currently, graduates of naturopathic medical schools are licensed in 14 states (not including Pennsylvania), Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Legislation is pending in New York, Colorado, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minnesota, and North Carolina.
On a local level, the Huntingdon Health and Wellness Association has been working for the past six years in partnership with J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital, Juniata College, the Community Center, and other local organizations on a variety of projects to promote education and awareness of an integrative approach to health care. The recent purchase of the property that will become our new Wellness Center has the potential to galvanize our efforts to promote integrative medicine. The Wellness Center will offer workshops on nutrition and health-related topics, classes in yoga, tai chi, and art, and CAM therapies and products. Our mission is to provide education and to work in partnership with the Hospital and conventional practitioners in our community to offer the best in rural health care. Realizing this mission has the potential to draw visitors to Huntingdon, bringing an added bonus of economic health.
Tackling the health care crisis need not be an overwhelming task. A shift in focus to integrative medicine, a dedication to implementing measures that will enhance our own personal health, and commitment to sharing a comprehensive vision of health and healing will all help bring about a true health care system in this country.
The Huntingdon Health and Wellness Association makes no medical claims or recommendations. Check with your doctor about your specific health care needs.