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New Medical Paradigm – Natural (Holistic) MDs

The “Break-away” MD
An ever-increasing number of orthodox medical doctors are showing a genuine interest in practicing alternative medicine. These doctors have come to recognize that the orthodox medical treatments they have been trained in are not providing adequate care. Many physicians are recognizing that they can be even better doctors for their patients by integrating natural (holistic) medical treatments into their conventional practices.

Some MDs have made the commitment to return to school to complete degrees in a specific natural/holistic school of medicine because they believe this knowledge will better serve their patient’s long-term health, are a group of doctors you can trust to practice high quality natural/holistic medicine. It is not uncommon today to see MD after a doctor’s name as well as initials like; ND, DC, and many other well-deserved hard-earned degrees.

For those who have not taken further degrees you will often find these MD’s have established themselves to work in a clinical setting, side-by-side with NDs, as well as with chiropractors, nutritionists, herbalists, and others who share a belief in natural medicine.

What to Expect from Holistic MD’s
Natural/holistic/alternative doctors and practitioners, who genuinely appreciate and practice high quality Natural medicine, have committed themselves to a holistic approach to health care. Their practice is founded on the following "Principles of Ethics" of the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA).

The AHMA is an excellent association started by orthodox and natural medical doctors to help connect other medical model physicians, on a regional, and a national level, to support their transition to a more natural/holistic model of care. The AHMA also “helps to influence changes to a medical system (orthodox) that no longer serves the purpose of healing and is not based on a model of health maintenance.” They have some wonderful principals and their criteria for membership is stringent. All this information can be viewed on their site. So far they have a roster of over 1,000 doctors in the US. All of these doctors are available to be your health care provider. A link to this list and what these doctors stand for is at the end of this article.

The following AHMA principles are at the very core of a healthy natural/ holistic/alternative medical practice. This of course includes those doctors with MD after their name who are a part of the AHMA.

1. Physicians render service to humanity with full respect for the dignity of humankind, treating the total person: body, mind, and spirit. The treatment shall be at all times in the best interest of the patient.

2. Physicians continually improve their skill and medical knowledge and make it available to their patients.

3. Physicians recognize that patients have the right to share in making decisions that pertain to their treatment. They guide and educate patients toward this goal and actively encourage patients to share responsibility for their care.

4. A physician has the right to utilize all responsible methods of treatment. The physician has the obligation, however, to determine the efficacy and safety of such procedures and to acquire the skills and training necessary for the delivery of such care.

The Functional Medicine Organization is another excellent resource for doctors who have joined the principles of Natural Medicine to their skills as MDs. We have a link to searches for their doctors at the end of this article as well.

What is Functional Medicine?
The following quote was taken directly from the FMO Website and explains
[QUOTE] Functional medicine is a science-based field of health care that is grounded in the following principles:

• Biochemical individuality describes the importance of individual variations in metabolic function that derive from genetic and environmental differences among individuals.

• Patient-centered medicine emphasizes "patient care" rather than "disease care," following Sir William Osler’s admonition that "It is more important to know what patient has the disease than to know what disease the patient has."

• Dynamic balance of internal and external factors.

• Web-like interconnections of physiological factors – an abundance of research now supports the view that the human body functions as an orchestrated network of interconnected systems, rather than individual systems functioning autonomously and without effect on each other. For example, we now know that immunological dysfunctions can promote cardiovascular disease, that dietary imbalances can cause hormonal disturbances, and that environmental exposures can precipitate neurologic syndromes such as Parkinson’s disease.

• Health as a positive vitality – not merely the absence of disease.

• Promotion of organ reserve as the means to enhance health span.

Functional medicine is anchored by an examination of the core clinical imbalances that underlie various disease conditions. Those imbalances arise as environmental inputs such as diet, nutrients (including air and water), exercise, and trauma are processed by one’s body, mind, and spirit through a unique set of genetic predispositions, attitudes, and beliefs. The fundamental physiological processes include communication, both outside and inside the cell; bioenergetics, or the transformation of food into energy; replication, repair, and maintenance of structural integrity, from the cellular to the whole body level; elimination of waste; protection and defense; and transport and circulation. The core clinical imbalances that arise from malfunctions within this complex system include:

• Hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalances

• Oxidation-reduction imbalances and mitochondropathy

• Detoxification and biotransformational imbalances

• Immune imbalances

• Inflammatory imbalances

• Digestive, absorptive, and microbiological imbalances

• Structural imbalances from cellular membrane function to the musculoskeletal system

Imbalances such as these are the precursors to the signs and symptoms by which we detect and label (diagnose) organ system disease. Improving balance – in the patient’s environmental inputs and in the body’s fundamental physiological processes – is the precursor to restoring health and it involves much more than treating the symptoms. Functional medicine is dedicated to improving the management of complex, chronic disease by intervening at multiple levels to address these core clinical imbalances and to restore each patient’s functionality and health. Functional medicine is not a unique and separate body of knowledge. It is grounded in scientific principles and information widely available in medicine today, combining research from various disciplines into highly detailed yet clinically relevant models of disease pathogenesis and effective clinical management. [UNQUOTE]

A New Medicine Model to Replace Orthodox Medicine?
Orthodox trained Doctors who practice natural/holistic medicine may one day become a medicine model as big or bigger than either orthodox or natural models of today. For the time being this is a 3rd but very small medicine model. However, it is growing quickly.

We did a few searches for physicians, on both sites, by “State” and each site produced a roster of different available physician’s names. The availability of actual MD’s on these lists is growing. For those people who are more comfortable having their health care managed by a Natural (holistic) MD, your desire is possible to realize, today.

How Does Orthodox Medicine View The Move to Natural Holistic Medicine?
Changes in the AMA School Curriculum:
According to an article, way back in September 2, 1998 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) More than half the medical schools in the United States (64 percent) now offer courses that include alternative medical topics such as acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal therapies.

“That’s an extraordinary rise for a very traditional and conservative area,” said lead author Miriam S. Wetzel, a curriculum coordinator at Harvard Medical School. “Now, these things are being taught in Western medical schools, not necessarily the techniques of how to do them, but certainly about them.”

Why the Switch?
Why are these bastions of the Medical Model, who have for over 100 years denigrated and ridiculed any form of medical treatment that was based on patient centered, natural healing, rushing to include courses in “alternative” treatment? For one thing, as Dr. David Spiegel medical director of the Complementary Medicine Clinic at Stanford University Medical Center commented upon, they can see the writing on the wall and are responding to patients who are “defecting” in record numbers to natural/alternative physicians and practitioners.

“There has been sort of a sea change,” he said. “Traditional doctors are seeing that people are voting with their feet and with their pocketbooks.”

Heat Treat agrees this is certainly a step in the right direction. Today, orthodox medical courses allow doctors to progress into any number of specific orthodox medical “Specialties.” However, health and longevity will take a giant step forward only when those courses also allow doctors to become specialists in natural/holistic medicine as well. We can but wait and see.

While no one has discussed this, we believe that many young men and women wishing to become Orthodox medical doctors are also causing the demand for such courses. They, like the public, see the failures in the medical model as it exists – they see a model too focused on trying (and failing) to “cure” disease rather than maintaining good health. A focus based mainly on treatment of only symptoms. Many have witnessed that failure first hand, in their own families, as they were growing up, and are dedicated to make changes to the system. More importantly perhaps is that they, like the public who have moved to natural/holistic medical treatment, see this natural model as more closely mirroring their own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations toward life.

Changes in Health Coverage for Natural/Alternative Therapies
Health insurers in the past have refused to pay for alternative therapies, but that also is changing as insurers realize they can save money. For example, natural/holistic treatment might call for exercise, chiropractic, acupuncture, and/or dietary changes for back pain, while the traditional approach might be expensive medications and/or surgery that has a failure rate of 50 to 90% resulting in even higher costs over a patient’s lifetime. Ask the doctor about insurance coverage, or contact your own insurer.

A recent survey of family physicians in the U.S. found many have tried alternative therapies themselves.

Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York is one of a growing number of hospitals creating alternative medical clinics on site.

In Resolution 514, the American Medical Association (AMA) "is encouraging its members to become better informed regarding alternative medicine and to participate in appropriate studies of it.

{our comment re the above: “Informed” and “participate in studies to become informed” - is a long way from mandatory studies and graduation in alternative natural holistic medicine treatment protocols – but, it’s a start}

Here is an example of how well the marriage of orthodox and natural medicine can work for the good of the public and lower the costs of medicine --
Dean Ornish, M.D., developed a program that reverses heart disease, a feat previously considered impossible by the orthodox medical community. All treatments in Dr. Ornish's program are considered alternative.

Where Can MDs Offering Alternative Care Be Found?
For those people who are more comfortable seeking Natural/Alternative treatment with someone who has MD after their name we offer some information and assistance toward finding such doctors and links to search for these doctors:

When Searching for a Doctor:
To determine how much training an M.D. should have to competently treat you with a specific alternative technique, call the technique's professional association and ask for their standards of competence. Associations and trade organizations representing osteopathic manipulation or Chinese medical techniques, for example, expect MD's to earn hundreds of hours of training from educational facilities specializing in their technique in order to meet minimum competence levels.

Many states have regulatory agencies or licensing boards for certain types of practitioners. They may be able to provide you with information regarding practitioners in your area. Your state, county, or city health department may be able to refer you to such agencies or boards. Licensing, accreditation, and regulatory laws for CAM practices are becoming more common to help ensure that practitioners are competent and provide quality services.

For instance, the mission of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) is to promote excellence in competency assurance for practitioners in all occupation and professions. Their accrediting body, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) was created in 1987 by NOCA as a commission whose mission is to help ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the public through the accreditation of a variety of certification programs or organizations that assess professional competence. The NCCA uses a peer review process to: establish accreditation standards, evaluate compliance with these standards, recognize organization or programs, which demonstrate compliance, and serve as a resource on quality certification. Of NOCA’s 300 members, only 47 have reached the status of accreditation by NCCA.


Search for a Natural (Holistic) MD

American Holistic Medical Association – Have a look through the rest of this site, especially their page on “Selecting a Physician.” http://www.holisticmedicine.org/ahma/public?action=findDoctors

American College for Advancement in Medicine ACAM referral (800-532-3688) most ACAM physicians are at least oriented towards natural medicine and more open to those alternatives.

Link to Searching the ACAM site for a Physician is: http://www.acam.org/dr_search/index.php

Function Medicine Organization –
http://www.functionalmedicine.org/findfmphysician/index.asp

American Academy of Environmental Medicine (Not many listed yet)
http://www.aaem.com/


An Important Warning:
There is a trend among some M.D.'s offering to provide Alternative Medicine and Holistic Care that is not good news. There is the tendency of some medical doctors to classify themselves as Holistic MDs, but their actual “alternative medicine” treatment is provided without the spirit and fundamental values of a holistic approach to health care.

This particular group of doctors who call themselves "alternative medical doctors" define alternative medicine simply as any treatment "not widely taught at U.S. medical schools or generally available at U.S. hospitals." Too many such doctors have not even bothered to return to an accredited school or obtained “Board Certification” from a specific natural/alternative school. They can legally define themselves as holistic MDs simply by attending upgrading lectures on the “techniques” of natural medicine, self-help study groups, home schooling or any number of other such “educational” courses in natural/alternative topics and/or techniques. In many parts of the western world and in many states within the US this is sufficient “Under Law” to allow them to say they are natural/holistic MDs.

Patients who are treated by these physicians have no guarantee that such a doctor will also treat them in the spirit of a Natural (holistic) approach to health care. Such a doctor may not treat their patients as human beings or even be interested in their thoughts and feelings about treatment. These doctors, even though they may be using alternative/unconventional “techniques”, may still choose to see you only as a diagnosis — not as a person. There are stories about these MDs making use of the informational techniques they learned only to enable them to argue a patient out of natural forms of treatment and straight back into pharmaceuticals and surgeries. These are doctors who are aware of the move toward Natural Medicine and hanging out a Natural MD shingle is done simply to enlarge their patient base. Beware of attending such doctors. It is easy enough to check out a prospective practicing Natural MD. A simple request for a list of the names of Natural (holistic) practitioners they refer patients to and some phone calls to those practitioners will tell you everything you need to know about how many referrals they actually receive from that MD.

This is not a problem specific to Natural/Alternative Orthodox doctors. This would include Osteopathic doctors licensed to practice Orthodox Medicine. There are osteopathic doctors now licensed as MD’s that have forsaken their basic natural (holistic) approaches and now practice medicine in the same manner as orthodox medicine physicians.

You must interview, check-out, ask the hard questions, and decide for yourself if the physician is likely to practice their medicine based on all the principals of Natural (holistic) Medicine.