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THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE by Bonnie Kane, CHHC, AADP
When contemplating the issues of accessible health care and insurance, the quality of care must be considered. Are all the treatment options being reviewed? Is the diagnosis accurate? Do doctors have the incentive, time, and desire to continually increase their knowledge and "think outside the box" when it comes to difficult medical conditions and extending life? Do the medicines we take improve health, or just maintain the condition? Is there coordination for our treatment?
I am a Certified Holistic Health Counselor specializing in prevention and healing through nutrition. I came to this field as a result of witnessing the treatment of my HMO insured parents. I saw these elderly people get the runaround instead of care, and observed the almost criminal quality of the care once finally obtained. Infuriated, I decided to take action and get educated - to help them, myself, and others.
The immediate result of this has been extending the life of my father. At age 77, he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Even with extensive prescription drugs and occasional 7 minute appointments with his primary care provider and cardiologist, my father lost 70 lbs., was having trouble walking, was suffering from intensive psoriasis, and was being rushed to the hospital every other week with breathing difficulty. Finally, the "specialists" said that there was nothing more that could be done: he should just go home, get comfortable, and "wait". He was sent home to die.
My family and I had heard about "reversing" heart disease and "alternative" medicine. Like many of you, we didn't quite know what was a scam and what was true. Now, this was the ONLY avenue of hope.
I had just started my studies at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, in New York, and had heard a lecture on this very topic. My brother, a traditionally educated doctor living abroad, had also just begun looking into alternative medicine.
Together and apart we combed the internet, finding long lists of supplements and food alternatives that we had our Dad try, in addition to his prescription drugs. There was some improvement.
The information found suggested that many diseases had at their core, an imbalance of nutrients (including air,water and exercise), hormones, vitamins, and minerals. Laboratory testing would reveal these imbalances, which could potentially be improved through diet, supplements, and lifestyle changes. Addressing the body's nutrient needs in combination with more traditional treatment could yield spectacular results.
Through more reading and lectures, I found out about The Institute for Functional Medicine (http://www.functionalmedicine.org). Integrating multiple sciences, these visionary healthcare professionals focus on primary prevention and rectifying underlying imbalances, instead of just symptoms. The condition of the whole person is treated, which is in direct contrast to the exisiting single treatment for a single diagnosis method.
Through their website, I located an internist with a holistic approach near my Dad. After a series of blood, urine and saliva tests, the doctor put together a customized program of vitamin, mineral and hormonal supplements designed to address the imbalances found in my father's system, adding to what my brother and I were already doing. It is now 2.5 years later, and my Dad is steadily improving, having regained his proper weight, more of his mobility, and a life that was almost lost forever.
Nothing weird was done here. These tests could have been done by the HMO doctors, except they are not encouraged or required to look in this "other" direction. The current state of medicine for profit, involving not just the doctors, but the pharmaceutical and insurance companies, creates a factory like system - where the economics of processing patients per hour, becomes more important than taking the time needed. It is a passable medical system if the ailment is obvious, like needing stitches, or setting a broken limb, but fails miserably in the areas of complex disease and prevention.
The holistic or functional medicine professionals spend alot of time with their patients. A typical first visit is 1.5 hours, with follow-up visits around 45 minutes.
This style does not fit the factory model. Most of these doctors do not take insurance, and the fees range from $250-$750 per hour. This puts the most comprehensive medicine available out of reach for many, and adds great financial strain to the difficulties of serious illness for others.
When it comes to you and yours, you will want to explore every avenue to regain health and extend life. You will want to have the confidence that EVERYTHING is being done and the latest research and solutions are being considered and implemented. You will want the best care that humanity can offer. You will not want money to stand in the way.
Medicine needs to be taken out of the factory model. If we are to be an evolved, ethical and humanistic society, we must ensure that the necessities of life - including the BEST medical care - are available to all, and that the practitioners are encouraged, required and rewarded for maintaining standards of excellence and innovation. Our medical system is sick. It will take new thinking and cooperation to heal it and thus heal ourselves.
When it comes to medicine, all modes must be considered, available, and insured. That is the only alternative. My father is still with us and so are the mounting credit card bills that provide for his recovery.
THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE