The philosophy behind integrative medicine is a focus on all stages and aspects of an individual’s care, placing the patient at the center and making the individual responsible for and involved in one’s own health. The physical, mental, social, spiritual, environmental, and other states of being must be considered to ensure that patients receive the highest quality and most comprehensive and coordinated care possible.
Integrative Medicine
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A Movement Whose Time Has Come
What has come to be called integrative medicine is a rapidly growing and highly credible field that seeks to integrate the best of Western scientific medicine with a broader understanding of the nature of illness, healing and wellness.
In seeking to return the soul to medicine, integrative medicine is grounded in the healing relationship—working together, practitioners and patients seek ways to achieve optimal health. This approach to care focuses on healing the whole person and attends to the physical, mental and spiritual needs of the person in the context of their community.
Informed by evidence, integrative medicine makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches to attain optimal health and healing, and strives to achieve wholeness and health as well as curing illness and disease. Because an informed, empowered patient will make better choices about his or her health care and lifestyle options, patient education is an essential element of integrative care.