Origins of holistic medicine
The origins of holistic medicine can be traced back to the same source as allopathic (Western) medicine--Hippocrates. The ancient Greek physician emphasized the environmental causes and treatment of illness and the importance of the patient's psychology, nutrition, and lifestyle. Hippocrates saw the interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit and equated health with finding harmony between the patient and his or her social milieu. These founding principles, unfortunately, have been overshadowed by the technological advancements in biomedicine which has evolved to focus on surgical and pharmacologic interventions at the expense of other methodologies. Holistic medicine, as it exists today, is a movement to reconnect with the source material of medicine and integrate it with our modern knowledge to personalize healthcare for each person.
Reductionist medicine
Medicine is a nuanced and multifaceted topic. Over the centuries, multiple branches of medicine have emerged to address different areas of health. Just inside of the allopathic branch we can see this fractalization: endocrinology, gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, cardiology, urology, neurology, etc. Each organ system has a specialized way of being studied and treated. This multiplicity has led to miraculous interventions and cures, but it has also led to a reductionist mindset about human health. The body is far more interconnected than each silo gives credence to, and often times the more zoomed-in medicine becomes the more blind spots it has for the basic connections and fundamental tenants of health.
Holism in medicine
Holism is the philosophy that the whole is greater than just the sum of its parts. Systems (like the human body) have certain emergent properties that extend beyond the properties of their parts. When we combine a nervous system with a musculoskeletal system with a cardiovascular system, we get more than just a moving set of coordinated and oxygenated body parts. Instead, we get a marathoner, a rock climber, or a jazz musician, all of whom are infinitely complex. In dealing with medicine, the same principles of emergent properties are true. The isolation of system parts (i.e. reductionism) is only one step in helping people's health improve. The person's diet, lifestyle, mentality, and social network are all equally important factors to consider.
Communication breakdown
In an ideal medical system all of the individual specialists would communicate with one another. Unfortunately, what typically occurs in the American healthcare model is the separation of doctors from each other and also from their patients. Most providers don't even deal directly with their customers. Instead, health insurance companies operate as intermediaries often in an unhelpful fashion, resulting in overpricing and inaccessibility. Lack of communication and transparency leads to disastrous results. Iatrogenic deaths (those caused by medical mistakes) are the third leading source of mortality in the United States. Examples include one provider prescribing a medication that interacts with the intervention of a second provider, the performance of unnecessary surgical procedures, and the increased risk of infections from routine hospitalization. All the while most allopathic doctors don't treat the underlying cause of the patient's disease.
Multidisciplinary approach
Holistic medicine promotes a multidisciplinary approach to healthcare in which multiple different modalities and interventions are implemented simultaneously and in coordination. This approach reduces the risk of iatrogenic harm and also enhances the synergistic effects of treatment. A patient suffering from chronic low back pain would work with an acupuncturist and massage therapist to help relax muscles and promote blood flow, a chiropractor to realign vertebrae, a nutritionist and functional medicine doctor to help reduce inflammation via diet and supplements, a movement coach to address muscular imbalances, and a psychologist to address issues surrounding chronic pain. The specific combination of services is tailored to each patient on a individual basis and requires a more in depth intake and screening process than most insurance based models are able to provide--the primary reason why holistic practices are typically cash pay only.
Education and empowerment
In the treatment hierarchy, patient education and empowerment is primary in holistic medicine. If the patient is unaware of the forces that are interfering with their health they will be unable to change them. Likewise, if patients are unable to take self leadership of their own health in a productive matter, they will be unable to improve. The Western medicine model has become overly dependent on miracle pills and procedures to correct issues that would have been far less likely to occur if the patients had been properly educated and empowered from the beginning. A preventative medical model is, beyond comparison, the best way to keep people healthy and keep healthcare costs low. However, prevention requires a shift in the paradigm of how most of us think about medicine.
The new paradigm
The United States spends more money on healthcare than any other nation in the world, yet we have the worst health outcomes. The incentive structure in our country favors a reactive approach to medicine and a forfeiting of patient and provider responsibility. In order to reverse this trend we must take a proactive approach and hold patients and providers accountable. Striving for an ideal balance of nutrition, exercise, sleep, social connection, and meaningful work is medicine in its own right. Medical providers who can help educate and advise us along the way (preferably before major issues arise) are worth their weight in gold. Now imagine a whole system like that.
At the end of the day, though, the methods must deliver results. Any modality that does not directly empower and improve the health of the patient in the short and long term should be re-evaluated and changed. Holistic medicine can just as easily fall prey to the same mistake that Western medicine has made, delivering easy solutions to desperate people. It is up to both the seeker of help and the helper to uphold the standard of holistic medicine. We can't all be perfect, but we can all strive to be more aware of the consequences of our actions.
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