Integrated Medicine is a synergistic combination of conventional and complementary medicine. It incorporates a holistic approach that looks at a person’s physical, emotional and spiritual health and well-being. The end result being much greater than using each medicine individually.
How is it different from other modalities?
Integrated medicine is based on person centred care which is not limited to one type of medical/health discipline. Instead it favours the use of a range of complementary therapies alongside medical treatments to facilitate the best possible outcome; physical, emotional and mental. It uses the complementary medicine philosophy of ‘energetic balance’ aiming to support the individual to regain or maintain this balance. When used with medical treatments it is able to minimise side effects of strong pharmaceutical drugs, therefore reducing the need for additional treatments.
What kinds of tests are used?
Integrated medicine does not rely on the use of conventional investigative tests.
What kind of treatments are used?
In each case Integrated medicine takes into account the disease or illness, symptoms and any conventional drug treatments that are being used. The primary aim is to use a single or a combination of complementary therapies that will be most effective for the individual. whilst considering safety issues relevant to the therapy used. The type of complementary therapies used is variable depending on the practitioner’s skills, experience and preferences. These can include;
- Physical therapies such as massage, aromatherapy, reflexology.
- Whole systems therapies e.g. Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy.
- Botanicals such as, herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, vitamins.
- Mind-Body medicine e.g. yoga, tai chi, hypnotherapy, mindfullness.
- Energy medicine e.g. spiritual healing, reiki, shamanic healing.
What is Integrated Medicine?, by Dr Isaac Eliaz, M.D., L.Ac., M.S