Integrative Medicine Is Mainstream

The January 9, 2009 edition of the Wall Street Journal contained an opinion piece penned by Deepak Chopra, Dean Ornish, Rustum Roy, and Andrew Weil entitled "Alternative Medicine Is Mainstream". The authors are some of the biggest names in promoting alternative, complementary, and integrative medicine. The piece opened with the words: "The evidence is mounting that diet and lifestyle are the best cures for our worst afflictions."

President-Elect Barak Obama stated during his campaign: "This nation is facing a true epidemic of chronic disease. An increasing number of Americans are suffering and dying needlessly (italics mine) from diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and HIV/AIDS, all of which can be delayed in onset if not prevented entirely."

According to the authors of the Journal article, "The latest scientific studies show that our bodies have a remarkable capacity to begin healing, and much more quickly than we had once realized, if we address the lifestyle factors that often cause these chronic diseases. These studies show that integrative medicine can make a powerful difference in our health and well-being, how quickly these changes may occur, and how dynamic these mechanisms can be." Because of this statement and others, I am optimistic that the incoming administration recognizes that we must provide incentives for healthy ways of living rather than paying for only conventional drugs and surgery. In fact, in the long run, the only way we can make adequate health care available to the 45 million Americans who do not have health insurance is to focus on the fundamental factors that lead to both health and illness. Hopefully, this change in emphasis will be a key component of any forthcoming health reform legislation.

Another strong sign of the integrative medicine movement going mainstream is the recent opening of the Osher Clinical Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The strong acceptance of the integrative approach by a mainline Harvard teaching hospital provides a ringing endorsement for integrative medicine. In fact, the cover story in the Fall 2008 edition of "The Magazine of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston" features the Osher Center. A key message in the story is the following: "Up until a few years ago, "alternative," or more commonly named " complementary" therapies were not provided at top academic medical centers such as BWH. But scientific research and clinical experience indicates that these treatments, some of which have their roots in Eastern medicine, do indeed offer viable and measurable medical benefits."

The Marino Center has been developing and providing integrative health care for over 15 years. It appears that these pioneering efforts are paying off through higher levels of utilization and public recognition of these treatment modalities’ efficacy.