What is Integrative Medicine?
Have you ever gone to the doctor with a particular concern and left feeling unseen? Perhaps the doctor listened to you for just a minute or two before settling on a diagnosis. Then they wrote your prescription and sent you out the door. How’d this make you feel? When I’ve been in the patient role this left me frustrated and insignificant. You may have wondered if they’d listened more, would they have given a different diagnosis? Perhaps there were alternative treatment options besides a pharmaceutical they could’ve offered if they’d not rushed out of the exam room. Aren’t dietary or lifestyle interventions important? What vitamins or supplements could help resolve the issue? Sadly, most physicians have too little time and too limited a toolbox to treat the whole person. Thus, they treat one chief complaint with yet another pharmaceutical.
Enter integrative medicine. This approach incorporates a wide variety of treatment modalities. It starts with listening. Upwards of 90% of the diagnoses is discovered through the patient’s history. That means engaging in a detailed conversation with the patient before jumping to conclusions is critical. Then it seeks to empower the patient through education on diet, fitness, vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies before reaching for the script pad. Integrative medicine incorporates hands-on healing modalities like osteopathic medicine, chiropractics, massage therapy, and acupuncture to alleviate pain and address misalignments rather than just masking the symptoms with pharmacology. Thus, integrative medicine pulls from a wide variety of treatment modalities when tailoring personalized treatment plans. When done right integrative medicine considers your values and preferences rather than the one-size almost fits approach of modern medicine.
Here at Integrate Internal Medicine, we firmly believe in the power of integrative medicine, hence our name. We believe that compassionate and personalized care that aligns with your values leads to the best health outcomes. We seek to identify the root cause, rather than treat the symptoms and we believe the body has the power to heal itself, so long as it has the proper building blocks.
The catch you say? Time. It takes time to provide meaningful personalized medical care. When I set out on my own, I knew I wanted to spend more time with patients, which is why Integrate Internal Medicine functions outside of insurance. Yes, it’s costly, but like anything worthwhile, you get what you pay for. Regardless of whether you’re seeking a single consult or membership with the practice, when you step into the exam room at Integrate, your precious dollars secure my time—initial consults start at forty-five minutes. This is how I ensure you’re heard and we have time to build a meaningful treatment plan that empowers you to optimal health.
If you’d like to learn more, click here and consider becoming a patient. Let’s restore your confidence in healthcare and get back to the heart of medicine by focusing on what matters most — you, the patient.
The Empowered Patient
Dr. Kate
Bonus Sleep Tip:
Try to get 15 minutes of sun exposure in the morning to help regulate your circadian rhythm and promote restful sleep.
Learn more about becoming an empowered patient here.
