The issue of Integration where medicine is concerned

It has been many months since my last post and although this post isn’t going to give you any tips on self-care or the latest in the health and wellness industry, it is a confirmation for many of you to continue on the path you’re already on; the wellness care as opposed to sickness care as mentioned in an article by Dr. Divi Chandna in the Huffington Post titled: “Canada’s Health Care System Should Incorporate Alternative Medicine”. Having been on maternity leave for the past almost 6 months makes my heart ache for the work I was doing especially after reading articles such as the above reminding me of the important services alternative medical practitioners have been providing in “[teaching] patients the pillars of wellness”.

As the article states, although one cannot comment on how our taxpayers money should be spent, it is only logical to consider that if we raised the collective consciousness in such a manner that alternative medicine was not seen as “non-scientific” or “quackery” and an unbiased and fair view of it was presented to the public by allopathic practitioners and politicians who embraced and advocated for it, our health care system would be in a much healthier state! Just imagine for a moment what it would be like if our aging boomers were focused on wellness care rather than suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease -two of the biggest strains on the system which are not only preventable but treatable to a large extent through lifestyle factors! According to a Globe And Mail article “an estimated 16 million Canadians live with at least one chronic condition.” Additionally, “not only is their care inefficient and inconvenient, it’s costly: one per cent of the population consumes about 50 per cent of health costs, due to both hospitalization and home care.”

Those numbers are staggering! This article is not meant to take away from the gratitude I feel as a proud Canadian for our health care system, but it doesn’t take a genius to see how wasteful the current system is. It seems to require a complete overhaul. A paradigm shift needs to occur in order for society to realize the futility of our current system. Moreover, Canada being a nation that is so vocal in advocating for human rights and freedom, it seems paradoxical that our health care system does not provide its users the choice of alternative medicine. If choice is an integral part of being free, then how free are we really where our health is concerned? For those of us in middle to upper classes of society, this may not seem a serious impingement on our rights but for those who are unable to afford the high costs of alternative medicine, the lack of choice is a serious issue of freedom!

But I’ve digressed. My purpose in writing this blog was to reiterate Dr. Chandna’s article as she states: “Could embracing both models [traditional and alternative medicine] and truly working with patients individually, empowering them, and guiding them help? I do believe that this is a way. When we make health care more about wellness care than sickness care and work on patients’ integral well-being, then we can create a system that no longer is a financial drain, but one that is sustainable.” I couldn’t have said it better! Here’s to hoping more and more medical practitioners and politicians -whom due to their position in society are able to make a dent- come to appreciate the merits and contributions of alternative medical providers and promote their services.