Functional Health Care
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Modern medicine has a standard of care that is disease based. Diagnosis and determination of appropriate treatment options are oriented around drugs or surgery for a disease. Whole food nutrition and Functional medicine seek to move toward a more patient-centered model of care that includes individualized diagnosis and treatment. Functional medicine includes predisposing genetic factors, biochemical and psychosocial factors, and underlying dysfunctions. The purpose of which is to create an individually oriented treatment plan and to improve overall health.
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Our current health care system is built largely on sickness care. You receive this care in a clinic or hospital. The solution is usually drugs or surgery. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic disease is now the most common reason for death and the high cost of healthcare in the US.
Though medicine is spectacularly successful at triage and acute care, it has not yet caught up to the needs of chronic care patients. Chronic complaints can affect multiple systems in the body. The Journal of the American Medical Association states: “Chronic disease requires a practice of medicine quite different from that used for acute disease.”
The five-minute visit won’t help the doctor determine your unique needs and solutions. What is needed is an individualized treatment plan that focuses not on the herd, but on the individual. This takes time to listen to the patient and determine the problem.
People need fresh air, sunshine, healthy food, a well-functioning body and mind. All of these aspects as well as a healthy nervous system, need to be addressed for you to function at your highest potential. Managing symptoms will not lead to health, but a healthy outlook will.
Both the patient and the doctor must be involved in the healing process. It is no longer time for the doctor to say “take this” and leave the room. It is time for the doctor to understand your unique problems and work with you to resolve them. Proper signaling from the brain to the rest of the body is very important in functional health care.
The doctor-patient relationship has to be one of equals searching for the best solution for the problem. This is a collaboration that builds success. This collaboration can encompass musculoskeletal, chemical and metal-emotional needs as well as belief systems, personal experience and background as well as desired outcomes to reach your maximum personal potential.
Though medicine is spectacularly successful at triage and acute care, it has not yet caught up to the needs of chronic care patients. Chronic complaints can affect multiple systems in the body. The Journal of the American Medical Association states: “Chronic disease requires a practice of medicine quite different from that used for acute disease.”
The five-minute visit won’t help the doctor determine your unique needs and solutions. What is needed is an individualized treatment plan that focuses not on the herd, but on the individual. This takes time to listen to the patient and determine the problem.
People need fresh air, sunshine, healthy food, a well-functioning body and mind. All of these aspects as well as a healthy nervous system, need to be addressed for you to function at your highest potential. Managing symptoms will not lead to health, but a healthy outlook will.
Both the patient and the doctor must be involved in the healing process. It is no longer time for the doctor to say “take this” and leave the room. It is time for the doctor to understand your unique problems and work with you to resolve them. Proper signaling from the brain to the rest of the body is very important in functional health care.
The doctor-patient relationship has to be one of equals searching for the best solution for the problem. This is a collaboration that builds success. This collaboration can encompass musculoskeletal, chemical and metal-emotional needs as well as belief systems, personal experience and background as well as desired outcomes to reach your maximum personal potential.