You Deserve Better
A History of Medicine
I have an earache:
2000 B.C. -Here, eat this root.
1000 A.D. -That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850 A.D. -That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940 A.D. -That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985 A.D. -That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 A.D. -That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.
- Author Unknown
Individualized Medicine is Now
The dawn of a new era of healthcare is upon us. What is emerging is the healthcare of the individual. We are all biochemical, emotional, anatomic, genetic and psychological individuals, and we need to be treated as such. An inadequate healthcare system has always been a problem of our country but in the long-term, it may turn out to be a “blessing in disguise” because it has forced people to search for alternative medicines that are individualized yet affordable and in the process, created a growing non-traditional health care industry.
Our current medical system is a crisis care system and it is very good at that. For emergency and crisis situations western medicine is very effective and efficient. Unfortunately, applying crisis interventions to chronic conditions is very ineffective, inefficient, and costly. The US spends well over a trillion dollars a year on healthcare. So, spending more than anyone else, it should be the healthiest country, right? Wrong. Research indicates that it is one of the ailing developed countries in the world. Why is that?
Symptomatic Relief is Better than Nothing
I, together with other forward-thinking physicians, continue to search for the answers but one of the major reasons is because the pharmaceutical industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Most of the money is spent to find ways of chasing symptoms. Although there may be a place for that, more time and money should be spent on why the symptoms are present in the first place. Many of the drugs on the market are designed to block symptoms instead of alleviate the root cause. I have never read research that said a headache is an aspirin deficiency, but that is the accepted therapy. Why? Because the pharmaceutical companies and the FDA have convinced our medical establishment that costly drugs are the answer to all our health worries - despite their dubious track record and often - deadly side effects. The headache is like the oil indicator light on our dashboard. When it lights up, do we put oil in the engine (treating the root cause) or do we just snip the wire (treating the symptom)?
Individualized medicine of the future is now
Managed care medicine on the average is failing
Crisis care for chronic conditions is a square peg plugged to a round hole
More money is being spent but chronic conditions are increasing
The Whole is Greater than the Sum of Its Parts
Compartmentalized, specialized medicine will disappear when medicine of the individual becomes mainstream. If we go to one doctor for the heart, another doctor for the liver, and another for the kidneys, who is looking at the body as a whole and the web-like interactions between all these different compartments?
Doctors like us are open to complementary and alternative medicine because we want to serve those who will not conform to or who have been failed by the medicine of the averages. Since our evaluations and therapies are not dictated by insurance companies or managed care, we are free to think outside the box and consider the human body in a more individualized and comprehensive fashion. We hope that you will allow us the honor of serving you.
I have an earache:
2000 B.C. -Here, eat this root.
1000 A.D. -That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850 A.D. -That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940 A.D. -That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985 A.D. -That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 A.D. -That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.
- Author Unknown
Individualized Medicine is Now
The dawn of a new era of healthcare is upon us. What is emerging is the healthcare of the individual. We are all biochemical, emotional, anatomic, genetic and psychological individuals, and we need to be treated as such. An inadequate healthcare system has always been a problem of our country but in the long-term, it may turn out to be a “blessing in disguise” because it has forced people to search for alternative medicines that are individualized yet affordable and in the process, created a growing non-traditional health care industry.
Our current medical system is a crisis care system and it is very good at that. For emergency and crisis situations western medicine is very effective and efficient. Unfortunately, applying crisis interventions to chronic conditions is very ineffective, inefficient, and costly. The US spends well over a trillion dollars a year on healthcare. So, spending more than anyone else, it should be the healthiest country, right? Wrong. Research indicates that it is one of the ailing developed countries in the world. Why is that?
Symptomatic Relief is Better than Nothing
I, together with other forward-thinking physicians, continue to search for the answers but one of the major reasons is because the pharmaceutical industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Most of the money is spent to find ways of chasing symptoms. Although there may be a place for that, more time and money should be spent on why the symptoms are present in the first place. Many of the drugs on the market are designed to block symptoms instead of alleviate the root cause. I have never read research that said a headache is an aspirin deficiency, but that is the accepted therapy. Why? Because the pharmaceutical companies and the FDA have convinced our medical establishment that costly drugs are the answer to all our health worries - despite their dubious track record and often - deadly side effects. The headache is like the oil indicator light on our dashboard. When it lights up, do we put oil in the engine (treating the root cause) or do we just snip the wire (treating the symptom)?
Individualized medicine of the future is now
Managed care medicine on the average is failing
Crisis care for chronic conditions is a square peg plugged to a round hole
More money is being spent but chronic conditions are increasing
The Whole is Greater than the Sum of Its Parts
Compartmentalized, specialized medicine will disappear when medicine of the individual becomes mainstream. If we go to one doctor for the heart, another doctor for the liver, and another for the kidneys, who is looking at the body as a whole and the web-like interactions between all these different compartments?
Doctors like us are open to complementary and alternative medicine because we want to serve those who will not conform to or who have been failed by the medicine of the averages. Since our evaluations and therapies are not dictated by insurance companies or managed care, we are free to think outside the box and consider the human body in a more individualized and comprehensive fashion. We hope that you will allow us the honor of serving you.
posted by Raymond Rodis at 8:41 AM
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