http://fiim.freshwinds.org.uk Integrated Medicine Education, Worldwide Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:15:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://fiim.freshwinds.org.uk/2010/04/19/integrated-medicine-do-we-need-it-2/comment-page-1/#comment-55 Pankaj Shah Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:15:17 +0000 http://fiim.freshwinds.org.uk/?p=674#comment-55 Integrated medicine is the safe combination of conventional and complemntary medicine with interdisciplinary co-operation, communication and mutual respect. Within conventional medicine, there is already an ethos of integration where patient care is managed through a team of professionals (e.g. doctor, nurse, physiotherapist and OT), where each professional has their own area of expertise and will utilise the expertise of other team members to enhance their abiility provide optimal patient care. Similarly, where patients wish to access complementary therapies to support them in addition to their routine medical care, integrated medicine becomes the best option - generally doctors are not experts in complementary therapies and complemantary therapists are not doctors - integrated medicine allows the doctor and the complementary therapist to work in co-operation with each other for the benefit of the patient whilst taking account of safety implications (e.g. the therpaist can refer people with "red flag" symptoms to the doctor; the therapist can explain / show the doctor the therapy they will perform and the doctor can discuss with the therapsit any safety implications this may raise in relation the the person's underlying health problem or existing medical treatments). This would only work if there is a culture of mutual respect, communication and co-operation between the doctor and complementary therapist. Integrated medicine is the safe combination of conventional and complemntary medicine with interdisciplinary co-operation, communication and mutual respect. Within conventional medicine, there is already an ethos of integration where patient care is managed through a team of professionals (e.g. doctor, nurse, physiotherapist and OT), where each professional has their own area of expertise and will utilise the expertise of other team members to enhance their abiility provide optimal patient care. Similarly, where patients wish to access complementary therapies to support them in addition to their routine medical care, integrated medicine becomes the best option – generally doctors are not experts in complementary therapies and complemantary therapists are not doctors – integrated medicine allows the doctor and the complementary therapist to work in co-operation with each other for the benefit of the patient whilst taking account of safety implications (e.g. the therpaist can refer people with “red flag” symptoms to the doctor; the therapist can explain / show the doctor the therapy they will perform and the doctor can discuss with the therapsit any safety implications this may raise in relation the the person’s underlying health problem or existing medical treatments). This would only work if there is a culture of mutual respect, communication and co-operation between the doctor and complementary therapist.

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