The arrival of Michael Moore's documentary on the US medical system, Sicko, stimulated an Integrator reader, who saw the New York opening, to suggest that the Integrator be opened to "a few reviews from different perspectives." Good idea. Herewith, the Integrator kicks off a Sicko Forum.
Send your one-liner, comment or review to
Let's see what we are thinking about
Moore's vision and its portrayal of the US healthcare system. Will
Michael Moore be to the U.S. health care industry what author Upton
Sinclair was to the Chicago meat-packing industry a century ago?Will life follow the movies? Let's have some fun with this. Send in your perspectives! More ...
Questions
about the direction of the NIH research agenda on complementary and
alternative medicine have stimulated numerous subsets of researchers to
promote a significant shift from reductive to whole systems models. A
similar direction and dialogue was recently stimulated inside the
nutritional products industry. David Barnes, PhD, director of research
and development for Standard Process, a nutritional products firm, laid
out a strategy for an industry-academic partnership which would focus
on both academic and policy tactics to gain release from the "dogma" of
current thinking. The Integrator interviewed Barnes on his view
of what we need to "overcome the industry-academia disconnect," shift
some of our research priorities and take on the policy challenges. More ...
Newcomers to the
integrated care field may be interested in two pieces of our history
which were indirectly on display in a story in the Allentown Morning Callon
June 13, 2007. The stories involve the American Medical Association and two
individuals who lived in Allentown for decades: Stephen Barrett, MD,
and Lou Sportelli, DC. The former is the
anti-alternative medicine and anti-chiropractic, self-styled
"quack-buster" whose semi-retirement and move from Allentown, Pennsylvania, stimulated the
article in the Morning Call. The latter, quoted in the article,
is a longtime chiropractic and integrated healthcare leader who for
35 years has frequently been Barrett's opponent in debates. Internal
AMA documents which each of these men received have influenced the form
and
substance of our dialogue and efforts to appropriately integrate care.More ...
A recent article in
Medscape General Medicinesuggests that when author Dan Brown gets
tired of pulling off the veils of the Vatican he might spend a little
time unwinding the political-economic machinations and special understandings that shape what the
Cochane Collaboration sees fit to publish. The article, by
physician-author David Cundiff, MD, is entitled "Evidence-based Medicine and the Cochrane Collaboration on Trial." Cundiff concludes: "While evidence-based
medicine is absolutely essential to comprehensive healthcare reform, it has
been profoundly corrupted by money."More ...
Five days before Father's Day, Morgan Martin,
ND, LM, the director of the naturopathic midwifery department at Bastyr
University, sent an email to her list of friends of naturopathic midwifery. My two blood children were both born at home, with ND midwives attending. Martin
wished to protect natural childbirth as a part of naturopathic medical
practice and solicited stories of whole person maternity care as
expressed in naturopathic midwifery practice. What might the re-embrace
of homebirth mean to our societal effort to reform health care by keeping people out of the sick care system? I recalled some reflections written, in 2004, while on sabbatical in Costa Rica, on
both my family's experience and the role of homebirth midwives in an
optimal health care system. I share this story, together with
information on the campaign with which Martin is engaged. I hope you
enjoy their rhythm. Happy Father's Day! More ...
The Integrator
story on the primary care chiropractor underscored the irony in
chiropractic about kind of integrative, whole person, natural health
practice. Such practices appear to be gaining favor with the public.
Witness the grown of integrative medical doctor and naturopathic
practices.Yet the chiropractic whole-practice specialty societies
atrophy. The irony is stronger given recent publication of data on
savings from the chiropractor primary care provider HMO model developed
by Alternative Medicine Integration Group. James Winterstein, DC, one
of his profession's most outspoken advocates for "what used to be
referred to as general chiropractic practice" offers his perspectives
on this change. Despite trends, this president of the
multi-disciplinary National University of Health Sciences (DC, LAc, ND, massage therapy) announces that he's "not giving up." More ...
William Wulsin,
ND, MPH on the potential AHNA-AHMA-AANP collaboration ... Robert Lynch,
DC on efforts to unite the ICA and ACA ... Author and participant
Alison Rose Levy casts light on the Donna Karan Urban Zen event ...
Ryan Vos, LAc seeks information on inpatient acupuncture models like
that piloted by Painovich at good Samaritan, Los Angeles ... Young
research Ather Ali, ND, MPH at the Yale Prevention Center clarifies
issues for young investigators ...
Jordan Van Voast, LAc expands the Community Acupuncture Network model
of care into my neck of the woods ... Integrative consultant Linda Rapuano on the
value of Design Principles for Healthcare Renewal in work with clients
... Former AHNA president Sonja Simpson, RN, MSN, AHN-BC thanks Benda
for his column on NCCAM's new director ... Curtis Jones, PhD proposes a
pathway he believes useful in whole systems care. More ...
Since publishing
some reflections of various researchers on the legacy of Stephen
Straus, MD, the founding director of the NIH National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine, I have heard from three who
were out of the country or unavailable when I queried them for their
perspectives. Here are comments from: Christine Goertz Choate, DC, PhD, a
former co-worker of Straus' inside NCCAM where she headed up health
services research; David Eisenberg, MD, the director of the Osher Institute at Harvard Medical
School; and William Meeker, DC, MPH, who was the principal investigator
for the NCCAM's center grant on chiropractic at Palmer Chiropractic College. More ...
June 7, 2007
Oregon Health
Sciences University (OHSU) researcher Lynne Shinto, ND, MPH, reports
the shrinking opportunities for clinical research at the NIH. Hardest
hit will be new investigators - a category which includes most of the
researchers from the complementary and integrative medicine fields who
have clinical experience in complementary and integrated care. The
bright spot is health services research ... The nation's top
multi-disciplinary, collaborative research laboratory, involving OHSU,
Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, Western States Chiropractic
College and National College of Natural Medicine, and other Portland
institutions holds its annual research meeting June 9, focusing on
collaborative research .. Whole systems research is now on Wikipedia,
and ready for your edits ... NIH NCCAM invites you to a June 20 Stakeholder's Dialogue. More ...
In 2004, Bill
Benda, MD, quietly began working to create collaboration between three
organizations of healthcare professionals: the American Holistic Medical
Association, the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and
the American Holistic Nurses Association. "The potential for communal impact is enormous," says Benda. He brought
the leadership of these organization together into a retreat in
2005 and presently sits on the boards of the first two and is in an
advisory position to the latter. What might these organizations
accomplish
together? What do you think is the very best use of this collaborative trio in advancing health care transformation? The Integrator
sent Benda some queries via email. Here are his responses on his effort
to create some new clout for holistic and whole person primary care. More ...
June 4, 2007
When one
thinks of the power centers in the United States, one thinks of
government, finance and, well, show business. Integrated care was had
seminal events associated with these centers. One thinks of the Institute of Medicine and White House
Commission reports and the formation of the Bravewell Collaborative
of
philanthropists. This past month, the show business power center
brought us a unique, invitational 10-day event. It was organized by
Donna Karan as part of her Urban Zen Initiative. This article explores some ideas and directions engaged
there, through an interview with participant Robert Duggan. Duggan is a
co-founder of Tai Sophia and is respected as both pioneer and an
out-of-the-box thinker who keeps his eye on the prize of health
creation. This article is planned as a precursor to an interview with
Karan on why she created the event and where the work may be headed. More ...
The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
(NCBTMB) has brought in a skilled executive in Chris Laxton to run their
national operation ... David
Molony, OMD, is the first non-Asian to be honored by the World
Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies ... The wellness program led
by Bernie Noe, ND, was awarded again by Vermont Governor Jim Douglas ...
Ayurvedic medicine leader Felicia Tomasko takes new role at LA Yoga
magazine ... Anthony Rosner, PhD, long-time researcher with the
Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) leaves under
restructuring ... Integrator editor John Weeks named to boards of American Botanical Council and Code Blue NowMore ...
The Integrator was notified on May 23 that the FDA is open
for responses to their Guidance on CAM document until May 29. There has
been significant controversy and uncertainty about the date, originally
set for April 30. The FDA's "Special Filing' clarifying this also
includes some strong language in response to the overall controversy
... Meantime, here also are excerpts from the formal submissions from
the American Holistic Nurses Association, the American Herbal Products
Association and the American Association of Chiropractic Association. More ..
