Issues #39 & #40 - Dec '07-Jan '08
January 25, 2008
On January 24,
2007, NIH Director, Elias A. Zerhouni, MD, named Josephine P. Briggs,
MD, as the director designee of the NIH National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Briggs has expertise as a
researcher. She's an NIH insider who ran a division at another
institute. However, she has not evidently had any professional
relationship to integrative medicine or complementary and alternative
health care. For the second time, the NIH has saddled the $123-million
Center with a greenhorn. Everyone with whom I speak asked that she be given time. I agree. I send this open letter to Dr. Briggs
regarding her new responsibilities and what she might do to limit the
adverse effects of this error of omission. More ...
January 23, 2008
Summary: On the winter solstice of 2006, an Integrator tradition began: the announcement of a Top 10 from the previous year which will most support the coming of the light in the new year. Here, a month late, is the Integrator Top
10 from 2007 which will shape integrative medicine and natural health
care as we enter 2008. What are the key actions in hospitals, with
employers, in the community, in research, in the Nation's Capitol - and
on Oprah - which will make a positive difference for 2008? Actually,
just 9 are listed here. What are your suggestions for #10? Happy
reading, and reflecting, on a hopeful year that was, and year to come. More ...
January 23, 2008
Just as the
corner of the covers was lifted off 2008 earlier this month, mind-body
medicine and guided imagery pioneer Marty Rossman, MD, sent the Integrator "a little rant." Rossman's statement of his credo from 40 years of holistic practice came as a response to an Integrator comment forum on the failure of business models for integrative clinics. Rossman's perspective is a
good companion piece to the hopeful column by trends expert Gerald
Celeste: Rossman describes what needs to be the center of a
practitioner's commitment if he or she wishes to abet the arrival of
the "Heal Yourself Health Care" Celeste sees coming. More ...
January 15, 2008
A well-known
adverse-effect of the cash basis for most complementary services is that
use is skewed toward the wealthy. The Florida Medicaid Integrative Therapies Pilot Project Project, managed
by Alternative Medicine Integration Group (AMI), suddenly changed the
demographics of the practices of AMI's network of massage therapists
and licensed acupuncturists. Part #4 of this series consists of
interviews with 4 of these practitioners on their experiences with
these patients, and their experience inside AMI's managed chronic pain
plan. More ...
January 15, 2008
According to this fascinating and eerie account from homeopath and author Dana Ullman, MPH, "anti-homeopathic
fundamentalists have hijacked the Wikipedia information on homeopathy." Ullman asks if anyone else in the complementary and integrative medicine world has encountered similar issues. (Do you know what is being said about your field?) In
a time when more of us are relying on quick searches for information,
the virtual battleground of Wikipedia is a place where many hearts and
minds are being formed, if not won and lost. Take an inside look at Ullman's account of this battle over homeopathy in the Wikipedia world. Do you know who your definition is hanging out with tonight? More ...
January 14, 2008
People: Leadership Changes in Complementary and Integrative Medicine
Co-founder of Bastyr
University and the Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium, Sheila
Quinn, is in transition ... Consortium of Academic Health Centers for
Integrative Medicine announces key leadership roles ... John Weeks, a.k.a.
"Yours Truly" appointed to national advisory board of the Corporate
Health Improvement Program ... Cancer Treatment Centers of America's
Lise Alshuler, ND, elected president of the AANP ... Beth Sommers, MPH,
LAc, DSc in leadership roles with the American Public Health
Association's CAM exploration plus more ...More ...
January 12, 2008
With six new voices, the Integrator conversation on the optimal relationship is enriched. Interestingly, 5 of the 6 wrote as educators.
Commenting are Morgan Martin, ND, chair for natural childbirth at
Bastyr University; Bill Manahan, MD, co-founder of the American Board
of Holistic Medicine; James Winterstein, DC, president of the National
University of Health Sciences; Sherman Cohn, JD, professor of law at
Georgetown University Law Center; Lou Sportelli, DC, president of Integrator sponsor NCMIC; and an anonymous naturopathic physician. This is a rich selection of diverse perspectives. More ...
January 12, 2008
Trends Maven Gerald Celeste Highlights "Heal Yourself Health Care" in 2008
Gerald
Celente, a trends maven familiar to Oprah listeners, major corporations
and numerous national media, is bullish on natural health care. Among
his top trends for 2008 of any kind - touching on finances and politics
and diverse themes - is one he chose to call "Health Yourself Health
Care." For a boost that suggests
you are on the right track, take a look at Celeste's column which
references healing-oriented medical doctors,chiropractors, naturopathic
medicine, vitamins, herbs, yoga and more. More ...
December 13, 2007 mailing - Issue #38
December 13, 2007
When the heartland
shifts, that's when the nation leaps forward.
So assert Meg LaRou and Russ Valvo, the founders of the ambitious Deep
Lake project near Battle Creek, Michigan. Deep Lake is a combination of
destination resort and spa, integrated wellness center, and residential
community. The project is planned as an eco-friendly, restorative and
sustainable enterprise which will appeal not just to the well-to-do but
also to the region's "mid-market." Deep Lake's team includes University
of Michigan integrative medicine leaders Sara Warber, MD and Rita Benn,
PhD. Peter Amato and the Inner Harmony Group are consulting on the
business model for the integrated wellness services. L. Hunter Lovins,
the natural capitalism leader, is an adviser. Is Pennfield County,
Michigan ready for this? More ...
December 13, 2007
There is no question that the holistic, naturopathic, Oriental, chiropractic and integrative medicine professions are in bed with pharmaceutical companies ... natural
pharma, that is. The question is, how is this relationship best
effected? Put differently, can these professions avoid the pitfalls of
the MD-Big Pharma marriage and take advantage of each other's
strengths? In this third column in an ongoing series on the topic begun
by David Matteson, Integrator adviser Michael Levin - who has
held executive positions for both Big Pharma and natural products firms
- weighs in on the issue. More ...
December 12, 2007
Integrative Academics & Resources:
Advocate's Spectrum, U Minn Health Coaching Certificate, UC Irvine SPA,
Samueli Supplements, plus K-12 Yoga
Two part
onsite, part distance learning initiative. First, integrative medicine
clinic leader at Advocate Health, Donald Novey, MD, announces new
Spectrum Initiative" which includes "mini-internship" for practicing
physicians. Second, Karen Lawson, MD heads up a revamped U Minnesota
certificate program which aims to enhance practitioner abilities to
facilitate life changes ... In addition, Marc Micozzi, MD, MS,
comments on the new CAM interest which characterizes a UC Irvine spa
management program. Plus, yoga resources for K-12 programs and a
Samueli Center scientific conference on supplements. More ...
December 11, 2007
The board of the
American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) has chosen to link up with
American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) for their 2008
convention. The 30th anniversary of the AHMA will affirm the potential
value of alliance between the two physician-level organizations. The
AHMA move is also a sign of AHMA's efforts, under the leadership of Hal
Blatman, MD, to modernize and "transition" the organization to create
present value for it members, and for the healthcare system. More ...
December 11, 2007
Hungry for a more
substantive take on health reform? Check out the Bill Maher commentary
... If an idea's advance is marked by its uptake in mainstream media,
Community Acupuncture Network scored a recent coup with a Washington Post article ... When are Mayo Clinic and Bastyr University a complementary healthcare media team? Every Monday, thanks to the Seattle PI ... Want a quick weekly scan of acupuncture related press? Check out Amy McCoy's work with the Acupreneur news ... Interested in Integrator content
for your organization's or institution's website or e-newsletter?
Integrative Practitioner Online is the latest to fatten their content
with Integrator news links. More ...
December 11, 2007
The recent Integrator article on the ultimate demise of Wellspace, a pioneering, venture capital-backed integrative clinic venture ("Wellspace/SickSpace: Reflections on a Pioneering Integrative Clinic Gone Down for the Count,"
November 27, 2007) provoked responses from former integrative clinic
leader Michael Shor, MPH, former client Niels Bodecker, recent
acupuncture school graduate Jessy Woodson and Mary
Lawlor, CPM, the president of the National Association of Certified
Professional Midwives. Lawlor's reflects on the economic and cultural
the parallels that the integrative clinic movement has with the birth center movement. More ...
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