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Featured Forum Comment -- Manahan on The New Medicine |
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Written by John Weeks
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Forum Feature: Bill Manahan MD, on His View of The New Medicine
[Note: When merited, one or more postings from the IBN&R Forum will be extracted and featured. In responding to forum on The New Medicine, Bill Manahan, MD, a past-president of the American Holistic Medical Association, and co-founder of the American Board of Holistic Medicine, presents his vision of a of a radically transformed healthcare system. I added the subheads.]
You nailed it regarding what you
wrote about The New Medicine documentary that was recently shown on
PBS. Now I recall why I liked The Integrator. Anyway, what you nailed
is the hierarchical, reductionistic, medical model that still dominates
our thinking.
Medical model/anti-terrorism model
We in the United States (and much of the world) believe
that it is a reasonable and useful model when, in fact, I believe it is
similar to fighting terrorism by invading Iraq. It is one Bill Manahan, MD, Past President, AHMA
The health-care system that I envision would be a wheel with the
center of the wheel being community health, public health, and public
education efforts at a systems level. At least half of all health-care
dollars would be allocated to the hub of that wheel.
Wheel and Spokes
Then a number of spokes would project from the center of the wheel.
These spokes would include all the various types of natural healers,
allopathic providers and institutions, research initiatives, education
of health-care professionals, pharmaceutical/neutraceutical efforts,
optimal healing environments, and many others areas. Strict scientific
guidelines plus common sense would dictate how money was allocated to
each spoke. In other words, disease care - that now so dominates our
healthcare system - would become one aspect of the total health system.
There would be improved education regarding where the public should go
for disease care.
Better first choices?
People would begin to understand that for certain
problems, the allopathic system is the place to go, but for a majority
of health and disease problems, natural healers would be a better FIRST
choice.
Under this system, the use of pharmaceuticals would probably
decrease by over 50%. Natural healers (I am using this title to refer
to all health care practitioners except MD's, DO's, RN's, and others
associated with the allopathic system) would be taught to refer
appropriately when they suspect that pharmaceuticals and/or surgery
might be indicated. This system would allocate funds for increased
training and research in energy and intuitive medicine so we could
begin to understand more clearly which people will respond well to
pharmaceuticals and those that do not.
More importantly, all healers from every kind of discipline would work
more collaboratively with the primary goal not to make money or not to
prove superiority but to offer each individual the best possible care.
This does not seem like too radical an idea to me!
Anyway, the present system as I see it is upside down. No wonder it (and we, the public,) are in trouble.
Bill Manahan, MD
Past President
American Holistic Medical Association
(Minneapolis, MN)
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