Internet and it's role in Modern Healthcare

When I started my practice, we did not have access to the Internet. People used physicians as a source of essential knowledge for healthcare. One of the great advantages of the Internet is that it has raised our medical IQ. Not just for patients, but for physicians as well.

This has affected the role of the physician in several way. First of all it has allowed for a more equal playing field where patients have easy access to information and the ability to talk intelligently about a diagnosis or treatment option. It has highlighted the possibility of medical errors and misconceptions, and allowed patients to participate more fully in the process of creating a safer, better experience. And it has allowed people with obscure conditions to connect, find support, share ideas. These are excellent applications of the Internet that improve the quality of health and the experience for patients.

The Internet has forced many physicians to change and has clearly decreased our dependence on the 'Dr is always right' mentality. In my own practice where education has always been my focus, the Internet has benefited me and supported the concept of access to information being essential to improving health.

Now the focus of my practice has switched from, 'where can I get more information' to 'I saw this on the Internet, is it true?' The information overload, conflicting advice and information, data provided without context, and potentially false information crafted to look credible are all hazards of this new tool in healthcare.

The Internet, like almost everything else in life, has the capacity for health or harm. But which side of the fence you come down on has everything to do with your own personal choices. Essentially everything relating to health on the Internet is true for someone. The question is: is it true for you? Here are some things to consider. Figure out the purpose of your Internet use, to self treat or to gather more knowledge, and use that to modify how seriously you take what you read. If you are in a fact-seeking mode, simply review a wide range of opinions and make a decision about what you think. Make a list of questions to run by your physician next visit.

Using the Internet to self diagnose and treat is a bit more risky. On the Internet you often bypass the cautions and risks that are a part of the practitioners knowledge. Because of this people often call in crisis after trying something that went wrong. Lots of the medical advice and ideas printed are frankly dangerous. On the other hand, saving money and time and hassle by figuring something out on your own can be pretty empowering and assist you on your journey to becoming more self reliant in healthcare.

Match the seriousness of your condition with the risk of the treatment. Almost anyone can try a remedy for an occasional headache. But no one should be tackling the complex interplay of hormones by slathering on some natural cream they bought online. Endocrinology is much more complex than that and the effect of upsetting hormone balance is significant. Think cancer risk.

Consider how Internet access has changed your views on healthcare and affected the healthcare you access. Identify things that have benefited you and look for ways to expand those habits. Recognize how Internet Information has adversely affected your health and set some guidelines to protect yourself. Used correctly and with a little bit of caution, this tool can be a significant benefit.

Cookbook Medicine

I talk a lot about 'cookbook' Medicine. Cookbook medicine is symptom based supressive medicine. It is based on a model of care that is similar to simply following a recipe. A symptom is identified and matched to a drug that removes that symptom. Think, for example, of a migraine headache. You take a migraine medication that stops you from experience the pain. But the cause of the migraine is not addressed and not considered important.

Cookbook medicine is mainstream American Healthcare because it supports the pharmaceutical industry ( treatment consists of long term drug therapy ), supports insurance ( matching symptoms to drugs can be done in a 5 minute office visit ), and creates repeat business for the physician. Pretty much the entire healthcare system benefits from cookbook medicine.

The only thing not addressed by cookbook medicine is healthcare. Healthcare, the promotion of health,  means healing people so that they don't NEED ongoing drug therapy. Determination of underlying causes and solving health problems so they go away takes time. Physicians need time to do a comprehensive intake, require a significantly higher level of skill and training, and make a significantly greater investment in a patient. Patients must participate in their care and often are called to make changes once causative problems are identified.

The impact of this type of care which is essentially 'disease care' is not limited to MD's. The Natural Health Movement lends itself to a cookbook approach. Instead of taking a drug to stop a symptom, you take a natural substance to cover up the symptom.

The reason Naturopathic Medicine is critical of 'cookbook' style medicine is because it is in conflict with the philosophical Principles of Naturopathic Medicine. These principles include finding the cause, restoring balance, promoting responsibility and education for patients, etc. Naturopathic Medicine's objective is to promote health by providing Health Care.

Home Pharmacy and Global Care

One of the basic tools that we wish to develop for our Global Care Clients is how to stock, maintain, and use a successful home pharmacy. The value of this tool cannot be overestimated. Many times crises or emergencies hit when you least expect them.... and the last thing you want to do at that time of stress is scramble for what you need.

Learning to use basic healing tools with the support of a physician walking you through a crisis is a very effective teaching tool. The most effective home pharmacies build slowly over time, a few versatile and multi use products or modalities at a time. Mastery of these tools is coupled with an understanding of how an injury or illness progresses; and how it is impacted by being supported or confronted at various stages.

In order to get the most out of your time with us, consider Global Care a class on healing. I hope the following tips will help:

1. take advantage of being able to text as needed and text often with updates, questions, observations.
2. set up a home pharmacy and master basic skills by attending our educational classes and texting with minor ailments or early in the course of an illness.
3. study Naturopathic Principles and learn to apply them.
4. practice, practice, practice.

Detoxification and Healing

Many traditional healing practices employ the use of fasting, restricted diets, detoxification, cleansing or purification. This becomes more critical in todays world where the foundation of an increasing numbers of diseases is excess intake of calories and excessive exposure to toxic elements. Detoxification or fasting is at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum from overindulgence or the overwhelming effect of massive amounts of chemicals. Practicing two opposing extremes creates a balance of sorts. Alleviating the pressure excessive toxins put on the human system often decreases symptoms and restores a natural state. Detoxification often reverses the cause of disease.

There are many types of cleanses, all indicated in different circumstances for different people. While most cleansing 'programs' do little to actually remove toxins from the body; the accompanying diet usually is significantly healthier than the Standard American Diet (SAD). The additions of fibers and increased hydration also have significant benefits. So most detoxification programs have an overall beneficial effect.

The trick to having a lasting improvement with detoxification is careful planning. If you detox for a week or two and then return to your regular routine, any benefit you have will be transient. If you incorporate changes into your daily routine; restricting unhealthy foods ( i.e. avoiding refined sugars); increased fiber intake; good hydration; then you can accomplish an increased level of health.

Medically supervised detoxification programs are proven to remove toxins from your body. These usually employ products that chemically alter toxins and convert them into a water soluble form so they can be eliminated. These programs have dramatic lasting effects and need only be repeated every 5 years under normal circumstances. They usually target more specific pathology and utilize customized diets and other detoxification methods.

Healthy by Nature provides customized detoxification programs in our signature program, Achieving Perfect Health. Look online for the next start date.

There's Nothing Wrong With You! Where is Dr Right?

The official diagnosis for anyone presenting with something a physician doesn't know about, doesn't understand, or that cannot be treated is 'Nothing Wrong' disease. This is one of the most common diseases treated in my practice. The Nothing Wrong Disease, is an intensely frustrating condition. The patient has symptoms that limit them in some way. They see the appropriate professional for the situation. Maybe lab work is done. Maybe just a history. Perhaps a physical exam. But in the end you do not say and do the right things to fit into one of the diagnosis boxes that your practitioner knows about.... So you are diagnosed with the dreaded Nothing Wrong and moved along.

I could write a book on this because the majority of my patients have had this experience. I was fortunate enough to encounter this myself .... A compassion building exercise all physicians should experience to fully understand how totally disempowering and frustrating it is. But, there IS a remedy for this. Educate yourself on what is reasonable to expect from a physician and be a better consumer. There are good and bad doctors out there. Some physicians will be a better match for you than others. Here are some tips on finding Dr. Right.

1. Remember you are the expert on your condition, you are paying to get help, you have the right to find someone who treats people instead of just identifying diseases. People are unique. If you have been told nothing is wrong by several practitioners, you may just have an atypical presentation of something common or a combination of conditions that make a confusing mix of symptoms. Remember that Medical Education trains doctors to piece together puzzles, make a diagnostic call, and connect that to drugs or therapy. But most physicians are not trained to really think. Find someone who sees you, talks to you, and has not forgotten how to think.

2. The Doctor is always right, meaning you - by default, are always wrong. This bias that physicians are experts and know everything is not necessarily the case and don't buy into it. Ego is often a significant contributing factor to being diagnosed with 'Nothing Wrong'. You are the expert on your condition, a physician who does not recognize that and bases his assumptions on lab work or his limited knowledge alone while you have clear symptoms often misses the boat completely.

3. Repeat offenders. If you make the circuit, moving from doctor to doctor looking for answers, your chart may follow you and bias every doctor you see. If the first doctor diagnoses you with Nothing Wrong then you are a malingerer, mentally unstable, depressed, or a hypochondriac. Reading this prior to seeing you biases subsequent practitioners who also add notes, adding credibility to the idea that nothing is wrong and repeating your list of 'issues'. If you are seeking a second opinion, don't let a doctor who doesn't believe you refer you on... Get an unbiased second opinion and don't share chart information so you know your record is not affecting the ability of others to see the situation with fresh eyes.

4. Don't be afraid to travel or seek care from far afield. Today physicians can easily communicate with patients all over the world. If you can't get care in your own community, look around, travel somewhere else.... Thinking physicians often have practices that people travel long distances to access.

5. Remember that our current medical paradigm is all about symptom suppression. We don't make people better. We keep them sick and make them comfortable by covering up problems with long term drug therapy. This insures repeat business, requires ongoing monitoring, and basically creates dependence on a physician to maintain 'health'. Many people who have 'Nothing Wrong' actually are seeking something conventional medicine does not offer - genuine healing. Solving a problem instead of suppressing it with medications. This is not part of the training of a conventional physician, so seek qualified alternative providers who understand the concept of restoring health.

Acute Care

Naturopathic Medicine is excellent for an acute crisis and trauma. However it is not easy to bring a new patient up to speed in the middle of an emergency, so crisis care is more appropriate for existing patients. Think ahead!

Many people think that Naturopathic Medicine is not strong enough or fast enough to manage severe conditions. Living in Idaho, where the Laws are restrictive and unfavorable for trained Naturopathic Physicians, has given me the opportunity to provide emergency care in a wide variety of  situations - often beyond the line of what I have been trained to do (again why we 'practice' medicine and keep learning from our patients). Even though I believe in this type of care to my core... I still feel awe when it works so well.

Although I was trained in appropriate medical technology, which included the appropriate use of ALL medical tools including antibiotics, drugs and surgery.... in Idaho my access is restricted and I have often encountered patients who were unwilling to utilize those forms of medicine due to religious beliefs or philosophical orientation. As a result I have had the opporunity to TEST Naturopathic Medicine in the field under extreme conditions... and IT WORKS!

Since Naturopathic Medicine treats people not diseases, the appropriate course of care for one condition can take an infinite variety of forms.... part of providing individualized care requires looking at the unique needs of the individual, their family, their community, and their environment in light of the existing crisis. What are their beliefs (religious and cultural), what are their resources (internal, family, financial, etc), what is their objective (getting well before a trip, resolving a chronic disease that flares up repeatedly, etc), and perhaps most importantly - what is the vitality of  health and the commitment to fixing the problem?

Here are a few thoughts when considering Naturopathic Care for Acute situations.

Prevention, prevention, PREVENTION! How do you prevent acute crisis? Three ways: 1 stop it in it's tracks! By having a home dispensary and attending classes you can usually intervene and prevent a small issue from becoming serious just as it is starting; 2 By increasing general health you are better able to successfully manage a crisis.  That is the advantage of having a physician who promotes wellness. 3. It's who you know! Having a relationship with a physician you can reach immediately during crisis is essential. Without support and advice, you are left making decisions on your own when you are least able to be thinking clearly.

When you start to recognize the strengths and weaknses of you health, it is easy to predict what conditions combine to create a crisis and what it will be. It doesn't take a crystal ball to figure out the weakest link in a person's constitution. In Western medicine, symptoms are suppressed with drugs...anti-histamines, pain medications, cough suppressants, antibiotics.... so we fail to recognize the VALUE of symptoms and the clues they give us about how the body is reacting....symptoms are like the early warning fire alarm of a bigger problem! When we stop ignoring or covering up the warning, we access the protective mechanisms that God put in our body to KEEP US HEALTHY! Instead of waiting for the house to catch fire to act, symptoms (fire alarms) allow us to see risk, make predictions and make choices that change your health destiny. If you don't understand this, disease seems like a random occurrance that is inconvenient and innevitable and disempowering.

Who do you know? I grew up with a father that was a physician who DID housecalls. As a kid I went along with him and played with the kids in the family while my Dad worked. My kids have grown up the same way. Illness is best managed at home with the physician going to you. Why get a really sick kid with a ruptured eardrum UP to wait in line with a bunch of sick people in an ER at 3 AM? Is that healthcare? Acute care at Healthy by Nature includes a high level of accessibility. Patients access me in a variety of ways to get their needs met, but ACCESS is the key. When you are scared, sick, and uncertain; regardless of your orientation or health goals.... you need an advocate, someone who knows you, to reassure and give advice and remind you that have what you need to minister to yourself or your family providing EXCEPTIONAL healthcare.

The Principles of Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic Medicine is a natural approach to health and healing that recognizes the integrity of the whole person.  Wellness is more than the absence of disease; it is fulfilling your highest potentialfor being  functional and balanced in body, mind and spirit. Naturopathic Medicine represents the "vitalistic" tradition of medicine in our Western world.  That is, it treats disease through the stimulation, increase, and support of the person's inherent healing capacity.  These treatments are chosen to work with the patients own abilities, respecting the body's natural healing processes.

The practice of Naturopathic Medicine includes six underlying principles of healing.  These are based on the observation of health and disease.  This observation process involves the use of modern scientific methodologies as well as traditional methods that have withstood the test of time.

The following principles make Naturopathic Medicine different from all other medical approaches:

First do No Harm: 
Primum Non Nocere

Illness has a purpose. The process of healing includes the generation of symptoms which are, in fact, an expression of the individual attempting to heal itself.  Therapeutic actions should be complementary to and synergistic with this healing process.  The physician's actions can support or antagonize the actions of the vis mediatrix naturae -- the healing power of Nature.  Therefore, methods designed to suppress symptoms without removing the underlying causes are considered harmful and to be avoided or minimized. Substances that are toxic or carry a high risk of side effects are considered in only extreme circumstances when the risk to the patient is justified by the extreme nature of the illness.

The Healing Power of Nature: 
Vis Mediatrix Naturae

God gave the body an inherent ability to establish, maintain, and restore health.  The healing process is ordered and intelligent; He heals through an innate response and desire to be balanced and productive.  The physician's role is to facilitate this process, identify and remove obstacles to health and recovery, and establish or restore a healthy internal and external environment.

Identify and Treat the Cause: 
Tolle Causam

Illness does not occur without cause.  Underlying causes of disease must be discovered and removed or treated before a person can recover completely from illness.  Symptoms are evidence of the body’s attempt to heal itself, but are not the cause of disease.  Symptoms, therefore, should not be suppressed by treatment.  Causes may occur on many levels including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.  The physician must evaluate fundamental underlying causes on all levels, directing treatment at root causes rather than at symptomatic expression.

Heal the Whole Person: 
Tolle Totum

Health and disease are conditions of the whole organism, involving the complex interaction of many factors.  The Naturopathic Physician must treat the whole person by taking these factors into account.
  The harmonious functioning of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects are essential to 
recovery from and prevention of disease.  This requires a comprehensive approach to diagnosis and treatment.

The Physician as Teacher: 
Docere

A cooperative doctor-patient relationship has inherent therapeutic value.  The physician’s major role is to educate and encourage the patient to take responsibility for his or her own health.  The physician is a catalyst for healthful change, empowering and motivating the patient to assume responsibility for the healing process.  It is the patient, not the doctor, who ultimately promotes healing.  Teaching with hope, knowledge, and understanding; the physician acts to encourage patients to make choices that heal and promote knowledge that supports self-sufficiency in the future.


Prevention is the Best Cure

The ultimate goal of any health care system should be prevention of disease.  This is accomplished through education and promotion of life-habits that create good health.  The physician learns to assess risk factors, sharpen a patients deductive reasoning, and understand the patients circumstances.  Appropriate interventions are then sought to avoid further harm or risk to the patient.  Building health takes less energy and is more successful than fighting disease.

Healthcare and Healing Thyself

Healthcare and Healing Thyself

Healing yourself is complex and there are many possible paths... the purpose of this article is to explain our philosophy of care so that you can make an informed decision about your options. Unlike conventional medical care, Naturopathic Medicine is governed by the Principles of Naturopathic Medicine (click here to read about these principles).

Conventional medicine strives to alleviate symptoms, generally with the use of drugs. Naturopathic Medicine strives to promote and sustain exceptional health without the ongoing need for suppressive-symptom-relieving medication by solving underlying health problems. While conventional healthcare lends itself to short visits, prescribing drugs and minimal opportunity for the exchange of knowledge from physician to patient; Naturopathic Medicine is BASED on education, patient self responsibility and a healthy mutual relationship between doctor and patient.

Just as our philosophy is unique, so is the structure of our office and the nature of our interactions. In Naturopathic Medicine, rather than educating patients about diseases, we educate ourselves about the unique conditions of an individual. Since each patient is the expert on their symptoms, experience and health related goals; their input is essential to the partnership between physician and patient. The Physician is the expert in medical knowledge, diagnostics, therapeutics and brings to the table the experience of observing and learning from many people who have shared their journey towards better health. According to Naturopathic Medicine, the physician is the teacher who gains from the exchange of knowledge and the opportunity to 'practice'. The patient is the student who gains insight and acquires tools to maintain exceptional health in a long-term sustainable manner.

 Insight, Education and Change

 All journeys to exceptional health require insight, education and change. Although a standard medical office with many para-medical people assisting with care and the physician overseeing and briefly 'checking in' to reassure you that the treatment plan is THE option; a few people find the experience dissatisfying and...well unhealthy. That's because a system like this is dependent on symptom alleviation through constant medication.... or keeping patients sick but more comfortable with drugs. This is not the fault of managed care, physicians or patients; but a series of philosophical expectations and financial exchanges that have evolved to satisfy the needs and expectations of patients for convenience, speed, and consistency. I call this disease-care and it is the dominant form of medicine in the Western World.

Healthcare on the other hand USES symptoms as clues to find out WHY there is a problem, solves the underlying problem, and allows the body to restore a state of health. And THIS philosophy requires work on behalf of the patient, time devoted to education by the physician, and a relationship with a physician who considers wellness a process that unfolds at the pace most suitable to the patient. Naturopathic Healthcare is part of an ongoing process of learning how to be healthy. Unlike symptom suppression which is pretty uniform.... Tylenol suppresses headaches caused by a diverse range of conditions.... achieving exceptional health is highly individualized and requires special training not covered by conventional physicians.

What Services Does Healthy by Nature Offer?

Healthy by Nature is an educational program including group study, individual consultation, acute care support, and access to the Naturopathic Formulary of tools and resources. The expectation is that you will take responsibility for your healing and access as many resources as possible from our office. While healing times vary depending on severity of disease and length of illness, most patients can expect to spend approximately 2 years studying healthcare to get to the point where they need only minor and occasional support.

Rather than bill fee for service, which penalizes for preventive care, asking of questions, accumulation of knowledge, and makes healthcare costs uncertain; we provide Global Care packages that include all fees except medications and labs. Clients pay a monthly fee for unlimited service and renew each 6 months as needed.

Is Naturopathic care appropriate for all conditions? 
I believe all people benefit from improving their health, increasing their level of education, and receiving support for their state of well being. We treat people not diseases so 'what' you have matters less to me than 'who' you are. Often people focus on a quick solution to alleviate symptoms and forget that symptoms often indicate significant underlying problems. Because of this I do not 'list' conditions I have treated. Instead I work best with people that are highly motivated, want to learn, take responsibility for their health and desire exceptional health.

If you read this and think.... I don't need all that, I just want to focus on this one issue.... then holistic care is not for you. If you seek a dominant practitioner who tells you what to do and you don't have to think about it.... then I am not a good match. And if you are content to take medication indefinitely in return for living your current lifestyle, then achieving a state of exceptional health is not your priority. 


.

The importance of Teaching in Naturopathic Medicine

The word 'doctor' derives it's Latin root from the verb to teach, 'docere'. Teaching is integral to Naturopathic Medicine and is another thing that sets it apart from many other medical systems.

Why teach classes? The aim of Naturopathic Medicine is to teach people how to get well and stay well. Unlike conventional healthcare which strives to manage symptoms with drug therapy, surgery, etc... Naturopathic Medicine strives to make you genuinely well so you don't NEED to take things to feel good. This can be drugs, herbs or any variety of natural substances.... if you are taking it to alleviate symptoms and not addressing underlying causes...it's NOT Naturopathic!

Classes transfer the tools of healthcare to the consumer! Physicians dispense drugs and surgery... 'agents' of health creating a dependency relationship where you feel you NEED physicians to be healthy. Naturopathic Medicine puts the tools of health in YOUR hands (after all it's healthcare, NOT rocket science, right?). Although this increases the responsibility of the patient and requires an investment in education (classes, mentoring, experience),.... it fosters self sufficiency. And then physicians can be free to use their skill solving more complicated problems that require more knowledge than a non-medical person would have. In other words, making a business of promoting self sufficiency in healthcare will NOT put you out of business as a physician!

Another reason classes are essential is because of individuality! In conventional healthcare, treatment focuses on the diagnosis because naming a disease and matching it with a drug is the promotion of healthcare today. But Naturopathic treatment focuses on PEOPLE, and what a particular disease says about your unique constitution. We want to know what is happening so we can solve the problems. Another way to think of allopathic medicine is 'Cookbook Medicine'... you have a symptom and look up what takes it away (equally dysfunctional for Rx drugs, OTC drugs, Herbs, supplements, and other natural substances) and everyone who has that symptom is treated with one of a few options. But in Naturopathic Medicine, we ask: Why? Why you? Why now? Why this? These questions address innate sensitivities or weaknesses, lifestyle choices that may not promote wellbeing, and external influences that harm the body. Without asking these questions, Drugs (or herbs) become substances to cover up poor choices and ignore essential issues while overall vitality continues to decline. Classes give people the knowledge to make day to day choices that BUILD good health by customizing healthcare to work for an individual.

Lastly classes create a teaching environment, a mentorship relationship, where a beginner in the art of healing can pair up with an experienced healer who shares knowledge. Passing along a knowledge of healthcare is the point of medicine.

Naturopathic Medicine is a more complete path to wellness.... And it's goal is EXCEPTIONAL HEALTH brought about and maintained by knowledge and self responsibility.

Last Resort Doctor

I am sure that being the 'last resort' could be viewed much like the last pick when choosing teams for softball.... And may not be very flattering. But that's not how I choose to look at it. After several years in private practice I started to notice my 'best' patients were the ones who came in after they'd already seen everyone else.... And not really gotten the help they needed.

It's frustrating to be told there's nothing you can do....or worse....that there is nothing wrong when you KNOW all is not well with your body. People who experience this often feel that they are a failure instead of recognizing that our medical system has failed them.

Our medical system is designed for people who fit neatly into a diagnostic box and respond well to suppressive therapy. And honestly, we would not be able to even have a healthcare system unless the majority of people in this country accepted this system as their best option. But what about the ones who don't fit neatly into a box? Or that don't respond as expected? Or that just want something more from their healthcare?

Well, the people outside of the box actually 'fit' in our practice because we ARE out of the box thinkers. We look at healthcare from a different perspective and we treat people, not diseases. Challenging cases require more effort and time.... So we have set up a different way of interacting with our patients, a unique and individualized approach to better health called Global Care. No elaborate claims or promises, our goal is to help you reach your potential in good health.