Still not buying into Functional Medicine?
So, you still are not buying into functional medicine?
Cleveland Clinic is!
"Functional medicine is a personalized, systems-oriented model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease."
"... physicians spend time with their patients, listening to their histories, mapping their personal timeline, and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex chronic disease.
Perhaps you have experienced being examined by your doctor, having blood tests done, x-rays or other diagnostic tests taken, only for your doctor to report back that “all your tests are normal”. Yet, both you and your doctor know that you are unwell
Unfortunately, this experience is all too common."
"The aim of Functional Medicine is to treat the entire body as a whole system and to use an understanding of common pathways of disease in a systems biology model to address fundamental causes, not just symptoms. This emerging model of diagnosis and treatment better matches the need to improve the management and prevention of chronic diseases."
Now, here is the question to ask. Is the Center for Functional Medicine integrated into Cleveland Clinic's medical and hospital system?
When I was at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for an esophagectomy in 2010, it had already established a Center for Integrative Medicine.
From the looks of it, the UPMC Center for Integrative Medicine it has grown significantly - meaning the number of practitioners has increased. However, in 2010, it was not "integrated" into the hospital system. I arranged for IV Vitamin C independent of this center. I also arranged for acupuncture via the Center DURING my hospital stay. The acupuncturist said that I was the first patient the Center had that was seen in the hospital.
Things are changing, but we are not there yet!
