One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine. — Sir William Osler
Holistic medicine simply means taking a broad view of the patient and disease. Treat the patient as a whole and not as a 'disease case'. In holistic medicine, the aim is the comprehensive care of the patient in all areas, such as physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and economic aspects.
The word is derived from the Greek ‘holos’ which means entire, complete, whole. The word is not related to holy which means sacred or religious. It is not sacred or religious treatment, a common misunderstanding. I have seen an advertisement by a famous epilepsy clinic, which claims to cure epilepsy by 'pavitra' (holy) treatment.
It is not exclusive to any particular system of medicine but how a doctor practices his system. An allopath may practice with a holistic outlook, whereas a ‘vaidya’ (Ayurvedic medicine practitioner) may not.
For example, a person may come suffering from acid peptic ulcer disorder. The conventional practice may involve giving him a drug to inhibit the acid formation or to neutralize it, whether allopathic or of another system, such as Ayurveda. A holistic approach will be when along with drug treatment other factors are also considered and treated such as a change in lifestyle, diet, job, family or job counseling, stress management, etc.
A common confusion is with the term alternative or complementary medicine. These are medicine or therapy systems different from the accepted or conventional system. It may vary from country to country, e.g. Ayurveda is recognized by the government as one of the mainstream treatment systems in India but is classified as an alternative in other countries. Acupuncture is classified as an alternative or complementary therapy in most countries but in China, it is recognized as a mainstream therapy system.
The holistic approach is already enshrined in WHO definition of health given in as far back as 1948:
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".
Therefore ideally we should pay attention to the mental, social and spiritual aspects of illness in addition to just the physical ones.
Although this definition of health by WHO is quite old, why is holistic medicine in so much limelight now? The answer lies in the increasing incidence of lifestyle-associated diseases. In them, even with the best possible medication, there is a ceiling on effect. We need to address the faulty lifestyle for optimum effect. For example, in hypertension or high blood pressure, diet, exercise, mental relaxation, abstaining from tobacco, etc., plays an important role along with medication to get optimum control of the raised blood pressure and prevention of future complications.
There are many problems being faced by doctors in practicing holistic medicine. The most important problem is the lack of time by Indian doctors burdened with caring for such a large population. Another problem is the lack of training. Medical education by and large places most emphasis on the physical aspect of disease and its treatment by drugs or medicines. Some training is imparted in PSM or Community Medicine classes, but there the emphasis is more on maternal-child health and diseases under the national health programs.
The practice of medicine in a Holistic manner should be the goal of all medical practitioners regardless of whether belonging to the allopathic or other medical systems. It does have some concrete benefits for the patient and is not just something exotic or fashionable.
— ND
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DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purposes. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal, and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost.
DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purposes. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal, and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost and according to MCI and other Board norms.
