What Is the Future of Medicine?

Can medicine become more humanistic? Will third-party payment mechanisms continue to limit healthcare in ways that seem to devalue the importance of interpersonal relationships? Will compassionate people be driven out of medicine or decide to forgo medical training? How will medicine be effected by the consumer-driven movement toward complementary therapies? Is integrative medicine the answer?

I was asked to speak to the Leadership Minneapolis Health Care Day sponsored by the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce on the topic of Integrative Medicine. The Association for Integrative Medicine, defines integrative medicine as "diverse modalities such as Massage, Counseling, Reiki, Yoga, Shiatsu, Biofeedback, Chiropractic, Hypnosis, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, the Arts Therapies, Western Medicine and many others that work in conjunction with each other as part of a unified team rather than in competition."

Where does Pathways fit into this picture? Clearly the vast array of complementary therapies described above could be lifted from our Pathways Calendar. The distinction is that, in our setting, we do not tie our services together with medical services. I believe, however, that we can take great pride in our pioneering efforts which have positively influenced the amazing developments toward integrative medicine happening in the Twin Cities. This issue of Pathways News is focusing on some of those areas where Pathways providers and participants are directly involved. The future is promising.

Ever since the founding days of Pathways, our identity has been clear that we are a resource center as opposed to a medical clinic or treatment center. We offer education regarding complementary therapies, emotional support, spiritual/healing resources and self-empowering mind/body/spirit approaches primarily for persons dealing with life-threatening illness. We do not promote "alternative medicine" per se, nor do we become involved with product merchandising or distribution.

Our relationship with the medical community has always been important to us. Our Board of Directors and our Medical Advisory Committee were established to support this relationship. We have relied heavily upon the medical community as our source of referrals. I have often described Pathways as trying to keep one foot in the medical world while at the same time trying to challenge it to be more holistic, patient-centered and compassionate.

The Associative for Integrative Medicine makes a powerful claim that integrative medicine "ultimately will lead to safer, faster and more effective healthcare." There are many research efforts currently underway locally, nationally and worldwide attempting to provide concrete evidence supporting these claims. There are many hurdles to be overcome in adapting complementary therapies to fit into standard research protocols. However, using the Pathways experience as a case study, I believe there is strong evidence that integrative medicine can have positive effects in the following five areas: 1. Humanizing medicine 2. Increased quality of life 3. Potential to prolong life 4. Effective symptom management 5. Greater meaning/satisfaction for health care practitioners. We look forward to further validation of these claims as well as to future developments in this field thanks to all our pioneering "Friends"!