Holistic approach will heal health care
If our health care system were a patient, it would be on its deathbed. With current costs of $2 trillion per year — that’s $8,160 per person, per year — it’s clear that immediate intervention is required.
The health care-industrial complex
This crisis represents our ingrained focus on treating the critical symptom; right now, that “symptom” is the fact the 47 million Americans lack insurance. But what is the root cause of the crisis? Simple: We bought the party line that others know best when it comes to our health care. We handed over responsibility for our own personal health care to doctors, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and our government.
The way out
First, we must realize that our bodies are our responsibility. There is enough research to prove that lifestyle is the largest factor in our. Most of us service our vehicles better than our bodies.
When we acknowledge that our bodies are first our responsibility, we’ll start to see health care providers as service providers. We’re diligent at checking out the best deal for gas; we need to be that careful checking out who will give us the best return on our health care investment.
Second, we need to move beyond preventative health care to holistic health care. Societies from ancient China to modern Europe have applied the principles of holistic health to stay well.
Why the holistic health care model works
1. It is self-empowering. As people take responsibility, they see immediate results, and they are inspired to do more for themselves and their families. Their health becomes a hobby.
2. It is more economical. When you take responsibility, you make darn sure you’re getting your money’s worth. People go to acupuncture and pay out of their pockets because it works. When people are more pro-active, ineffective health care will disappear.
3. It is less invasive and ultimately safer. One hospital patient in 10 acquires a nosocomial infection (infections that are a result of treatment in a hospital), or two million patients a year. Not only is this a huge cost to our health care system, it can be a huge personal cost to the one in 10.
4. It treats the cause. More and more, conventional medicine is acknowledging the damaging effects of stress on the body. There is no drug to release stress, just drugs that suppress the symptoms. The only way to treat stress is to release it from the body, and then teach the body/mind not to reproduce it.
5. It will save us all money — in the short-run, and in the long-run. The cheapest health insurance is the health insurance that is not used. If we view our health as we do owning our home, we would do the maintenance and make improvements. Our bodies may not have any resale value, but what is more important than our bodies’ health?
With 38 percent of US adults using “alternative,” health care, its growth illustrates that more people are recognizing that their health is their best investment — especially when you consider that it’s often not paid for by insurance.
n Owen Marcus is a rolfer and health care blogger who lives in Sandpoint.