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What is NOW
Medicine? It’s an integrated, wellness approach for both
evaluating people and treating them, as well as the way doctors go
about practicing medicine. N-O-W stands for Natural, Oriental,
and Western; it also stands for Nutrition, Optimal Health, and
Wellness. NOW Medicine is about providing the best healthcare from
what is currently available.
NOW Medicine
is a practical approach about the healthcare system and how to
make it work better for patients/consumers and for
doctors/practitioners. NOW Medicine has three parts:
- The
Politics and Economics of Healthcare, i.e. the big picture, and
this includes insurance;
- The
Individual Medical Practice and how to make it more health based
and less stressful for the doctors and staff while keeping the
patients out of expensive crisis care; and
- How to
deal with common problems that need an Integrated Approach since
Western Medicine alone does not address them successfully. These
health conditions include Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Recurrent
Infections, Hormonal and Energy Imbalances, and many early
Chronic Diseases, such as Diabetes, Hypertension, and High
Cholesterol. Prevention, of course, works best in all these
areas.
How do we
motivate people toward health? How can medical practices focus on
health care over disease care? It involves going beyond just
treating at end results, which are the symptoms and illnesses that
people experience. This requires focusing the practice beyond the
cookbook approach of “Name the disease and apply the drug therapy”
to more personalized health care and patient participation. This
takes listening and guiding patients with appropriate and
practical steps.
We can
improve upon the health insurance system and patient outcomes by
addressing the major issue of personal responsibility. We can no
longer accept the approach of “uninformed and unaware patients
turning over their power to doctors to manage their health” (or
even their diseases). Since many Western physicians are trained to
manage and treat disease, they often don't have the time or
experience to practice in a healthier way. Therefore, it is our
own interest to become involved personally in our health care to
help focus the testing and treatment more upon improving health.
I have
changed my approach to more “cooperative, health-based medical
care” that both involves and educates my patients. The Preventive
Medical Center of Marin is focused on this concept of involving
you in your integrated health care.
What do
you do NOW to Stay Healthy? I stay well by eating well and
exercising, stretching, and lowering my stresses, in part with a
better attitude of staying in the flow of life. I take a variety
of supplements, especially in regard to lowering my cardiovascular
risk, and I have massage and acupuncture throughout the year,
keeping me balanced and vital. Take care of yourselves. It’s worth
it!
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