Lecture: A Vision for Integrative Health Care
Ralph Snyderman, M.D.
Today's health care system focuses on the treatment of flareups of chronic disease, says Ralph Snyderman, M.D., Chancellor Emeritus of Duke University and Professor of Medicine at Duke's School of Medicine. Dr. Snyderman believes the system is flawed because intervention often comes when the illness is serious, the costs are high, and the chances for cure are low.
Dr. Snyderman spoke on the National Institutes of Health campus as part of NCCAM's Distinguished Lecture Series, April 22, 2005. The title of his presentation was "Integrative Medicine: A Foundation for Prospective Health Care." As CEO of Duke University Health System from 1989 to 2004, Dr. Snyderman oversaw its development from a specialty hospital to an integrated health care delivery system that offers a wide range of community-based services, from primary care and wellness services to specialized and acute care.
Dr. Snyderman called for a shift to a more "prospective" approach to health care, in which health care providers assess each individual's health risks and create an individual treatment plan. He noted that CAM gives people potential tools to promote wellness and prevent disease.
He called for an integrative health care approach that draws on the best of evidence-based medicine but refocuses on the responsibility of the physician to involve the patient, the importance of compassion and caring, the willingness to consider nonconventional modalities with informed skepticism and scientific evaluation, and recognition of the importance of the mind-body relationship in well-being.
Dr. Snyderman's lecture has been archived on the Web and may be viewed at www.videocast.nih.gov (select "Past Events" and use "Search" to locate the lecture). The next NCCAM Distinguished Lecture will take place on October 28, 2005. (See Calendar for details.)
