Can we become health consumers?

Here in the US, we consider ourselves active consumers.  We make conscious decisions and choices about the things we buy ourselves or our families. Before we buy something, we often do research, we compare prices and product quality, and we ultimately select what best suits our wants or needs.  But when we are considering caring for our own health needs, are we taking as much time considering what is best for our own body and mind?

Our Jill’s List guest blogger this week is Scott Cedeno.  Scott, a Licensed Acupuncturist and founder of Beacon Street Acupuncture, examines the shift from passive patient to active healthcare consumers, where “individuals are capable of making real and lasting changes to their health and well being.”

The face of healthcare in America is currently undergoing major change. More and more, individuals are seeking out care beyond the standard Biomedical interventions that their Doctor’s office commonly provides. However, patients often wade into the unfamiliar waters of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), without sufficient guide posts to mark their way.

The world of CAM can be a strange and mystical place, laden with new and unfamiliar information and concepts. It is populated by a variety of treatment types and modalities, characterized for their safety, efficacy and power. Some modalities, such as Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, stem from traditional medical systems and have ancient origins. Others, such as Chiropractic and Massage Therapy, have a more contemporary genesis.

Though many treatment practices and perspectives exist within the greater field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, numerous fundamental similarities exist. They  serve to unite these disparate and varied disciplines into a unified perspective, as well as to distinguish them as unique from standard Western Biomedical care. Two prime examples include:

1.      A Holistic understanding of the individual

The term Holistic is pervasive throughout contemporary culture, and its use extends into the realm of cliché. However, it is a principle factor in the formulation of a CAM perspective. Patients are seen and understood as individuals, who’s health exists across the entire spectrum of their being. This spectrum  is composed of an intricate and interrelated web of  physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual components. The compartmentalization and hyper specialization that exists within the Biomedical model remains un-emphasized. This allows for individual CAM practitioners to serve as providers for a wide range of health concerns that a patient may have.

2.      The increased role and responsibility of the patient in their own healthcare

All too often, patients engaged in Biomedical care are passive recipients of this care. Procedures are done to a patient; they are preformed on a patient. Consequently, care becomes reactive and intervention based. Conversely, CAM modalities strongly emphasize the increased role and responsibility of the patient in their own heath and well being. This shifts the emphasis from a reactive form of medicine to a proactive one; from a intervention based standpoint to a prevention based one.

As patients increasingly continue to choose CAM options for their healthcare needs, they begin to understand their own health and well being differently. Physical concerns are seen in light of emotional correlates; psychological imbalances are gleaned through a physical lenses. Patients perceive themselves as primary stakeholders in their own health, with a powerful and justified voice concerning the type of care they receive. Through exposure to CAM options, individuals see themselves less as the passive recipients of intervention based care, and more as active agents, capable of making real and lasting changes to their health and well being. They transcend the modern understating of patient and become a healthcare consumer, with the ability to make educate and informed choices about what treatment types are right for them.

The  key to this transition, however, lies in access to both useful and reliable information about CAM options. This is true for both patients, as well as Biomedical providers. For patients, it is important to be able to effectively select what type of CAM modality and practitioner is right for them. For Doctors and Biomedical providers, it is important to understand and be familiar with the capacity and potential of various CAM modalities, when and how to make referrals to CAM providers, and how best to communicate with these providers about patient care.

As healthcare in America continues to change, both patents and providers have a unique opportunity to shape the way in which we provide care for each other.

About Scott Cedeno:

Scott received a B.A. in Philosophy from Boston College, a Master of Acupuncture degree from the New England School of Acupuncture, as well as Diplomate status in Acupuncture from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.  He specialized in Japanese Acupuncture, focusing on 5 Phase Meridian Therapy, Extraordinary Vessel and Extra Channel Polarizations, Channel Divergences, and Muscle-Tendon Meridian Treatments.

Scott recently completed a Certificate of Advanced Study in Pain Topics with a Policy Specialization from Tufts University School of Medicine. The program focused on the examination and understanding of the complex issues and unique challenges associated with both chronic and acute pain conditions.  He currently has a private practice at Beacon Street Acupuncture in Brookline, MA.

How does one find a good Complementary and Alternative Medicine practitioner?  Typically, patients have conversations with friends about their health issues – their aches, their pains, their moods or headaches, and so on. Until recently rarely did recommendations or referrals to CAM practitioners came from a patient’s primary care physician, but instead came from a trusted friend whom had tried a treatment for a similar condition. So the burden to find a CAM practitioner has traditionally fallen on the patient. While history is beginning to change as MDs are taking a more integrative approach to health, many patients are still faced with the challenge of locating credible and trusted CAM practitioners on their own.

At Jill’s List, we are helping patients find credible CAM practitioners in their area, assisting hospitals in the referral process, and providing an online space for practitioners to be more accessible to patients.  But we understand patients (old and new to CAM) are still uncertain how to proceed and establish a trusting relationship with a practitioner.  We reached out to the Jill’s List community of experienced practitioners and advisors to share their thoughts on best practices for assessing a CAM practitioner.

Mark Hyman, MD , Founder of the Ultrawellness Center in Lenox is dedicated to identifying and addressing the root causes of chronic illness through a whole-systems medicine approach called Functional Medicine.  Regular and ongoing communication with his patients is essential to caring for his patients’ needs.

“When meeting with a CAM practitioner for the first time, feeling apprehensive or uneasy about a new treatment is not unusual; however, the practitioner should make every effort to make the patient feel comfortable and at ease from the first meeting.  To help reduce any concern, the patient should come armed with questions about the practitioner’s practice, experience, various treatments offered, expectations during and after treatment, and projected results. Open communication between a practitioner and patient is essential to treating individual needs and creating wellness.”

Dr. Hyman’s advice is sound and underpins the positive experience I recently had with Scott Cedeno of Beacon Street Acupuncture, whom practices Japanese Acupuncture. Until my appointment with Scott, I was only familiar with Chinese Acupuncture otherwise known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which strengthens and harmonizes the flow of qi (energy) in the body by the insertion of very fine needles into specific points or meridians. While Japanese Acupuncture also uses some light needling and Moxibustion, it is based on a “root/branch” approach to healing, which seeks points on the body that may be the root cause affecting a certain “branch” of one’s system.   I was honestly not sure what to expect from the treatment, but Scott immediately put me at ease with his kind demeanor and his effort to keep me informed throughout the treatment. There was a lot of two-way communication prior, during, and after my treatment which made me feel like a participant in the healing process and eliminated any insecurities I may have had.

Scott is also a practitioner participating in our Comprehensive Medicine for All program at Jill’s List. As part of the CMA program, Scott is apt to meet with patients both experienced and inexperienced with complementary care.  Important to Scott is having a holistic understanding of each individual patient.

“Patients are seen and understood as individuals, who’s health exists across the entire spectrum of their being. This spectrum  is composed of an intricate and interrelated web of  physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual components. The compartmentalization and hyper specialization that exists within the Biomedical model remains un-emphasized. This allows for individual CAM practitioners to serve as providers for a wide range of health concerns that a patient may have.”

Experience, education and credentials are also key factors in selecting a practitioner according to John de Kadt,  licensed Acupuncturist , Chinese Herbalist, Ayurvedic Consultant and Living Food Nutritionist from Canyon Ranch. John understands the importance of finding a practitioner that best suits the patient’s needs.  “Call the practitioner in advance and ask them if they have worked with treating your health concern before.  Having at least 5 years experience in their field of work is an important qualification. Finally, while some conditions take longer than others to treat, you should feel some benefit or improvement after 7-10 treatments. If not, you may consider exploring another practitioner whom may take a different approach.”

Have you had a positive experience with a practitioner?  What made you feel confident in your choice?

Share your story with us!