For anyone who has ever visited a physician complaining of stress, muscle pain, joint pain, you likely expect more traditional and conventional means of treatment. You may expect your doctor to write you a prescription for anti-anxiety medication or a pain reliever. You may also expect your doctor to send you to physical therapy or give you an injection to relieve your pain. This is not always the case. More and more medical doctors ? MDs ? are turning to less conventional means of treatment to help get their patient?s on track to a healthier happier life. Concerned, don?t be.? MDs prescribing alternative medicine methods for their patients, but for themselves as well. A new study indicates that doctors and nurses are more likely to use alternative and complementary medicine more than any other professionals.
In a study conducted by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Harvard Medical School, research indicates that more than one-third of Americans are using at least one form of alternative or complimentary medicine. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center indicates that this number of likely to continue to rise based on the use of mind-body therapies. Mind-body therapies can include yoga, deep breathing exercises and meditation. Other mind-body therapies not included in this particular study are meditation, visualization techniques and a form of exercise known as tai chi.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center along with the Harvard Medical School have found that nearly one in 30 Americans who are using mind-body therapies are doing so at the advice of their medical provider. While there is good evidence to back the use of mind-body therapies, researchers were shocked to find how many medical providers were referring their patients to these forms of complementary medicine.
Many providers are referring their patients to these types of treatments as a last resort. When more conventional therapeutic treatments for a variety of health ailments fail, traditional medical doctors are more than willing to make the referral to a healthcare service outside of their normal scope of treatment. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center indicates that individuals referred to mind-body therapies by their healthcare providers are often sicker and spend more time and money on healthcare than those who self-refer to mind-body therapies. Researchers working on this study often wonder if pain and suffering of these patients could have been treated or prevented if doctor?s would consider the use of mind-body therapies early on in treatment and not wait to use these types of therapies as a last resort. However, this consideration has yet to be studied.
The data collected during this study indicates that mind-body therapies have become more of a mainstream approach to healthcare. However, more research is needed to provide patients and healthcare providers with accurate information when it comes to the use of mind-body therapies for a variety of health ailments.
In a 2011 study released in the august edition of Health Services Research journal, researchers have found that health care workers (including doctors and nurses) are more likely to use alternative and complementary medicine more than any other profession. This study indicates that 76 percent of health care workers have indicated they have tried a form of alternative medicine. Only 63 percent of the general public have given alternative and complimentary medicine a try.
This study surveyed 14,329 working adults; only 10 percent who were healthcare workers. The health care workers included doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, technicians, support workers and administrative personnel. According to the study, doctors and nurses were twice as likely to visit a complementary and alternative medicine health practitioner and three times more likely to self-treat with these methods.
According to Joya Lynn-Schoen, MD (a psychiatrist who practices alternative medicine), healthcare workers are more educated on the issues of alternative medicine. This makes these workers more likely to try out and use alternative medicine. The most common reason for a doctor or nurse to use alternative medicine is general wellness, followed by the expenses that come along with conventional medicine.
With lines crossed, alternative medicine and conventional medicine may provide an entirely new means of treating patients. Healthcare providers may be able to optimize the health of a whole person by combining traditional and alternative means of treatment.
References
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Providers Prescribing Nontraditional Medicine
Emax Health: Doctor?s Use Alternative Medicine More Than Other Workers





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