Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Could alternative medicine practitioners take the lead in health policy?

Emily Lu
Physician
April 12, 2011
34 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Recently, I attended a conference on integrative medicine. It was a lovely conference and I learned a lot: about Chinese therapies used for cancer, about osteopathic manipulation, and about the growing community of doctors that respect the value of complimentary medicine practices and are working to integrate them into their general practice.

I also left with a sense of dissatisfaction with what I know of the allopathic medical education experience and a series of questions about how it is taught.

For example:

1. Why isn’t the musculoskeletal system covered more in allopathic medical school? As highlighted by a recent article featured on Kevin MD.com, allopathic medical students graduate with very little confidence in their abilities to help with musculoskeletal issues. This is alarming given that back pain is one of the top complaints that bring people to their doctors (and that I’m learning the musculoskeletal exam right now and am kind of terrified if that is the only exposure I am going to get to those issues).

 

The article rightly points out that DO students graduate with greater confidence in their ability to deal with musculoskeletal issues, but offers few solutions. Should we all have gone to DO school? Why aren’t allopathic schools or residency/fellowship programs offering more chances to learn osteopathic manipulation? A Google search revealed one abstract about an osteopathic elective for allopathic family medicine residents but no signs of whether this program has continued or whether any other programs like this exist.

2. Why isn’t nutrition a bigger part of conventional medical school education? I realize that time is limited in the world of medical education. However, nutrition plays a huge rule not only in obesity, the biggest public health epidemic of our time, but also, according to Dr. Dean Ornish, nutrition could also be huge in preventing heart disease and prostate cancer. Yet as of 2004, medical students across the US only averaged about 24 contact-hours of nutrition education during medical schools

On average, that may not sound so bad, but it does mean that over half of the schools that responded to the 2004 survey required 20 contact-hours or less of nutrition education. Considering at least two of those hours will just be a list of the biochemical properties of the major vitamins (because I know my “nutrition education” at medical school certainly included that), it is a bit inexcusable why we don’t learn more about nutrition. For one thing, our future patients will already know that being fat is bad for you and that you should take your vitamins. If anything, that should be where our nutrition education starts, and not where it ends!

3. Why is alternative medicine still considered a therapy for the rich? This is partly a rhetorical question because obviously, a great deal of insurance-related policy is behind the reason that most alternative medicine practices are paid for out-of-pocket. Even if Medicaid currently pays for chiropractice or acupuncture treatments in some states, that does not mean that they pay as much as people are willing to pay out-of-pocket or that they would pay for the lengthy personal follow-up visit that is required for the personal, holistic approach intrinsic to basically all therapies that fall under the umbrella of complementary and alternative medicine.

 

The doctors that presented at the conference seemed to accept this approach to offering complementary therapies. One even mentioned that not accepting insurance was the compromise that she had to make with her institution to allow her to continue to take as much time with her patients as she felt was needed. I felt that this acceptance was easy in the hospital where the conference takes place, surrounded as it is by downtown Chicago and its office buildings and condos made of glass and stone. Yet I wonder how such a comment would sit if we held the conference at my home institution next year, surrounded as it is by the Chicago Southside community and its very different set of demographic considerations.

In the end, I was left wondering about alternative medicine’s reticence regarding policy concerns. I recognize that this could be a skewed view presented by this particular conference (whose emphasis was on building awareness and warm feelings towards medical students towards alternative medicine), but I could not help wondering, are we really doing everything we can to better protect the time that a doctor spends with a patient? What would happen if doctors advocated for greater access to processed foods? Aren’t these areas where alternative medicine practitioners could lead in policy changes that all physicians should be hoping for?

Given how difficult it (apparently) was for doctors to even present a united front on health care reform last year, I recognize that it would also be difficult for doctors to rally around these seemingly simple policy issues. But I wonder – has it ever been tried? And if not, why not?

Emily Lu is a medical student who blogs at Medicine for Change.

Submit a guest post and be heard on social media’s leading physician voice.

Prev

Physician reputation management starts in the office

April 12, 2011 Kevin 7
…
Next

Google affects how clinicians and the public collect diagnostic information

April 12, 2011 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Primary Care, Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Physician reputation management starts in the office
Next Post >
Google affects how clinicians and the public collect diagnostic information

More by Emily Lu

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    The ethics of social media use for the medical profession

    Emily Lu
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Addressing the needs of the disadvantaged in our health system

    Emily Lu
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Are medical students responsible for the primary care shortage?

    Emily Lu

More in Physician

  • Finding peace through surrender: a personal exploration

    Dympna Weil, MD
  • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

    Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH
  • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

    Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD
  • How to overcome telemedicine’s biggest obstacles

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • The patient who became my soulmate

    Anonymous
  • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

    Jean Antonucci, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • Lifestyle change: the forgotten solution in health care

      Tyler Petersen | Conditions
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Contract Diagnostics is the only firm 100 percent dedicated to physician contract reviews

      Contract Diagnostics | Sponsored
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • How medical student loan forgiveness can advance health equity [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The rise of generative AI in health care: Here’s what you need to know

      Anil Saldanha | Tech
    • Finding peace through surrender: a personal exploration

      Dympna Weil, MD | Physician
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 23 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Heart Failure's Obesity Paradox Falls Apart on Further Inspection
  • Nobody Wants This Job. Should Physicians Stick Around?
  • Early Postpartum IUD Placement Yields Low Complete Expulsion Rate
  • Hydrocortisone Reduced Mortality in Patients With Severe Pneumonia
  • Obesity Tied to Density of Food Stores Carrying Less Healthy Options, Report Finds

Meeting Coverage

  • Trial of Novel TYK2 Inhibitor Hits Its Endpoint in Plaque Psoriasis
  • Durable Vitiligo Responses With Topical Ruxolitinib
  • High Rates of Psoriasis Clearance With Investigational TYK2 Inhibitor
  • Rapid Improvement in Atopic Dermatitis With Topical PDE4 Inhibitor
  • New Approaches in the Bladder-Sparing Paradigm
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • Lifestyle change: the forgotten solution in health care

      Tyler Petersen | Conditions
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Contract Diagnostics is the only firm 100 percent dedicated to physician contract reviews

      Contract Diagnostics | Sponsored
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • How medical student loan forgiveness can advance health equity [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The rise of generative AI in health care: Here’s what you need to know

      Anil Saldanha | Tech
    • Finding peace through surrender: a personal exploration

      Dympna Weil, MD | Physician
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Could alternative medicine practitioners take the lead in health policy?
23 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...