There are more people alive today than have ever been on the earth, and with the ever-growing population comes an ever-growing pool of new diseases and disorders. Stresses on our bodies have become more frequent and more hazardous, along with an increase in unhealthy lifestyles. Healthcare professions are continually in high demand as it takes a lot to keep so many people healthy. With all this change in the medical world, where do people turn when faced with health issues? With a paradigm shift from full reliance on doctors and hospitals to greater independence, people have started going down less traditional medical paths. Alternative medicine is any kind of treatment not regarded as orthodox by the medical profession. Complementary medicine
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Alternative medicine in general is growing in popularity and advocacy, as even over a decade ago the New England Journal of Medicine reported that Americans pay more visits annually to alternative practitioners than to MDs (Chopra), but is this form of healthcare ethical?
Alternative medicine is becoming more and more favored every day because it is more personal, natural, new, and usually cheaper. Alternative medicine practitioners, commonly massage therapists, yogis, and experts in foreign medicine usually get to know their patients on a more personal level than doctors and surgeons. This enables them to find the exact ailment and more personalized solutions to their patients’ issues. Getting to know their patients not only establishes trust and safety, but also could help the patient as a whole by considering the conditions of their mind, spirit, and body. The patient is put more in charge of his or her wellbeing, “with the physician taking the role of the informed, beneficent guide” (Maizez). Interaction with a doctor or surgeon of …show more content…
The factions that vary in healthcare opinions are usually divided by spirit based vs. science-based treatment. Spirit based will favor holistic/alternative approaches, as they treat body, mind, spirit, and emotions wholly. Science based will seek technologically advanced and heavily researched approaches, traditional healing methods, and seek help through trained medical workers (“Complementary and Alternative Medicine”). Alternative medicine may have less research than traditional medicine, but this is only because of the great costs that medical research requires. Because most of alternative treatments are experimental and not proven, very few people are willing to pay for testing and research (Shackle). These methods are also not guaranteed through any form of insurance, and promises made by practitioners are not always upheld. The consistency of treatment is also debatable, as different practices have different specialists with varying quality levels. One major drawback of alternative medicine is that it requires more action from the patient. It is not simply a “pop-a-pill” approach – healing usually requires lifestyle changes including diet, exercise, meditation, etc. These are changes that most patients are unwilling to make as they take longer than traditional
Alternative medicine in general is growing in popularity and advocacy, as even over a decade ago the New England Journal of Medicine reported that Americans pay more visits annually to alternative practitioners than to MDs (Chopra), but is this form of healthcare ethical?
Alternative medicine is becoming more and more favored every day because it is more personal, natural, new, and usually cheaper. Alternative medicine practitioners, commonly massage therapists, yogis, and experts in foreign medicine usually get to know their patients on a more personal level than doctors and surgeons. This enables them to find the exact ailment and more personalized solutions to their patients’ issues. Getting to know their patients not only establishes trust and safety, but also could help the patient as a whole by considering the conditions of their mind, spirit, and body. The patient is put more in charge of his or her wellbeing, “with the physician taking the role of the informed, beneficent guide” (Maizez). Interaction with a doctor or surgeon of …show more content…
The factions that vary in healthcare opinions are usually divided by spirit based vs. science-based treatment. Spirit based will favor holistic/alternative approaches, as they treat body, mind, spirit, and emotions wholly. Science based will seek technologically advanced and heavily researched approaches, traditional healing methods, and seek help through trained medical workers (“Complementary and Alternative Medicine”). Alternative medicine may have less research than traditional medicine, but this is only because of the great costs that medical research requires. Because most of alternative treatments are experimental and not proven, very few people are willing to pay for testing and research (Shackle). These methods are also not guaranteed through any form of insurance, and promises made by practitioners are not always upheld. The consistency of treatment is also debatable, as different practices have different specialists with varying quality levels. One major drawback of alternative medicine is that it requires more action from the patient. It is not simply a “pop-a-pill” approach – healing usually requires lifestyle changes including diet, exercise, meditation, etc. These are changes that most patients are unwilling to make as they take longer than traditional