Future Medicine: Integrating the New Science with the Art of Medicine
When illness cannot be explained by an obvious pathological change that can be rectified, then it is necessary to seek to understand and heal the patient rather than treat the disease. Complementary or Alternative therapies are person centered and apply therapies that treat the whole person rather then the illness. They seek an understanding of the patient and create the mental space to think things through and get well. While some of the individual methods may be difficult to validate scientifically, they all provide a focus of healing that instills confidence and the expectation of recovery and well being. This approach is remarkably effective for medically unexplained illness. A future practice of medicine needs to integrate scientific medicine with healing in order to facilitate a return to health.
