How Spaghetti Changed the Medical System by Gregg Hake
Posted on | February 22, 2010 | No Comments
If you haven’t had a chance to read Malcom Gladwell’s books, such as “The Tipping Point,” “Blink” or “Outliers,” you’re missing a great read. Mr. Gladwell’s unconventional explanations delight and challenge broadly-held assumptions. In a talk given at a TED conference (see www.ted.com), he tells about the work of another innovative thinker, Dr. Howard Muskowitz, whose work transformed the food industry.
I invite you to watch this video and see my thoughts below on how we can apply this thinking to our medical system.
After seeing this video my mind started buzzing with implications and possibilities for our industry. Much of the present system is based on the limiting “universal” approach so well-described by Mr. Gladwell. ”one-size-fits-all” approaches to tackling illness are the norm and very little attention is given to the “variability” form patient to patient.
Many of the protocols in modern medicine follow a similar pattern. Sets of symptoms are matched with drugs to remove or suppress the symptom. Dosages may vary according to body weight, age, etc., but little weight is given to factors such as bio-compatibility, lifestyle factors or the relative health of systems or organs outside of the one in question.
Protocol-based medicine has value in that a large percentage of the population generally responds according to a certain intervention, yet like the cola example given by Mr. Gladwell, I believe that the answer is not Pepsi, but Pepsis! Variability ought to be primary in health care! But how? An individualized approach to medical care is the answer, one that takes into account a more holistic understanding of the body and its components. This is true in the allopathic model as well as the complementary and alternative model. The protocol approach is helpful, but not optimal.
Many great minds are working at developing this new system in the pre-eminent medical school and medical establishments around the country. A quick Google search shows integrative medicine programs offered by Duke University, The University of Michigan, the University of California San Francisco as well as research initiatives such as the Bravewell Collaborative(www.bravewell.org), the American Holistic Medical Association (www.holisticmedicine.org), and even the world’s largest health care system, the US Army!
The individualized approach has long been pooh-poohed by both sides of the medical community, yet I am sure that the managers of the Ragu brand felt the same until the idea of “extra chunky” hit the market. ”Happiness” is not a term typically associated with our health care system as it is presently configured. In fact, it’s hard to find a happy stakeholder in any corner of the debate.
Integrative medicine is an idea whose time has come. There will of course be the necessity of reformatting our system of medical education to provide a better understanding of this more team-based and holistic approach, as well as a reformatting of the payment and incentive systems, but it will come.
Tags: alternative medicine > complementary medicine > Gregg Hake > health reform > integrative medicine > Malcom Gladwell
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